Legacy of the Spanish Civil War
by Cassius Joseph
1. In the aftermath of Franco taking over, he made sure to eliminate all ideological threats to his control. No other political parties were functioning during his reign. In the aftermath of his rule, control of the country changed hands and became more left leaning, as drugs would become more legalized and people began to express themselves. During his rule, it was common for Franco to take the children of his political dissidents and place them in orphanages so as to not allow for difference of political beliefs. When villagers would return back from the war, or were simply living, it was common to be identified by their neighbors for their so called deviant political beliefs and then the citizens would be sentenced to jail and possibly death.
2. Economically, the spanish civil war brought about a turbulent time for the people of Spain. The value of the peseta decreased drastically, and there was much starvation and death. It would take 20 years for the spanish economy to rebound, and only occurred once Spain made trade deals with foreign powers such as the US, as well as opened up to tourists.
3. Socially, the Civil war brought about change in the streets too. Franco being a traditionalist, sought to change the roles of women in Spanish society, relegating them to household activities and chores. Meanwhile, he made sure to work the surviving members of the republicans forces to death, with many new buildings and monuments being constructed by them in exceedingly poor work conditions. He also sought to remove all secular facets of Spanish society. For example in rural towns like Bunol, he banned the traditional tomatina festival because he believed it essential that all celebrations be based around religion.
4. To this day, Spain is still impacted by the rule of Franco, who has supporters still. This has led to a great deal of political turnover and inconsistency within Spain in the last 40 years as the government swings between right and left. For example, when Franco’s tomb at the infamous valley of the fallen monument was removed, many of his supporters cheered to show their support. This is due primarily to the image that Franco cultivated later in life when he portrayed himself as a kindly religious grandfather overseeing Spain rather than a brutal dictator.
5. Nazi-esque concentration camps were established to help with creating Franco’s new version of Spain. Records are shaky around this time because of the lack of organization in the spanish forces, but an at least estimated 200 000 prisoners were executed. For the religious though, Spain was going through a golden age. Testimonials indicate there were frequent processions through the streets, so for the richer, more well off nationalist minded citizens, Spain was experiencing a relative renaissance where the traditionalist values of the country were retuning. Some sources stated that the state of Spain was actually worse in the years following the wars, as socialist minded citizens were forced into prison for the remaining 25 years of Franco’s reign, with some even staying on death row during this periods. The famine mentioned in the economic portion also contributed to a less than perfect Spanish society. Overall, 400 000 people also fled Spain in the aftermath for fear of persecution.
6. Social
7. Economic
8. Monarchy was restored, but Franco was still initially in power until his death, when Juan Carlos took over.
9. Basque and Catalan hopes for independence were decimated.
10. 1921-Fascist party gets 35 seats in parliament, PM invites them to government.
10.1. 1921-Official Fascist party established.
10.1.1. 1922-Mussolini seizes power, and meets with the king
11. Mussolini leaves Socialist party and his newspaper
11.1. Mussolini begins new newspaper and joins fascist party-1914
11.1.1. New newspaper becomes a political force among pro war citizens-1915
11.1.1.1. C
11.1.1.1.1. 1918-taly becomes increasingly politicized as citizens take interest