What was the Spanish Civil War, and how did it begin?

The Spanish Civil War

La Guerra Civil española

17 July 1936–1 April 1939. On 17 and 18 July 1936 part of the army, with General Francisco Franco among its leaders, rose against the Republic.

Where: Spain, The whole Spanish-speaking world, Madrid, Basque Country, Catalonia

What happened

On 17 and 18 July 1936 part of the army, with General Francisco Franco among its leaders, rose against the Republic. The coup failed in about half the country, and a war began that lasted until 1 April 1939. Germany and Italy helped Franco's side; the Soviet Union and the volunteers of the International Brigades helped the Republic. On 26 April 1937 German and Italian planes bombed the Basque town of Guernica, which Picasso painted that year. Estimates of the dead vary, most around half a million, many of them killed far from the front, and hundreds of thousands went into exile. Franco then ruled as dictator until his death in 1975.

Say it

La Guerra Civil duró casi tres años, de 1936 a 1939.

The Civil War lasted almost three years, from 1936 to 1939.

Why it matters

The war sent half a million Spaniards into exile, many of them to Mexico, Argentina and France, where they carried Spanish letters, science and publishing with them; it divided families for generations and still shapes how Spain argues about its past.

Read about it

Culture

Connected

Sources

  1. Ley 20/2022, de 19 de octubre, de Memoria Democrática (preámbulo) — Boletín Oficial del Estado
  2. Campos de refugiados — Guía del exilio español de 1939 — Ministerio de Cultura, CIDA
  3. Guernica — Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
  4. Biografía de Federico García Lorca — Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes