The Spanish Civil War - When Fascism Won

[@AngelusAnsell]

That sentence explaining the LotR quote was done purely for Simon's benefit, by the writer. You can't convince me otherwise.

[@SRW_]

I loved that….

[@tanglewife]

Maybe, but don't tell me you weren't thinking it too!

[@stevejester5658]

...alledgedly

[@SeraphRyan]

You could literally see the light in his eyes go out when he started talking about lord of the rings. lol

[@01oo011]

Nah, as we all know Simon passionately LOVES LoTR and especially Star Wars and should probably do an hour long video about both.

[@zachk.530]

Your options for learning about the Spanish Civil War: 1.) Be satisfied with "Well it's complicated but here are some dates when some massscres happened" 2.) Watch that BBC documentary that's literally six hours long 3.) Be an old Spaniard

[@MrVoss715]

Cheers sir, need a time sink after the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich audiobook 😅

[@shawnnewell4541]

You're forgetting the Greek military overthrow of King Constantine of Greece and Denmark in 1967. I went on a trip to Europe with my classmates in 1973. Spain and Greece were on the agenda. In both countries, we were told not to criticize the government because we could disappear. During one of our outdoor classes in Greece, the teacher went off topic. Then, he informed us we were being watched and stopped talking. Chilling.

[@UnknownSoulGuy]

I am Greek and I can confirm this. My grandpa was almost killed by the junta.

[@rationallyruby]

Dude that’s nuts! I’m surprised they even let you go to the country!

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@rationallyruby as strange as might sounds the Greek junta actually wanted foreign people to visit the country, sweat sweet tourist money you see 😏

[@dadagan8815]

@@Pavlos_Charalambous Yeah, the communist government in Vietnam did the same, it needed and wanted its slice of that juicy tourist cash pie. without it, I'm sure Vietnam's economy would have completely collapsed

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@dadagan8815 i heard they even organise tours on ho chi Minh trail and their tunnel network 😁 As for the Greek junta in the 70s well tourism back in the day was the definition of " easy money" it needed minimum investment and was paying back in US dollars , people how had the money for the original investment or the right connections became rich overnight 😏

[@50megatondiplomat28]

Having Communist factions do things like burn groups of nuns alive probably didn't do much to keep the largely religious population on-side either. I've read some pretty bad descriptions of things that went on in that war; horrific, and almost prescient as a sampling of things that were to happen in the global war to come.

[@supenjin1]

You should be aware too about the amount of disgraceful things the nuns and priests did during the war and after. Nuns stole newborn babies to give them to wealthy couples and then told their biological mothers that the baby was born dead. Lots of priests killed civilians with their own hands. If you are going to give some data, try not to be biased

[@50megatondiplomat28]

@@supenjin1 I'm aware of the many atrocities that were committed on both sides, but I wasn't particularly interested in providing an overview of the conflict and trying to give both sides fair representation. I really just wanted to give one example at random of something that was egregious and shocking to the cultural norms of the average citizen, showing that this war was abnormal in it's violation of traditional standards, and would have shocked and angered not only the enemy, but also, the citizenry, and this anger burned to make the civil war even more intense and vicious. I probably also could have, at this point, mentioned an atrocity from the socialist perspective, but representation wasn't the point; and I only needed one example of shock, as I offer no judgments of either side, nor do I try to determine whose cause is more just. Brevity was my greater goal. Then, to wrap up my thought, I wanted to point out that this war was the point at which cultural lines and a base level of shared European values and respect were completely departed from and that World War Two's savagery and viciousness were actually being previewed in this conflict. But obviously, I really shortened up all those thoughts and compressed them so people might actually read it, lol.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

The communists were simply awful. Anyone with shred of human decency sided against them.

[@H3LLGHA5T]

The communists in Spain were so ruthless, raped and killed nuns, priests and monks in the most gruesome way imaginable, they killed around 20 % of Spain's clerical population and destroyed anyone affiliated with the church. They made all the right wing factions band together in order to not be the next victims of the ruthless communist revolution. The commies in Spain deserved what happened to them in the aftermath, Spin would have been way worse off under communism.

[@bruhbruh7660]

shocking he didnt like this comment

[@schoolsout8214]

Orwell volunteered for the POUM and escaped Spain during the communist purge. The International Brigades were a communist faction in Spain. His hatred of Stalin and communism that influenced his later writings was due to his experience fighting for the POUM.

