German Historiography and the Spanish Civil War: A Critical Survey

The Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 was, and indeed still is, one of the most discussed events in the history of the present century. Because of the international response to the war it is an event not only in Spanish history but also in the history of many other nations, including the two Germanys. Germans were involved in the Spanish war almost from the very beginning; some have even argued that Germans had become critically involved before the first shot was fired. On Franco’s side stood Hitler’s Condor Legion, whilst on the side of the Republic stood German anti-fascists who, having fled their native country, saw in the Spanish conflict the opportunity to carry on the struggle against fascism. The way back to Germany, as the communist Hans Beimler put it, led through Madrid. The Spanish war in short is, among many other things, a piece of German history, to be more precise a piece of a highly controversial era of German history, namely the Nazi era.