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5-109 The Fall of Barcelona II
Vol. 5 No. 109
2004
Lead: The fall of Barcelona in early 1939 meant the fall of the republic. Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Catalonia is a vast and rich region in the northeastern quadrant of Spain. For centuries its people have retained their own language, Catalan, and a strong sense of regional identity. Its chief city is the ancient and beautiful Barcelona. Under attack from nationalist rebels serving General Francisco Franco, whose attempted coup d'etat in July, 1936, precipitated the Spanish Civil War, the legitimate and elected republican government of Spain retreated northwest from besieged Madrid, eventually landing in Barcelona where it established its temporary capital. Despite occasional and spectacular victories and heroic sacrifices by republican supporters, by the end of 1938 nationalist armies were triumphant nearly everywhere. Bitter internal divisions between communists and moderate socialists plagued the loyalist republicans. Grudging military and financial support for the republic by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin came, but it was too little too late. It could not compare to the massive aid given Franco by Hitler and Mussolini. On December 23, 1938, Franco began his final assault and the shattered republicans could offer only token resistance. Naval and air bombardment gradually reduced airports, railways, power stations and factories all over Catalonia. Republican President Azana and Prime Minister Negrin (nay `green) fled north on January 25th, followed by a half million refugees. The rebels entered the starving Catalan capital. The streets were silent and deserted, filled with the stench of years of neglect. The fall of Barcelona was a psychological as well as military victory for the nationalists. The war sputtered on for several months, but the republic was dead. Franco had won. Then the tide of revenge and blood really began to flow. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Ellwod, Sheelagh M. The Spanish Civil War. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Company, 1991. Jackson Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War: 1931-1939. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965. Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: 1936-1939. Chicago: The Dorsey Press, 1986. Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. New York: Harper and Brothers, Publisher, 1961. Copyright 2000 by Educational Broadcast, Inc.
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