[@laveritesurlestemoinsdejeh8522]

I moved to Spain back in july 1978 as a 12 year old boy. Of course, I wasn't really looking, seeing as I was just 12, but in the 5 years I lived there, I could never have guessed that just three years before, this had been a fascist dictatorship. The Pact of Forgetting was truly in force. Not one of my schoolmates (who were all old enough to have lived in franco's Spain) ever even mentioned him, and now, 43 years later, the one subject I avoid when talking to my Spanish friends is the Civil War. Some of these people are lifelong friends, I know them inside and out, but I have no idea of their opinion on the matter. Nor will I ever ask. It's just still too sensitive. (I'm Canadian, by the way...)

[@nombre3053]

You should, may be a really interesting question, maybe just individually, but you should

[@mike04574]

At least censorship wasn’t as bad

[@Angel_Gomez]

Yeah cause the Civil War happened almost 100 years ago and is used nowadays as a political weapon to polarize voters

[@dankspain]

That time was a time of a lot of unrest caused by a few minorities, as it had happened during the second republic (something not mentioned in the video btw). For once the was a silent pact among the majority not to fuel these groups and to not escalate the situation.

[@GlassEyedDetectives]

While Picasso was in his studio, a fascist officer entered and noticed a freshly painted "Guernica'. Impressed by the art, the officer asked Picasso if he had done it?......'No' said Picasso, 'You did!'

[@itsblitz4437]

Cryptic throwback.

[@pyromania1018]

Since he didn't die, I'm guessing the officer shrugged it off.

[@edwardrichardson8254]

How many died at Gernica? 300? Reds murdered thousands of priests and nuns. Yes, Picasso, the "card-carrying' communist w/ what, three or four manors? Another political idiot.

[@trishapellis]

@@pyromania1018 Actually, Picasso was in Paris at the time...

[@bruhbruh7660]

thats a lie picasso's art is ugly as shit

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:55 - Chapter 1 - Spain in the early 20th century 5:05 - Chapter 2 - The plan 6:50 - Chapter 3 - The coup begins 9:05 - Chapter 4 - Factions 10:30 - Chapter 5 - The international brigade 12:05 - Chapter 6 - War 16:15 - Chapter 7 - Total collapse 17:15 - Chapter 8 - The fascist regime

[@alexander-mauricemillamlae4567]

13:33 - Intermediate - Simon loses 9% of his sanity talking about LotR

[@austinstevenson7304]

You forgot to mention the reason that Lord of the rings is somewhat similar to the first world war is because J.R.R. tolkin served in that war and took inspiration from what he experienced.

[@z31drifterlf]

Would love to see a more in depth look at the anarchist, syndicalist, and Catalonian factions.

[@michealdopemeal9445]

They were pretty brutally authoritarian. The 'Anarchists' killed priests, business owners, raped their family members, and stole all of their property that they had worked hard to build. Not to mention of course the 34,000 people they have records of executing. Most people who were killed by the Leftist faction are unknown because they were too disorganized to keep records.

[@maynardwayward12]

@@michealdopemeal9445 well, the church was integrated with the fascist party. and you could say the same thing about the union vs confederates. the union committed horrible atrocities. but ah, you might be leaving something out by leaving it at that

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

@@maynardwayward12 The Church was integrated with the side that wasn't killing them. The Republicans killed first. The Church generally prefers to be on its own side otherwise.

[@maynardwayward12]

@@nonnayerbusiness7704 that's just a lie. the priests were not only collaborators but members and fighters on the nationalist side. "the republicans killed first." false. they were elected and there was a violent coup against them. watch the video again.

[@benallen7704]

@@maynardwayward12 he doesn't want to watch it again. He's a fascist apologist who just wants to spread disingenuous nonsense.

[@afroduck6991]

Disliked for repeating the very much contested claim that franco was fascist as if it was fact over and over.

[@amandajones661]

The number of humans who have died at the hands of or due to the demands of rulers is sometimes overwhelming to comprehend.

[@John-ru4gz]

Fascism is a response to anarchism

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Big government murders more than anyone.

[@anonymoususer3012]

Kinda makes you wonder if the anarchists were on to something.

[@anonymoususer3012]

@@Hwje1111 Where did you get that information from? Your ass? I'd like to see a single source that connects anarchism with pedicide and grave-robbing

[@StefanTravis]

I was reading Orwell on this last night. He says the Russian army and equipment was a widely reported fantasy among the fascists. Among the republicans, Russia's lack of involvement was a great puzzle, some speculating Stalin wanted to avoid revolution, others that he just didn't understand the situation. Germany and Italy openly supported and supplied Franco, but Britain seemed caught up in confusion over who and how to support.

