- In the 1930s, Spain was a deeply divided country that was politically torn between right-wing Nationalist and left-wing Republican parties.
- The Nationalist party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic Church and the army.
- The Republicans consisted of the workers, the trade unions, socialists and peasants.
- Economically, the country had been deeply hit by the Great Depression after the Wall Street Crash.
- Partly due to this turmoil, in 1929 the military dictatorship that had ruled Spain since 1923 collapsed.
- In 1931 the King abdicated after the Republicans came to power.
- There followed a period where the two political rivals had periods in power as the elected government.
- The country was so divided and unstable that in 1936 the army rebelled and forcibly removed the Republicans from power. Civil war ensued.
IMPORTANCE OF SPAIN IN EUROPE
- If Spain fell to the Nationalists, France would be surrounded by Fascist powers (Germany and Italy).
- If France was invaded by Fascist nations, the alliances between other anti-Fascist nations would be weakened.
- In effect, there would be one less nation to resist Fascist plans to expand their borders - one less army to stand up to them.
- Spain also had strategic naval bases on the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean that could be used by the Fascists to control shipping and for setting up submarine bases.
- These could be used to put military and economic pressure on other European nations.
THE RESULTS
- The better organised and better equipped Nationalist forces won the war after Madrid was captured in March 1939.
- Hitler's position in Europe was now strengthened since he had another potential ally in the right-wing dictator of Spain, General Franco.
- Participation and co-operation in the Spanish war strengthened the bond between Italy and Germany. As a result, the Rome-Berlin Axis was formed. Italy and Germany were now firm allies.
- By ignoring the Non-Intervention Committee and its chief architects, France and Britain, Hitler had shown his strength in European affairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment