Description of the Masterclass

This masterclass analyzes the factors that led Spain to the putsch of the general Franco, which evolved into an almost three years Civil War. It explains the progression of this unique war in the heart of Western Europe that precedes the Second World War. In fact, many historians consider the Spanish Civil War as the first chapter of the Second World War, but with the opposite outcome… As a matter of fact, the Spanish Civil War was an international affair that involved both the democratic powers, nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union.

The nationalist-fascist side overran the democratic Republic and General Francisco Franco implemented a dictatorship that lasted nearly 40 years. The consequences of that war are still recognizable in Spanish politics and in daily life media. Thus this seminar examines the consequences and present influence of those events in 1936 in the present. In fact, an intense debate continues in present times, between those who claim that, after the death of the dictator Franco, the transition to democracy was exemplary, and those who argue that the transition to democracy was clearly deficient.

Most of the sons of the Republicans loyal to the legitimate government in 1936 are still active and feel that the Spanish state has failed to recognize the status of victims of the Francoist regime of their parents and theirs. On the contrary, the heirs of the Francoist side, feel those claims as attacks to their status quo and argue that the past should be definitely forgotten.