Another of the great and significant combats in the history of Europe was the Spanish war, a very cruel and destructive war that stained the history of Spain with blood. According to records, this war ended the lives of more than 500,000 Spanish citizens of all social classes, a confrontation between civilians, which in addition to all this, served as a prelude to what would become the Second World War.
This conflict began on July 17, 1936 and ended on April 1, 1939. Two sides intervened in this war: the sympathizers of the popular front government, known as the "Republicans" which was made up mainly of the salaried sector and some communists and the so-called nationalist or “rebellious” side which was represented by the conservative and traditional sector of Spanish society, among its ranks were a good part of the Spanish military high command, an extensive sector of the church and ultimately all those who were afraid that a revolution of the proletariat would arise in Spain, since this meant a terrible danger to their social status.
As already mentioned, on the nationalist side there were many soldiers who made up the national defense board, which was led by three emblematic figures of Spanish history, such as Francisco Franco, Emilio Mola and José San Surjo. On the Republican side, on the other hand, relevant figures such as Juan Negrín, Manuel Azaña and Francisco Largo Caballero can be mentioned.
This war was triggered by the triumph in the February elections of 1936, where the popular or republican front was the winner, this contributed to the radicalization of the right. The large landowners felt threatened by the imminent agrarian reform, the bourgeois sector stopped all kinds of investment and, to make matters worse, the church felt a strong threat from the anticlerical political system that the left was leading.
For its part, for the sector of the proletariat, this victory meant leaving behind a society full of hardships, with an inefficient economy that could not meet the needs of the people and a social organization totally divided between rich and poor.
However, in the months following the victory of the Republican sector, specifically between February and July 1936, the tension between the social forces increased much more, since the government could no longer maintain public order, and political violence was almost daily.. Extremist groups on the right were fighting with those on the left. A right wing that was not going to stand still and was determined to regain its power was the perfect setting for a civil war to emerge.
It was a war that lasted almost three years, a lot of blood shed by Spaniards who fought for a better Spain. Finally on April 1, 1939, the victory of the national side was consolidated.