[@StefanTravis]

@Ron P This is a channel for smart people. There's nothing for you here.

[@StefanTravis]

@Ron P Ah, "They". Oy vey, I wonder who that might be. Schmuk.

[@StefanTravis]

@Ron P Go on then, try. Present one of these "facts".

[@StefanTravis]

@Ron P _"Hungary [...] was controlled from Moscow"_ Name one historian who has ever denied this. _"you're naive enough to believe Britain was 'confused' about who to support"_ All the british propaganda was anti-soviet. Though in this case they didn't even need to lie. What point did you imagine you were making?

[@deskywallington2844]

​@@StefanTravis >Read a comment >Completely dismissed with no refutation >Call people stupid for their opinions Is these the signs of intelligence? if it is then I guess I am Albert Einstein.

[@End-Result]

The siege of Malaga and the ensuing Málaga-Almería road massacre which occured in February 1937 arguably constituted the first aerial attack on civilians in which between 3000-5000 people were murdered - mostly refugees - yet no one seems to talk about this in the discourse.

[@asturiasceltic3183]

Who committed the attack????? The Nationalists did...

[@paulgordon6949]

Has the song "Spanish bombs" by the clash got anything to do with that? Or was that something else?

[@Leonard-td5rn]

The Paracuelos massacres outside of Madrid proves that both sides had blood on their hands. Murder of Calvo Sotelo was the last straw for the nationalist's. Francos army had a million Spaniards. There were not a million millionaires in Spain

[@xaviercrean6543]

Absolutely love your shows.. thanks again

[@GerSanRiv]

SImon's disgust at the unexpected Lord of the RIngs tangent in a a Spanish Civil War video was palpable in his face.

[@hanglee5586]

If I cam not mistaken the Spanish Civil War is the first, modern, proxy war.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

It wasn't really a proxy war, it was a legitimate bad blood created by communists. Something like it is very possible for America. Nationalists vs communists. Again, instigated by communists.

[@theboyoofoly]

"A little know band from Ireland..." Translation: mostly IRA veterans who fought in the Irish civil war

[@scytheblob67]

I legit thought to myself last night that you should cover this topic on Into the Shadows, and lo and behold, the beard provides.

[@Lafiel17]

People who watch Simon's other channels know how much he absolutely loves having to talk about anything Lord of the Rings 🤣

[@IntotheShadows]

;D

[@ryanm9566]

I like to think his writers slip a reference into the script anytime they can just to make him read it. xD

[@itsblitz4437]

He is a huge Tolkien fanboi.

[@NG-fk6wc]

For Whom The Bell Tolls is a exemplary book about the Spanish civil war by Ernist Hemingway. It does a fantastic job reveling the animosity between the socialists and fascists .

[@stevem.o.1185]

Homage to Catalonia as well

[@michealdopemeal9445]

Only the Falangists were fascist on the Nationalist side. Most of the Right were not Socialists.

[@m-linko]

Not really. I generally like Hemingway but the writing in For Whom the Bell Tolls came across as particularly mannered. Not his best

[@konradcurze939]

Not a bad son either

[@davidhutchinson5233]

@@michealdopemeal9445 Socialists are NEVER on the right. NEVER.

[@daveanderson3805]

A very good video Anthony Beevor wrote two excellent books on the subject the Spanish civil war and the fight for Spain They are both a must read for anyone interested in the subject

[@fuller4740]

I love that Simon makes the Lord of the Rings reference here with a straight face and no additional comment. That’s not how it goes down on Brain Blaze.

[@brunolima7402]

When communism lost.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Happened again in the late 80's and early 90's. Pity it didn't happen universally.

[@fernandoperez8587]

Yup!

[@HansMcc1984]

Franco was not a Fascist.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

Bullshit. Over 100,000 people died under his authoritarian rule. Spare me the apologist nonsense.

[@jackyoung3878]

This channel is great, it is probably my favorite channel of yours!

[@Hammerhead547]

You should take a look at the Ustase /ante Pevalic and the forgotten holocaust that took place in croatia during world war 2. At one point things got so bad there that their own allies turned on them with the italians opening up their encampments to local serbian populations to protect them from the out of control killing of civilians, they also fought several battles against the croatian army and usatse regiments. When himmler received a report form an SS general who had spent time in croatia and visited jarnoservic he at first refused to believe what he was reading was true even going as far as accusing the man in question of being crazy, it was only after other officers in the army and ss sent their own reports back to headquarters (including one from a panzer division commander who literally begged high command to allow them to open their camps as safe haven for civilains) that he realized it was in fact true, hitler had to threaten a full scale invasion of croatia to get pevalic to put a stop to it.

