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Spain in World War 2
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In August 1936 the Non-Intervention Agreement was signed by 27 countries. This agreement, initiated by Britain and France, sought to prohibit the delivery of war materials to Spain. Germany and Italy deliberately violated the treaty and continued to provide aid to the Nationalist army. Hence, Non-Intervention solely subjected the Spanish Republic to international isolation. At face value, British and French adherence to this agreement seems surprising and illogical. This paper will discuss the reasons why Britain and France adopted a policy of Non-Intervention.
A couple of days after the military coup Republican Prime Minister José Giral requested military assistance from France in order to crush the rebellion. Prime Minister Léon Blum, at the head of a newly-elected left-winged Popular Front government, initially seemed supportive of the idea and drew up a plan to send arms. Then, in August 1936, the French government sealed its southern border with Spain to prevent arms trafficking and declared that it would not interfere in the war. Additionally, it presented a Non-Intervention plan to Britain, Italy and
Despite Germany’s withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933, their rearmament program which directly violated the Treaty of Versailles and Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia in 1935, Britain continued to appease the leaders in order to avoid conflict. Firstly, Britain was suffering from an economic crisis following the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression making it extremely vulnerable in the event of a war. Additionally, Britain couldn’t reach out to anyone for support; the USA practiced isolationism and communist Russia wouldn’t make a good ally. Furthermore, the British people were against another conflict and were still recuperating from World War I. The aforementioned reasons explain the rationale behind British appeasement policy in the
Britain wanted complete support to prevent Germany’s hegemony in Europe, but the people of the United States believed Japan was the real enemy. This became evident during the two most important conferences of World War II between the United States and Great Britain that established a solid coalition; Casablanca and Trident.
A famous quote by FDR at his First Inaugural Address was, “Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” came to mind when thinking of most European democracies position’s when it came to the military aggression by Italy and Germany. However, it is easy to understand why they would make concessions, albeit short-lived, rather than run the risk of another World War and all of the noxious energy that comes with it. On the other hand, to trust the “devilish nature” of both Hitler and Mussolini would turn out to be costly moves that were fortunately corrected by the strength of the United States and its Allies in time.
The world plunged into World War II in 1939, from the unsettlement between countries. Different countries had different ideas about world affairs. Some countries preferred appeasement and other countries preferred collective securities to solve problems such as the turmoil in Germany. According to the circumstances of Europe during 1939, from economic depression and unsettlement between countries, collective security was the best answer. Appeasement was attempted, but it turned out to be a failure.
Francisco Franco (1892-1975) was a lifelong military leader. He rose through the ranks until the early 1930s, when he found himself, a right-wing monarchist, in the middle of a left-wing republic. He was demoted, but later rose up again, and by 1935 he had been named chief of staff of the Spanish Army, a position he used to get rid of left-wing figures and their military institutions. When the left- wing social and economic structure of Spain began to fall, Franco joined the rebellion. He soon led an uprising and took control of Spain after the Spanish Civil War (1939). From then unti...
Dictators used other’s ignorance to expand their empire. Rulers were becoming greedy and were willing to go to any lengths to get what they wanted. The aggression needed to be stopped before one person help complete power. The method of using appeasement wasn’t a strong enough tactic get rid of the issues. The world plunged into World War II because of agression from the Axis Powers and the most effective response to such aggression is collective security.
Messenger, A, David.. “Spain during World War II.” Canadian Journal of History 3(2007):530. eLibrary. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Other countries mainly Britain responded to Hitler’s actions with appeasement and by not stopping him early on with collective security it directly caused World War Two. Collective Security is when multiple countries work together to strengthen a country in need. Based off of document 6 Winston Churchill suggested that Britain, France, and other nations should come together and protect Czechoslovakia from Hitler to stop the growth of Nazi power. Collective Security could have prevented Czechoslovakia from coming into German control. While in accordance with document 9 nobody could openly oppose Hitler’s massive forces he had accumulated. Which is why they didn’t use collective security to protect Czechoslovakia. Instead they used The Munich Agreement to appease to Hitler. The Munich Agreement handed over Czechoslovakia in hopes it would diminish Hitler’s need to keep taking over surrounding countries. Stated in document 7 The Munich Agreement was unnecessary because Czech defenses were relatively strong and during this time Germany wasn’t at its zenith of strength. Also Hitler’s generals were going to try to overthrow Hitler if he attacked Czechoslovakia because the Generals believed it was a foolish endeavour that would mean the downfall of
Ellicia Chiu Mrs. Daly World History: Period 3 4/27/15 How Did the Versailles Treaty Help Cause World War II? The first World War is recorded as one of the “deadliest conflicts in human history”. With over 16 million dead, it was one of the first wars with a high amount of casualties. However, the one that tops the list with around 60 million deaths was World War II.
The Spanish-American war was only America’s second foreign war and with the thrill of winning against Spain so easily and relatively painlessly came the desire to go out and conquer more territories. Many of the men that stayed behind in the United States were disappointed that they hadn’t had the chance to face the Spanish (McCaffrey 177) and half of the men that went to Cuba hadn’t even been part of any major battles (Adams 244). Between the citizens desire for a more gruesome and dramatic war and the government’s new found lust for power and territories, war was inevitable. Coming from the haze of power that seeing the words “Unable to Resist” from Spain in response to America’s proposal (Eye Witnesses 225) the United States decided that they were somewhat of a mediator in the world and it was their responsibility to “civilize” new countries and bring them up to standard; this was not something that these countries were desirous of and the United States then began their role as intimidator in order to maintain their influence in these countries. Hardly six months after the end of the Spanish-American war, the United States began a significantly more lengthy and much bloodier war--The Philippine-American War--with their newly bought territory from Spain, the republic of the
Actions taken in Cuba and the Philippines could not and did not give equal weight as a motive to commercialism, nationalism, humanitarianism, and racism. Trade and business in the United States motivated the war. The US also wanted to emerge as an imperialistic power and saw a great opportunity to take over other lands. In analyzing all of the facts, it is clear that nationalism, the desire to be a world wide power, and advance commercial interests were the primary factors that led to the declaration of war on Spain.
Trask, David F.. The war with Spain in 1898. Collector's ed. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press,
In order to understand the effects of the Spanish Civil War, the atmosphere of Spain prior to 1936 needs to be understood as well. Spain, unlike major European powers, never experienced a bourgeois revolution and was therefore still dominated by a significant aristocracy. However, Spain had gone through several civil wars and revolutions making violence one of the most common devices for change. It, also, had undergone several cycles of reform, reaction from the opposition, and reversal by military uprising led by a dictator before 1936 (Preston 18).
The Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War To this day the Spanish Civil War is still remembered as the single most pivotal moment in the history of Spanish politics. The only way of understanding how 600,000 Spaniards were killed between 1936 and 1939 is to ask ourselves why the civil war broke out in Spain in 1936. There were a number of reasons which led to the civil war in Spain. The main and most significant being the increased political polarization between the left and right wing parties. This polarization primarily began within Spanish society, which had been characterized by its strong religious beliefs and conservative values, as it remained a strict Roman Catholic country for many centuries.
This book is a compilation of several articles about the Spanish Civil War by different authors each one dealing with a different subject matter. This is useful because it gives different perspectives on the war. However, the accuracy becomes compromised as there are conflicting points of view in the book that rr(a'y cause the information to be less reliable.
Olley, J. (01-Dec-2006). A Historical Analysis of the Spanish American War; 1898 - Associated Content. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/93329/a_historical_analysis_of_the_spanish.html