Section 2: Controlling society Flashcards
As well as relying on repression, what else did Franco continue to stress?
-he continued to stress the importance of the Catholic Church, in an attempt to win over Catholics and to appeal to a unifying set of values.
-For Franco, the teachings od the Church embodied the values of a society he wanted to build.
How else did Franco try to consolidate his position?
he also tried to consolidate his position through propaganda.
-the state-run media consistently depicted Franco as the saviour of the Spanish people. In so doing they developed a cult of personality designed to generate widespread support for the ‘new state’
what did Franco emphasise? and when did Martial Law continue up until?
he emphasised ‘purification’ rather than ‘reconciliation’
-Martial Law continued until 1948
who did Franco seek to punish?
he sought to punish people who had fought for the Republicans or who had supported their war effort.
-This is because for Franco the Republicans had fought against God and against the Spanish people.
What was Spain like after the civil war?
-Spain after the civil war was extremely polarised.
-some groups genuinely supported the new gov including devout Catholics, farmers in northern Spain, major land owners in the South and factory owners.
-Other groups such as the poor peasants and the working class suffered under the new regime.
-Franco initiated a huge purge of government, schools, university and the media.
-Francos officials sacked administrators, teachers, academics and journalists who had supported the Republic.
what were supported of Franco rewarded with?
they were rewarded with good jobs in the government.
-Equally, Nationalists were free to settle old scores by denouncing people who had supported the Republicans.
what heightened polarisation?
polarisation was heightened by Francos media, which presented Spanish people with a distorted view of the Civil War.
-according to Franco propaganda, the war had been started by communists, and freemasons.
-gov propaganda presented the Nationalists as heroes and the Republicans as Godless warmongers who had worked consistently to undermine Spain.
why did many Republicans refuse to talk about their part in the civil war?
-initially, their silence was motivated by fear.
-however, as time went on they kept quiet because gov propaganda had branded the Republicans as the enemy of Spain.
why did many Republicans refuse to talk about their part in the civil war?
-initially, their silence was motivated by fear.
-however, as time went on they kept quiet because gov propaganda had branded the Republicans as the enemy of Spain. In that context it was difficult to speak about the past with pride
what was a final legacy of the civil war?
it was family break up.
-for example, around 300,000 people escaped Spain before the war ended, most of them moved to France, Latin America or Mexico.
-official propaganda described these exiles as traitors.
-consequently, the families they left behind tended to keep silent about their relatives.
-indeed, trying to stay in contact was dangerous as the gov viewed the exiles as enemies of Spain.
-similarly, the families of those who were imprisoned or killed by the regime often had no idea what had happened to their missing loved ones. In some cases Republican supporters were killed in prison and family members were not told for years
In sum, what did the Civil War lead to?
it led to a divided and broken society.
-however, the division served a political purpose, as it allowed Franco to persecute his enemies and reward his supporters
what law did Franco introduce in February 1939? what was the focus of this law?
the Law of Political Responsibilities.
-the focus of this law was the criminalisation of any person who had been involved in radical political activities since 1934.
-therefore, the law made it retrospectively illegal to have belonged to the UGT, CNT, or any left-wing political party.
-significantly, this gave Francos security apparatus a legal basis to remove any potential enemies
after 1939, what did terror focus on?
-it focused on removing potential enemies and supporters of the former republic.
-in many cases Nationalist violence was simply instigated in order to settle scores from the period of the war.
-in order to enforce the new law, and to deal with his enemies once and for all, Franco authorised a significant expansion of the police and the army.
-by the mid 1940s nearly half of the state budget was dedicated to the forces of law and order
who did the Law of Political Responsibilities put the Falange militia and police under the control of? what was a key role of the police and what was the process and what could the courts implement?
it put them under the control of the military.
-a key role for the police was the arrest of suspected radicals and supporters of the previous Republican left-wing gov. After these individuals were arrested they would be tried by military courts. The courts had been granted extensive powers by Francos regime and could implement any of the following:
–execution
–imprisonment
–exile
–house arrest
by 1945, how many people were convicted for having broken the Law of Political Responsibility?
500,000
what were the groups which were most seriously affected by the Law of Political Responsibility?
-middle-class liberals who had supported the republic
-urban workers who had been part of unions of left-wing political groups
-poor peasants who had been part of unions of left-wing political groups
-liberated women
-former campaigners for regional rights within Spain
What did the Law of Political Responsibilities allow Franco to do?
-it allowed Franco to consolidate his power after 1939 and throughout the 1940s
-the widespread arrests and executions generated fear throughout Spain. Therefore, people quickly abandoned open criticism of the regime.
what else happened during the 1940s which helped Franco consolidate his power?
-during the 1940s Franco successfully gained the support of informants who helped police their communities.
-these loyal informants proved extremely effective in rooting out enemies of the state
Did Republicans give up hope of an end to Francos rule? what did many believe? However, what happened? How did many former Spanish Republicans see this as?
-no, many Republicans did not give up hope of an end to Francos rule.
-many believed that Britain and the USA would extend their fight against fascism to Spain.
-however, after the liberation of France in 1944 Allied forces stopped at the Pyrenees. Clearly, the British and US governments had no intention of ending Francos regime
-many former Spanish Republicans saw this as a betrayal. Many of them who had fought against the Germans as part of the French resistance, decided to return to Spain in order to begin a guerrilla campaign against Francos forces
in 1947 what law did Franco introduce? and what did do?
he introduced the Law for the Repression of Banditry and Terrorism
-this gave the government, judiciary and security forces wide-ranging powers to deal with the threat of insurgency. The law laid down harsh penalties for anyone suspected of aiding or harbouring resistance fighters
who were the Maquisards?
these were Spanish fighters who opposed fascism and Francos regime and were primarily based in France
when was the Somaten created? what was it?
-it was created in 1947
-it was a group of 100,000 armed men, who were entrusted with police powers and instructed to protect the ‘new state’ from its enemies .
by how much did the number of Civil Guardsmen rise by in the period 1936-41?
by approximately 20percent
as a result of the work of the Somaten and Civil Guard, who was defeated?
the Maquisards were defeated and were no longer a threat by the late 1940s
who did Francos ‘purification’ of Spanish society target?
it targeted specific groups, as well as specific kinds of behaviour
in March 1940, what tribunal was created? what did this tribunal carry out?
the Special Tribunal for the Repression of Freemasonry and Communism was established
-this tribunal carried out a purge of teachers, journalists and artists