[@jamesdreads7828]

this would be a great vid

[@daveanderson3805]

Imagine being so far of the reservation that a creature like Himmler is disturbed by your actions Anyhow, I agree it would make a great subject for this channel

[@fenrirr22]

@@daveanderson3805 Same things happened in China. The Nazi ambassador was horrified by the Japanese military's actions, and tried to put an end to the Nanking massacre (he has a memorial in China today). The truth is, that we just try to paint the actors of the greatest horrors in history as inhumane demons. In reality all of them were incredibly tunnel-minded, brainwashed by their ideology people who rationalized their own (well understood for them) inhumane actions but were shaken seeing other parties committing the same atrocities (not justified in their own ideology) on their own.

[@Petem7668]

@@fenrirr22 greatly put. I think They just wanted to be the superior race with no undesirables holding them back, in a very very generalized view. I feel like other nations did not hold the same sentiment. I could be wrong but Hitler actually believed the British to be great people but felt he had no choice since they wouldn’t side with them.I could be wrong with bad vocabulary,over generalizing, etc but it’s so fascinating to think about how all of it really happened. Where it brought us to today

[@Hammerhead547]

@@daveanderson3805 The death camp at jarnoservic wasn't like the ones in germany or poland where there was a well oiled machine of death that essentially ran on a time clock, theirs was a maelstrom of uncontrolled savagery where the guards were mostly criminals and were allowed to freely engage in all sorts of vile criminal acts outside of the genocide itself. The croatians also didn't use gas or bullets to kill the victims at their death camp, their preferred weapon was a repurposed framing implement which was designed to make harvesting wheat easier, it was a leather glove with a knife blade built into it which they nicknamed "the serb cutter". They would slit peoples throats. cut their hearts out, load them into wagons and push them off cliffs, load them into boxcars which would then be blown up, bludgeon people with clubs or drown them in a nearby river. Since they didn't keep any records there's no way to know for sure how many people died at jarnoservic but the most conservative estimates put the number somewhere between 750.000 and 1.250.000 serbs, ethnic albanians and gypsies were slaughtered.

[@charleslarrivee2908]

This is a common misconception I see all the time. Franco was an authoritarian, a militarist, and a traditionalist Catholic, but he was no Fascist. The Falange was just one of many factions who rallied to the army's banner, and Franco used them to further his own ends without ever actually becoming a fascist himself.

[@stevewindsor3858]

I mean Falangism is basically Fascism-Lite. The main difference being the focus on Catholicism.

[@kfeltenberger]

IIRC, Franco also saw the role that the monarchy could play in Spain's future and ensured King Juan Carlos had the best education and opportunity to stand on his own.

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

Fascist is a very poorly defined term. People see it as just meaning right wing, but there’s clearly more to it than that. Communists are authoritarian and militarist too, so what is unique about fascism?

[@stevewindsor3858]

@@doctorlolchicken7478 Well Fascism in it self opposes Democracy/Communism/Anarchy. So to relate fascism to any of those would be outright false. Also I will be the Last person you hear argue In Favor of Communism. That shit will and can never work. It’s a wonderful pipe dream, nothing more. My main point was just that the two ideals of Falangism and Fascism is like a kettle calling a pot black. As far as “Unique” for Fascism. Nothing really. It just flies a different flag. Communism and Fascism have the same end goals. Communism just lies and says it’s “For the people” Fascism is at least upfront about it only having a select few in power, not misleading to say otherwise.

[@StoneInMySandal]

People get confused about fascism because a lot of work has gone into deliberately confusing the situation. There are two distinct types of fascism. Capital F Fascism is a codified political philosophy, little f fascism is politically agnostic. A person could be a Fascist but not a fascist. Just like someone can be a Democrat but not a democrat. Little f fascists have spent the last two decades preaching that they are not Fascists. Which is absolutely correct. But historically the fascists have been far worse for civilization than a short lived Italian political party. For the most part, if you know the name of a dictator they were fascists, but only one dictator was a Fascist.

