France had shown its best hand to Franco by returning "Gold, weapons, vehicles, valuables, ships, art," and other valuables that had been shipped by the rebels across the Spanish border into France during the Civil War (Bowen, p. 23).
A tense moment for Spain's so-called neutrality came on June 27, 1940, as German troops arrived at the border of Spain; a deal was struck that "small groups of Nazi soldiers" could travel (while in uniform) through northern Spain (Bowen, p. 29) but the Germans apparently never made a huge push into Spain.
The one force that Franco was definitely not neutral towards was the Soviet Union. In fact, when Germany sent massive troops into Russia in June1941, Franco quickly identified himself and his nation with the German cause, according to World History at KMLA (WHKMLA, 2007). A year previous to that, on June 14th, 1940 Spanish troops actually occupied the city of Tangier in Morocco, and Franco tried to cut a deal with Hitler regarding Spanish troops joining with Hitler in Africa if Spain would be rewarded after the hostilities with "all of French Morocco, parts of Algeria and an expansion into Spanish Guinea" (WHKMLA). Hitler declined to be a party to that deal, although the two leaders met on October 23rd in 1940 to discuss a joint campaign against Gibraltar, an action that the British (as mentioned earlier) had suspected would take place. Had Hitler agreed to give Spain some of the spoils from the Nazi invasion of North Africa, Franco would have found himself far more deeply embroiled in the actual fighting, and any talk of neutrality would be lip service.
And moreover, there were three "cherished myths" that Spaniards held on to through those post WWII years, according to Payne's book; one, that Franco had won the Civil War in Spain "by dint of military genius"; two, that Franco had "masterminded" the economic boom in Spain in the 1960s; the three, the Spain's neutrality in WWII "was his brilliant achievement" (Payne, 2008). However, there was "no truth" in any of those myths, the author writes; in fact, the only reason Spain didn't actually send troops and become fully engaged on the pro-Axis side of the war, Payne insists, was because Spain was "thwarted" economically by its ragged post-Civil War economy, and two, that Hitler didn't want to take on "another ally even more impecunious than Mussolini" (Payne, 2008).
Works Cited
Bowen, Wayne H. (2006). Spain in World War II. Columbia: University of Missouri
Press.
Cokely, Megan E. (2007). British counter-intelligence in Gibraltar: Deciphering Spanish
Neutrality' during the Second World War. International Journal of Iberian Studies,
Payne, Stanley G. (2008). Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
World History at KMLA. (2007). Spain in World War II, 1939-1945. Retrieved March…
World War II Economical and military abilities of major participants of the war - Germany Soviet Union France Great Britain Important military campaigns France (including Belgium and Holland) Balkan campaign (Greece and Yugoslavia) Russian campaign Industrial production in 1943 World War II is the most tragic but extremely interesting period of human history of al centuries. It was a regular continuation of previous absurd bloody conflict - World War I. New war began after Germany was defeated in WWI and after
Nazi Germany Nazi Propaganda and the Spread of Fascism World War II was precipitated by the rise of fascism throughout Europe. As the mores of socialism began to take root in many parts of the continent, fascism emerged as a powerful counterpoint. For nations like Italy, Spain and Germany, the consequences of a sustained and devastating recession would be a coalescing of support behind strong, self-proclaimed and authoritarian leaders. Certainly, most notorious
consequences that WW2 had on United States society. The Banks World War 2 had enormous consequences on many parts of American life. One of these was on the economy, and included in the economy was the result that the War had on the banks. Admittedly, it wasn't just the War that impacted the banks; Franklin Delaney Roosevelt's New Deal had an inextricable impact too in enhancing the security of the banking system.
Western Civilization Following the Second World War, Europe was basically destructed both structurally and economically. The Eastern part of the continent was under the grip of different governments. This went on to show that the countries were having a hard time dealing with their present, thus the future itself looked very dull and unpromising. Europe basically appeared like the shattered continent that was never going to emerge out of the darkness.
European Federalism: Historical Analysis Fascism is considered to be a political belief and concept, which is based on the principle that social, economic and cultural and traditional beliefs of a country must be used in order to increase nationalism. In Europe, fascist movements had emerged in twentieth century. The goal of these fascist movements was to promote fundamentalist and fanatic beliefs in order to deal with the social and political turmoil
World War Turning Point Europe, Significant Change Occurred Emergence Legitimate Revolutionary Regimes Self-Determination in Cuba There are few who would dispute the fact that following the conclusion of World War II and prior to its revolution (which began in 1953 and concluded on January 1 of 1959) Cuba was a prosperous region of the world that was certainly worth fighting for. The country's leader prior to the ascendancy of Fidel Castro, Fulgencio
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now