Spain 1923-1948: Civil War and World War

Spain 1923–1948: Civil War and World War offers a sweeping examination of one of the most volatile and transformative periods in modern Spanish history. This detailed study spans from the authoritarian dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, through the turbulent Second Republic, the bloody Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and into the authoritarian consolidation of Francisco Franco’s regime during and after World War II.

War was originally published in England in 1948 to add context to the conduct of Spain under Franco during the Spanish Civil War.  Arthur Loveday targeted the British political consciousness with the chief aim  of helping Spain’s entry into the post-war NATO Allied framework.

Loveday depicts Franco as the unifying force behind a coalition of formerly left leaning Falangists and largely monarchist Requetes. According to Loveday, the Falange was gradually purged of its most ideological members during the World War. Spain is presented as having successfully distanced itself from the shadow of Fascism. Loveday’s portrait of Franco’s reactionary Spain appealed to Britain’s desire for allies in the early years of what would become the Cold War.

Loveday’s work is a well-sourced and even-handed account of Spain’s political and economic development in the early part of the 20th century. Spain 1923-1948 Civil War & World War is a necessary addition to the library of any scholar of mid-century European history.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-953730-00-8