Dictatorship and Democracy

The USA and the rest of Europe decided not to intervene in the Spanish Civil War. Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s fascist Italy backed Franco. 

The Condor Legion was the unit of the German Air Force sent to Spain by Adolf Hitler to support General Franco. In April 1937, it carried out the first deliberate aerial bombing on a civilian target, the Basque city of Guernica. It was a useful experiment for Hitler which he would soon use in WWII.

The Nationalists won the war after Madrid was captured in March 1939. After winning the war, Francisco Franco imposed a military dictatorship. 

Post-war Spain

During the civil war, many artists and writers died or were exiled. Federico García Lorca was executed by Nationalits forces and the poet Miguel Hernández died in a post-war prison.

Other writers, however, like Camilo José Cela, Carmen Laforet and Miguel Delibes survived to describe post-war life from inside Spain’s borders. 

Franco's dictatorship

A dictatorship is a form of government in which a person or a small group rules with almost unlimited power. The ruler of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Normally you are not allowed to give your own opinion about the Government or the dictator. In some cases the consequences can be very hard (prison or death). 

The first decades of Franco’s dictatorship were years of famine and economic difficulties. Many from the losing side (the republicans) were persecuted, imprisoned and even executed.

Spain was isolated by many other countries for nearly a decade after World War II. By the 1950s, the nature of his regime changed from being openly totalitarian and using severe repression to an authoritarian system with limited pluralism. During this time, many people migrated from rural areas to large cities like Madrid and Barcelona looking for jobs. Many others emigrated to other European countries.

During the Cold War, Franco was one of the world's foremost anti-Communist figures: his regime was assisted by the West, and it was asked to join NATO. After chronic economic depression in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Spain abandoned autarky, delegating authority to liberal ministers. This lead to massive economic growth until the mid 1970's. It was a time of economic recovery, The middle class grew and families could improve their living conditions. The arrival of millions of tourists helped the economy and brought European customs to Spain. 

Franco died in 1975 at the age of 82. He restored the monarchy before his death, which made King Juan Carlos I his successor, who led the Spanish transition to democracy.

What is a Democracy?

Democracy is an open political system where a group of people represent a nation. 

Politicians are elected by votes and they belong to political parties. The government can be critisied and there is freedom of ideas. Normally there are two big political forces (left and right) but in many cases there can be a higher number of political options making it more difficult to rule a country. 

It’s based on what the majority of people prefer.