[@stevejester5658]

Simon speaking about Tolkien is hilarious

[@jorgelotr3752]

Yeah, do not call Carlist and Alfonsists the same, or else... The main difference is that the former did not accept the revoking of the Habsburg Salic Law through the Pragmática Sanción (Pragmatic Sanction) by Ferdinand VII that rolled back the throne succession rights to those of the old Castille, giving daughters of the late king the right to rule instead of being skipped in favour of the late king's brother, so they were supporting different king candidates (also the reason of the three civil wars of the late 19th century). Since the king has changed, Alfonsists have become just "monarchists" (should be "Felipists" right now), while Carlists have been further divided since a part of them have come to terms with the idea of succession through females (albeit by skipping them); there are still at least two guys who claim to be the righteous heir to the Spanish throne. PS: You've missed the Fascists among the Nationalists; the Fascist party, the Falange Española (Spanish Phalanx) was a completely separate group from the Army (although the higher-ups basically catered to them and they kept a lot of power and influence throughout the entire dictadure, so it makes no difference).

[@DerekFolan]

Who can forget the Irish 5th brigade that got involved. "viva la quinta brigada". And that song by Christie Moore.

[@operator.k]

You can see the moment Simon's eyes glaze over reading the Lord of the rings reference

[@maynardwayward12]

This was when little was known about Stalinism and the purges. Soviet propaganda was pretty effective; not a lot of other information left Russia. And those who knew better, were not popular for their views. Socialists tended to view Stalin as the leader of the left, until what came out about the USSR was undeniable. And that government was reactionary af anyways., not much different than the fascists.

[@endlesssolitaire731]

Why it was reactionary? Many revolutions are followed by establishment of brutal dictatorships, yet these dictatorships do not restore a pre-revolutionary system (which would make them reactionaries). Neither Robespierre, nor Mao or Stalin were reactionary.

[@maynardwayward12]

@@endlesssolitaire731 strong disagree there. are you kidding me. what, they can't be reactionary because they led to the industrialization of their countries? well, mao and stalin anyway. stalin didn't come up with the idea of gulags or forced labor to accomplish his goals, that goes back to tsarist Russia.stalin also discriminated against minority groups. a despot that isn't a reactionary? that's an oxymoron

[@endlesssolitaire731]

@@maynardwayward12 Industrialization has nothing to do with my point (and by the way reactionary regimes like Franco's dictatorship conducted it too). Forced labor was not very popular punishment in Tzarist Russia and in general prison population was about 10 times lower than in Stalin's USSR and 5 times lower than in modern Russia. And discrimination against minority groups is not enough to be a reactionary. Revolutionary French republic also did it yet it was anything but not reactionary. Stalin was not a reactionary because he focused a lot of efforts on creation of fictional communist society instead of restoring monarchy (which any reactionary would do).

[@maynardwayward12]

@@endlesssolitaire731 i want to look into this more. but good points.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Much worse than fascists!!

[@krystjanchanerley9288]

When the good guys won

[@KlaximumSkroeft]

It is crazy how little I knew about this. I grew up in Belgium and I studied Spanish in San Sebastian and I gotta learn about this through the Whistlerverse. Madness...

[@joshuagreene6344]

I think the trail of tears would be a good video for this channel

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

No propaganda, thanks. Simon's channels already have too much of that.

[@seanbrazell6147]

How about an episode on the destruction of the one ring? ☝🤨

[@rc59191]

It's a lose lose situation but fascism is the lesser of two evils when deciding between that and communism.

[@professorkatze1123]

the result turned out pretty well for spain. no big involvement in ww2 and peace until this day. imagine spain fell to the commies and would have been really dragged into ww2 D:

[@Kriss_L]

And which "commies" would they have supported? The Nationalist Socialist Worker's Party or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?

[@football42241]

@@Kriss_L Historically, they would have supported the USSR, as the USSR supported their side in the Spanish War. But in actuality, the country was in shambles , so they wouldn't have amounted to anything more than cheerleaders

[@andishawjfac]

Spain supported the Axis, then tailed off support as Hitler started to fail. If the Communists won they probably would have followed the USSR, who supported the Axis, then tailed off and ended up opposing them. In both situations Spain would have supported the Axis, then gradually moved the other way.

[@Angel_Gomez]

Negrín wanted the Civil War to last longer, so it would have catched with WW2 and the republic could have enrolled itself in the allies

[@pinotpinotpinot]

@@andishawjfac The USSR didn't "support the axis". The axis was literally an anticommunist alliance - ever heard of the anti-commintern pact dude? Everybody at the time knew that the pact between italy, germany and japan was specifically against the USSR. Gosh, people really should learn some history. If you mean the ussr trading with germany between the invasion of poland and operation barbarossa would you then also say that the us supported the axis when they were still selling the japanese oil while they were already slaughtering their way trough china and preparing to strike the allies?

[@nombre3053]

8:11 as a spaniard it hurts my eyes to see the ones who were called “los rojos” painted in BLUE

[@Maatkara1000]

Same, brother

[@multiyapples]

Rest in peace to those that passed away. I wish this war never happened.

