Role of the Spanish Civil War
One of the theories of world history follows that the Spanish Civil War was fundamental to the Second World War. The Spanish Civil War was an armed conflict based on socio-political contradictions between the left-socialist government of the country and the right-wing monarchist forces that had raised an armed rebellion. The latter was supported by fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the USSR, and anti-fascist volunteers from many countries of the world took the side of the republicans (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020). The war ended with the establishment of Franco’s military dictatorship. Thus, the Spanish Civil War has become one of the hot spots and conflicting interests of different states, in particular, Germany and the USSR.
Appeasement Policy
By that time, England, France, and the United States had declared “non-intervention” in the conflict, imposing a ban on arms supplies to Spain, and Germany and Italy had sent Franco’s aid, respectively, the Condor Air Legion and the Volunteer Infantry Corps. In these conditions, on October 23, the USSR announced that it could not consider itself neutral, also sending military advisers and volunteers to Spain (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020). Earlier, at the call of the Comintern, the formation of seven international volunteer brigades began, the first of which arrived in Spain.
Spain became the site of testing new types of weapons and testing new methods of warfare in the run-up to World War II. The bombing of the Basque city of Guernica by the Condor Legion is considered one of the first examples of total war. A distinctive feature of the war in Spain was the international brigades, which were based on anti-fascists from 54 countries of the world (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020, p.51). Ernest Hemingway, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and the future chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Willy Brandt, illuminated their lives and shared their positions.
Persecution of the Jews
The Nazis often used euphemisms to hide the true nature of their crimes. They called the plan of extermination of the Jewish people the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” It is not known when exactly the Nazi leaders adopted the plan for the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” During the reign of Adolf Hitler, the persecution and isolation of Jews took place in several stages. After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, the state’s policy of racial discrimination led to the emergence of anti-Jewish laws, economic boycotts, and, finally, the brutal pogroms of “Kristallnacht.” All this was intended to isolate Jews from the rest of society and expel them from the country (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020). The SS and German police exterminated about 2,700,000 Jews in the death camps who were shot or sent to the gas chambers (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020, p.54). In general, the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” provided for the extermination of all Jews living in Europe by shooting, gas poisoning, or in any other way. During the Holocaust, approximately six million Jews were killed. This is practically two-thirds of all Jews.
Results of the War
The Second World War abruptly changed the fate of many countries in Europe and Asia. Its results largely predetermined their further geopolitical position for a very long term, in fact, until the end of the 20th century (Herrmann & Brenneis, 2020). The most important result of the war was the defeat of fascism and militarism, and the restoration of the sovereignty of the countries seized by the aggressors. Not only the military power of the countries of the fascist bloc was crushed, but also the state machines of Nazism and militarism of the aggressor countries were completely destroyed.
Reference
Herrmann, G., and Brenneis, S. J. (Ed). (2020). Spain, the Second World War, and the Holocaust. History and representation. University of Toronto Press.