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2020-09-29 -Land of the Free

The Prelude to World War II: The Spanish Civil War and Today's America

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Posted by 746 2020-09-29 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 It is so termed because it pitted one side — which was equipped, armed and funded by Europe’s fascist regimes (Germany and Italy) — against a government largely funded and propped up by the Soviet Union.

Another from one of our 'Russians did it' fans?

Posted by Skidmark 2020-09-29 00:05|| 2020-09-29 00:05|| Front Page Top

#2 A few notes about the Spanish situation in 1936

1) The Spanish socialist Party was NOT a democratic party. His leader Largo Caballero, liked to be called "The Spanish Lenin". He derided the minority in his party that advocated reacghing power through elections and told there was no alternative to violence.
2) The 1936 elections saw a fraud excedding ten times the one in the mots crooked Democartic state
3) The Spanish socialist party made well clear it would never surrend poweer if in the future he lost an election. Ie Spain was now de facto a dictatorship
4) Between the February election and the July election the Popular Front governementr closed dozens of right wing newspapers, and arrested hundreds of opponents all while leftit miliatnts went rampant murdering right wing militants or personalities.
5) At one point a socialist lieutenant of the Guardia de Asalto (Police) who had been prominent in the arbitrary arrests was murdered by militants of the then minuscle half-Fascist Falange. Then the leader of Largo Caballero's bodyguards tried to murder the leaders of the two, main opposition parties, completely unconnected to Falange (the grouop whio had klilled the lieutenant). One of the then was murdered , the other was not in Madrid when the murderers came looking for him. The socialist governelment reacted to the murder by... arresting right-wing militants and closing right-wing newspapers.

At this point some spanish generals decided enough was enough and staged coup in order TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY. Yes, most of the them had this goala. But the coup failed and the leadership went to a general who had not been a member a core member of the conspiracy but had the most powerful troops, that is general Franco and he had different ideas.
At this point however the rebels were in a desperate situatuion: they only had half of the Army (agreed the best one) but Air Force, Navy abnd most of the Police were on the government side and more importanly weapon and ammo factories were in governement hands. In addition militais in governement zone were in a rampage of looting, raping and murdering while the spanish governemnt was talking "of covering the oceans in blood". So the generals looked for outside assistance. France and Great Britain gave them the shoulder. Italy and Germany agreeed to send them aid

Now an intriguing question. We know Franco denied Hitler the use of naval and aircraft bases in North West Spain and the Canary Islands. Had he agreed other had Hitler taken them by force it is probable Geramn U-Boots and aiarcraft would have managed to strangle the UK. But Franco said no and he managed to look friendly enough to prevent invasion.
We do not know what woukld have happened if the governement side had won the war. Since by 1939 republican Spain was a satellite of Soviet Union and since by September 1940 when Franco met Hitler at Hendaya, Communist and Nazis were still living a love affair it is not at all sure the Soanisgh governelment would have said NO to Hitkler's demands and in case he would have said No it is very, very, very dubious it could have done it with enough apparent friendliness to prevent Hitler of just invading and taking the bases he wanted

Posted by JFM 2020-09-29 07:13|| 2020-09-29 07:13|| Front Page Top

#3 "Franco is still dead."

Posted by Clem 2020-09-29 07:37|| 2020-09-29 07:37|| Front Page Top

#4 The Spanish 'No' to Nazi use of their ports was pretty soft in practice.

Posted by Cesare 2020-09-29 08:24|| 2020-09-29 08:24|| Front Page Top

#5 Franco wasn't fascist. Well that's good to know.

Posted by Muggsy Hapsburg5230 2020-09-29 09:03|| 2020-09-29 09:03|| Front Page Top

#6 Skidmark, if the Russia support was supposed to indicate Trump that would mean the facists are the left. I don't think any lefties would admit that.

Posted by rjschwarz 2020-09-29 09:33|| 2020-09-29 09:33|| Front Page Top

#7 Lefties/Commies & Fascists were the ones duking it out on the streets of Berlin and Munich, not the Social Democrats. They are pretty much two sides of the socialist coin.

Posted by Clem 2020-09-29 09:50|| 2020-09-29 09:50|| Front Page Top

#8 Years ago I bought Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War(1961) in a used book store . The "sheer crazy" that went on in that conflict is amazing, but one anecdote amused me: The Nationalist Commander picked up the desk phone, in front of the reporter, and called the Republican Commander of the next city down the road to trade insults. You see the telephone system was run by the international division of AT&T and stayed neutral and in operation all through the war...

Posted by magpie 2020-09-29 11:01|| 2020-09-29 11:01|| Front Page Top

#9 History...wash, rinse, repeat.

Posted by Skidmark 2020-09-29 14:15|| 2020-09-29 14:15|| Front Page Top

#10 Franco wasn't fascist.

He was a reactionary in contemporary terms. His focus was Spain not the world. Restored the monarchy and church into Spanish society. He did have and used fascists. To keep the most ardent out of becoming a problem, he arranged for them to be sent to Russia to fight the commies they hated in the form of the Spanish Blue division.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-09-29 15:36|| 2020-09-29 15:36|| Front Page Top

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