[@jonpradini6555]

It's often forgotten, when talking about the current political landscape in Spain, that Franco died on his bed, of old age, 46 years ago. That in the ranks of the first partys of Spains democracy, ministers from the regim could be counted. There was no distancing of what had come before. There where no trials. And police brutality and represion was not fading. Maybe that "pact to forget" has been one of the most hurtfull parts of the regime, as it prevented everyone from healing.

[@Sedgewise47]

Did it? How is the Left’s tendency to *never* forgive nor forget any more “healthy”?…

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@Sedgewise47 yes but after you get some closure first... Basically it's the same thing with Greece people wasn't given time to heal ... Even today politicians still calling eachother communist bandits and German collaborators

[@Sedgewise47]

@@Pavlos_Charalambous Don’t Leftists’ “definitions” of “closure” and “healing” (among other words) amount to to something that *might* be very _unhealthy_ to those on the receiving end of such “closure” or “healing”?

[@Sedgewise47]

@Jose Martinez DeJesus 🤨No. No they don’t, do they?

[@IvanVT27]

Franco has been dead for 46 years, yet he is still living rent free in your minds, convicted murderers and terrorists in the Basque government and our congress dont seem to faze you however. Funny how the hipocresy of it all works, one group of killers is ok and their much more recent deeds must be forgotten and forgiven whilst the other must be remembered forerver...

[@Capitanvertebrillas]

As a spaniard, I have to say, well done . But I think the spanish Civil War is even more complicated

[@Caligula138]

"While the rest of europe surged forward with liberal ideals" famous last words

[@_4l3x_84]

Thank you, for doing something about my country.

[@dclnoob1714]

QUE PASA BRO. OTRO ESPAÑOL POR AQUÍ ASÍ ME GUSTA 😂😂😂😂

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@danielknapp5189]

After the Spanish civil war 30 000 spanish Republican refugees would end up in consentration camps first in German controlled France, then when Germany lost France the prisoners were deported to Germany were 15 000 of the prisoners ended up in cosentration camps and more than half of them would die, and another 7000 ended up as prisoners in the Mauthausen.

[@SpanishCebolleta]

My grandfather was one of them.

[@Ceabrus74]

Every election, people talk about choosing the lesser of two evils. Seems like a petty discussion when the spaniards had to choose between a faction backed by Stalin, or one by Hitler.

[@jackkelley5681]

I love the Nationalists

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

It’s interesting to contemplate how 1939-45 would have played out had the Republicans won in Spain. At a minimum it would have influenced Germany’s troop deployment.

[@cabal_2]

You likely would have seen the same repression and violence as the Stalinists assumed control and enforced their will, the power struggle in the Republican camp was instigated by the Stalinists and ultimately fractured Republic forces to the point the Nationalists forces could just roll over them.

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Can you do the history of The Thunderbirds? It's a tragic and cool story. Please and thank you from the YF-23 guy.

[@paulgordon6949]

Miss penelope was pretty hot. While thunderbird 5 just hung around in space. Brains doesn't get the credit he deserves. Would like to see a serious discourse on this enigmatic bunch.

[@josephrobinson6171]

Well it was fascists win, or communists. Not great range of choices there.

[@zavi13]

Not really, the Republican side had a wide range of forces on its side from conservative Basque nationalists to liberals, democratic socialists, anarchists and yes communists who were the weakest party on the Republican side in 1936. The communists became dominant on the Republican side because the democracies failed to support the Republic while Stalin did send military aid (at a very high price of course). Had Britain, France and the US given their support to the Republican side the communists would've remained a minor force in the Republican coalition.

[@Angel_Gomez]

@@zavi13 Well the Republic was completely messed up and torn between the moderates, communists, separatists and anarchists. You just have to think about what happened in Casas Viejas or the Asturias issues in 1934. The communists were finally the best organized of the factions, so they took the power. So yeah, not a great choice either.

[@agr2190]

​@@zavi13republicans are comunists, always trust me

[@nicholasbucicchia9599]

Love how Simon read that bit about Lord of the Rings with a straight face, like he had any idea what he was talking about.

[@katie1629]

Yay! been hoping you would cover this at some point

[@Mario-x2x]

Franco did Nothing wrong.

