Spanish Civil War: Effects of War Notes

Key Questions

1. What were the social and economic effects of the war?
2. What were the short term and long term political effects of the war?
3. What territorial changes took place as a result of the war?
4. What was the impact of the war on the role and status of women?

Human Cost

1. The Spanish Civil War resulted in a devastating loss of life, with approximately 100,000 Republican fighters and around 70,000 Nationalist soldiers killed during the conflict.
2. After the war, Franco initiated a campaign of political repression, known as the “White Terror,” which led to the deaths of an additional estimated 40,000 to 200,000 individuals.
   1. Roughly a quarter of a million people fled Spain into exile, with many seeking refuge in camps in France.
   2. Thousands of Republicans and suspected sympathisers were imprisoned for years in concentration camps and jails across Spain.
   3. Many children of Republican families were removed from their parents for “re-education,” often being placed with Nationalist families or in orphanages where they were taught to reject their parents’ political beliefs.
3. These events left deep social divisions and bitterness that endured in Spanish society for decades.

Economic Cost

1. The war severely damaged Spain’s economy, destroying roughly 10–15% of the nation’s wealth and leaving per capita income in 1939 nearly a third lower than in 1935.
   1. Much of Madrid’s industrial infrastructure, including 70% of its factory machinery and its tram network, required complete reconstruction.
   2. One-third of Spain’s merchant fleet was unusable, and high inflation took hold due to wartime spending and the overprinting of currency.
2. Franco reversed land reforms introduced by the Republicans, which kept agriculture inefficient and left many labourers unemployed or underemployed.
3. Spain faced large foreign debts, and the shortage of skilled workers after the war made economic recovery slower.
   1. Attempts to secure loans from Britain and Germany were hindered by demands for repayment of existing debts and wartime assistance before new investment was considered.
4. The outbreak of World War Two created some economic opportunities, as Spain leveraged neutrality to gain trade agreements with Britain and France, but German exploitation of Spanish resources also weakened the economy.
5. Spain experienced famine in 1946, and by that time industrial output was still below 1918 levels.
6. Aid from Argentina helped in the short term, and in later decades, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, economic reforms and global trade integration led to industrial growth and the development of a strong capitalist economy.

Political Effects

1. Franco emerged as the unchallenged ruler of Spain, maintaining an authoritarian dictatorship until his death in 1975.
   1. His regime justified its rule as a defence against Communism and used the “White Terror” to suppress Republican supporters, including intellectuals, writers, and artists.
   2. The Law of Political Responsibility allowed the confiscation of Republican-owned land, the imposition of heavy fines, and even the death penalty for political opponents.
2. Franco restored the privileges of the traditional elite and suppressed all left-wing and trade union activity, dissolving organisations such as the CNT and UGT.
3. In rural areas, existing inequalities were preserved, and the Civil Guard ensured continued control over workers.
4. Reforms made by the Republic regarding the Catholic Church were reversed, marking the 1950s as an era of close church-state cooperation.
5. Regional autonomy movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country were crushed, and the use of minority languages was banned, centralising all authority in Madrid.
6. Political repression created an appearance of unity, but divisions between victors and vanquished persisted until Franco’s death.
7. The defeat of Fascist powers in World War Two weakened Franco’s position, though he retained authority by placating monarchists and reducing the army’s political dominance.
8. In the 1960s, Franco gradually delegated power, paving the way for Spain’s return to democracy after his death.

International Effects

1. USSR and Communism

1. The defeat of the Spanish Republicans damaged the credibility of Communism internationally and disillusioned many left-wing supporters of the Soviet Union.
2. Stalin’s policies during the war created divisions within the left, further weakening the Soviet position in the West.
3. Soviet foreign policy shifted away from seeking alliances with Britain and France to a strategy that eventually led to the Nazi–Soviet Pact of 1939.

2. Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy