Spanish Civil War Part 1

Find out why the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was one of the most significant conflicts of the 20th Century, and why it’s been overlooked. Professor Phil Nash explains the background and the first half of this dreadful episode in European history.


Buzzkill Bookshelf

Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

The Battle for Spain is a compelling account of one of the most hard-fought and bitter wars of the twentieth century: a war of atrocities and political genocide that was a military testing ground before the Second World War for the Russians, Italians, and Germans.

With his thorough and contemporary examination of the Spanish civil war, historian Antony Beevor unravels the complex events from the coup d’etat which started the war in July of 1936 to the final defeat of the Republicans in 1939. This highly readable account leaves out none of the familiar aspects, exploring them with a clear eye and providing important new insights into the war-its causes, course, and consequences.

George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia

George Orwell went to Spain in late 1936, in his role as a journalist, but then, pretty inevitably, put down his pen and spent the next year fighting with the P.O.U.M (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista) Militia against the Fascist forces under Francisco Franco. Homage to Catalonia, written immediately after his return and published in 1938, tells the story of his military service with the POUM, both against the Right and the Left, and, in quick succession, of his initial hopes for the classless society that he thought he had found on first arrival, then of his disappointment with the level of disorganization of the Leftist forces and finally of his disillusionment when pro~Stalinist “allies” began attacking Socialists and Anarchists who refused to toe the Soviet line. Orwell, who by then had nearly been killed when shot through the neck in battle, and his wife were ultimately forced to flee from Spain, to avoid Stalinist security forces, which had labeled him pro~fascist.

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