[@angryatheist]

I’d say fascism is still alive today

[@angryatheist]

Yeah I’m no communist but democracy is accepting you lose too

[@angryatheist]

@Humanity Galatica I wouldn’t disagree

[@curiousworld7912]

I was in Spain when Franco was in rapidly declining health, and the police were everywhere. There were bomb threats, and the feeling was very 'fraught', to say the least. When he died, I sensed an almost audible collective sigh from the people.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

It would have been even worse with communists in charge, they should be grateful.

[@IDAR-arth]

it was not the police but the FAI/CNT union who took the telephone center, witch is anarchist and was big during the war ( 100,000 men joined at the start ) and saw trought the manipulation of Stalin

[@ianclayton4483]

Can you do one on Bosnia/Kosovo?

[@UserName0043]

I’d totally be on the side of the nationalists!

[@goncaloroncha3694]

Simon, one more excellent video. Congrats. You could do one about the portuguese catholic conservative dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar.

[@colemanstein9554]

I didn’t know that I wanted to know about this.

[@ernestbywater411]

One aspect about the Spanish Civil War, and politics in general, that a lot of people either ignore or gloss over is the Spanish Civil War was a conflict of Left Wing Politics against Right Wing Politics WITHIN the Hall of Socialist Politics. The political agendas of both the Communist and the Fascist were much the same, with the only major differences being (a) National Government Sovereignty of the Fascists as against a Single Worldwide Socialist Government of the Communists, and (b) the Fascists allowed for some small local privately owned businesses while the communists believed in the total government ownership of all things. Both sides believed in the government owning all major business and work activities and the government having the total control of the economy at all levels as well as a total control of the population. Neither the Communists or Fascists believed in democracy by the people. edit to add: Yet, today, most people see Fascism as being a non-socialist political position, when it never was.

[@billlansdell7225]

The greatest lie ever told is that fascism is right-wing. But then, lies are the only thing the left have every had any success with.

[@ernestbywater411]

@@billlansdell7225 Actual Fascism IS the right wing of the Socialist political hall with Communism being the left wing of that hall, but democracy and monarchies are on a totally different line of politics. The full spectrum of politics is best describes as like a cross between a 'H' on it's side and 'Z' with one of the long lines being socialism, the other being democracies, and the line joining them being monarchies.

[@dsnodgrass4843]

Any strain of putative "socialism" that fascism affected was effectively wiped out in the "Night of Long Knives" in Germany in June-July 1934. Nationalism itself is incompatible with socialism, as it attempts to supplant class identity with allegiance to a pastiche of whatever symbols the nationalists wish to use, monarchy and religion being but two. Fascism, with its rigid fixation upon hierarchy strained through those chosen symbols, backed by a fundamental bias towards wealth and armed power, bears no resemblance to socialism. The organizing principles are way too different; and it's dishonest to pretend otherwise.

[@ernestbywater411]

@@dsnodgrass4843 Please, how is the Night of the Long Knives any different to the cleansing done by Lenin and Stalin? In all three they did the standard 'socialist ruling dictator' move of eliminating all of their operation. Every socialist leader in the last 120 years has done the exact same thing. The main doctrine of the Fascists, Nazis, Communist, and all Socialist movements are the same with the total ownership and control of everything by the government. The only differences of any note are the two I mentioned in my original post. As to the rigid hierarchy you don't like in the Nazis, the same is true of the socialist governments that have gotten into power around the world, especially those of the Communist variant of socialism. Go look at the doctrine of them all and then study how the operate, and you'll find all of them operate in the same way. However, I suspect that you, like most who want the free handouts given by socialism, will continue to close your eyes and mind to the facts that you don't like.

[@dsnodgrass4843]

@@ernestbywater411The fact that you have to do a "War and Peace"- level sales pitch clearly shows that you already know how fascism and communism are deeply, definitively different; and your cultivated identity depends upon pretending you do not. Such logorrheic obtuseness fails to sell your hypothesis. The Night of Long Knives was clearly the end of any association between fascism and all working class movements; replaced by some variant of atavistic garbage that fascists, and their nephews in right-wing capitalism (individualists and egotists to their core) subscribe to still today. You may be fooled (or pretend to be); but you can't fool as many people as you'd hope.

[@lilykep]

I can physically *feel* Simon's hatred of the Lord of the Rings reference.

[@corey2823]

He wasn't fascist

[@mikehanson9497]

Franco was a monarchist and nationalist, not a fascist.

[@blahasdirtysock3657]

To paraphrase Basil Fawlty, ‘don’t they have rats in Spain, or did Franco have them all shot?’

