The
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) broke out with a military uprising in
Morocco on July 17, triggered by events in
Madrid. Within days, Spain was divided in two: a "Republican" or "Loyalist" Spain consisting of the
Second Spanish Republic (within which were pockets of revolutionary
anarchism and
Trotskyism) and a "Nationalist" Spain under the insurgent generals, and, eventually, under the leadership of General
Francisco Franco.
By the summer, important tendencies of the war become clear, both in terms of atrocities on both sides and in the contrast between the Soviet Union's intermittent help to the Republican government and the committed support of
Fascist Italy and
Nazi Germany for the Nationalists.
In the early days of the war, over 50,000 people who were caught on the "wrong" side of the lines were assassinated or summarily
executed. In these
paseos ("promenades"), as the executions were called, the victims were taken from their refuges or jails by armed people to be shot outside of town. Probably the most famous such victim was the poet and dramatist
Federico García Lorca. The outbreak of the war provided an excuse for settling accounts and resolving long-standing feuds. Thus, this practice became widespread during the war in areas conquered. In most areas, even within a single given village, both sides committed assassinations.<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: -->
Any hope of a quick ending to the...
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