What caused the Spanish Civil War and why did Germany and Italy support it? Did Germany's and Italy's support somewhat caused to World War Two? (Please provide resources if you can)
1 Answer
The Spanish Civil War sprang out of a rift between various factions (easily but not accurately described as left and right) that went back over 130 years to Napoleonic times.
Explanation:
Spain has had a centuries old problem between regional and national identities; where the Spanish ideal of nationalism based on a Catholic identity has clashed with the aspirations of Catalans, Basques, and various provinces. The retreat of Spanish power in the 18th Century also led to a new cleavage between reformers and traditionalists. This assumed a left-right character as the 19th Century wore on.
The feud between Nationalist/Traditionalist/Catholic conservatives and Socialist/Reformer/Regionalists intensifed, particularly during the early 1930s. The narrow Popular Front election win in 1936 accelerated the polarization of Spanish society, and a pair of tit-for-tat political assasinations in July 1936 moved the generals to stage a coup.
The presence of Communists (with ties to Moscow) and the existance of a Phalange Party (which aped the Fascists) prompted Hitler and Mussolini to offer support to the Generals. Soviet support for the government came almost as quickly. The difference was that the Germans and Italians largely let Franco and the Generals handle the domestic politics, where the Soviets were eager to purge the Spanish Left of elements that didn't toe their line.
In some ways, the tactics and weaponry provided by the Soviets, Italians and Germans were trialed during the Civil War; while the ferocious ideological murders waged by all sides presaged what Europe would soon experience.
Interestingly, when Francisco Franco was approached by Hitler in late 1940 to come in on the German side in the Second World War, he prevaricated. A monarchist, Catholic military leader, he wasn't really interested in Fascism and his demands for supplies and material help from Germany infuriated Hitler. Franco also got rid of a lot of Fascist Spaniards by giving them the chance to join a expeditionary force in the invasion of Russia. This got them out of Spain, and many of them were killed around Leningrad in 1942-43.