[@jfruser]

Given that the Republicans had fortified and were using Guernica as a military asset, bombing it was legal under the laws of war going back centuries. Had Guernica stayed neutral and not become a bastion of either side, bombing it or laying it siege would have been in violation of the laws of war.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Now that you unlocked the civil wars level you should definitely cover the Greek one 😉

[@clabood]

Lord of the rings line 🤣 Well done to the writer of this episode. As we Blazer's know how much Simon despises LotR.

[@antonistsiki8464]

When Humanity won.España una !!España grande!!!España Libre!!!

[@antonvernooy6186]

This is his best channel by far

[@luanderson.ferreira]

The good guys won then

[@davidhutchinson5233]

Fascists are the good guys? Jesus. Over 100,000 people died under Franco. SMH....you'd fit right in with the nazis.

[@rationalconservative386]

Francoist Spain was based

[@richardheggoschan]

What to know where Simon gets the energy to do all these awesome channels.

[@FilmArtBloomingMostRecklessly]

Thank you!

[@rickowsky]

Fun fact: Alfonso XIII, the last king before the Republic, was the first large scale porn movies producer in the world.

[@yaktaxi1234567]

im glad i can see this now . thank you X

[@itsblitz4437]

I hope you cover the Bosnian War.

[@d.c.8828]

Pls do a Biographics on Buenaventura Durruti!

[@d.c.8828]

¡Por favor!

[@davefrancisjarrett3563]

I would love to see what were the effects on the Balearic isles & how are modern 'Ravers' helping or impeding forward improvement in for the indigenous population?

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

*"IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE MILITARY FORCE, THEN YOU OUGHT TO USE OVERWHELMING MILITARY FORCE"* - *GENERAL CURTIS LEMAY, US AIR FORCE*

[@markzuckergecko621]

Communists distorting the truth? Well I never....

[@pancholopez8829]

So, would the Second Sino-Japanese War be considered a good suggestion to this channel? Since that was a very messy war, especially the attrocies that Japan committed, and a forgotten theater in WW2. Even though it's gaining traction in recent years, we still don't have a lot of details on what happened to China during their 9 years at war against Japan. Or 14 if you count the Japanese invasion, then occupation of Manchuria.

[@jwatts6683]

ture that w dont know china and japan kinda dont get alot of revewing

[@darkyuraptor3315]

why is this age-restricted?

[@belhanger8799]

Can you do a video on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution?

[@PeachM0de]

13:38 is when you can physically see Simon cringe having to reference LOTR. 😂

[@the_Brumeister]

Would love a video on the Abe Lincoln Brigade.

[@AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA69]

Glorious and liberal don’t mix

[@RadekSuski]

Greek civil war next please

[@ThugShakers4Christ]

Is Generalissimo Francisco Franco still dead?

[@sandybarnes887]

Allegedly

[@pezboy715]

13:34 We’re gonna roast Fact Boy for saying “Fellowship of the RINGS”, right? Yikes, my guy.

[@crush3095]

I don't get why we didn't get a complete understanding of the communist global history in High School I graduated in 08 in California, our history books had the cold war, but.. honestly there was so little depth to this ONGOING global situation, as if the US didn't play a major role?

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Because public school is only meant to indoctrinate you with propaganda, not to learn the truth.

[@Corsuwey]

OMG! You made a Lord of the Rings allusion with a straight face and not smashing it to pieces!!!

[@Leonard-td5rn]

Guernica was a legitimate military target

[@zachm.6572]

Martyrs of Daimiel, pray for us!

[@Sneedmeister]

There's literally nothing wrong with Fascism when the other option is Communism

[@asturiasceltic3183]

The Second Republic was not even about communism but democracy. I can tell the people who know what they are talking about and the ones who don't who mention communism.

[@Sneedmeister]

@@asturiasceltic3183 ah yes it was "nothing about communism" despite their entire side being full of communists. what a brave and original take.

[@asturiasceltic3183]

@@Sneedmeister There entire side was not full of communism but social democrats. Do you even know what the reforms of the Second Republic were. It had nothing to do with communism or socialism. The communists only joined to help the Republic with arms. It was Franco's fault for Russia even joining in the first place. If Franco had not overthrown a legal democratic election, Spain would have entered democracy and prosperity a lot earlier.

[@asturiasceltic3183]

Does this sound like communism to you?????????? These are the reforms of the Second Republic that Franco denied. The Second Republic of Spain believed in democracy, human rights and freedom and equality for men and women. They believed in the right to vote, the right to elections, equal rights for rich or poor, people being paid for the work they done, the right for a woman to vote, freedom of exchange of ideas, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and media and the right for the poor to own land, education for all children, the right to express one’s customs including listening to celtic music (or any kind of music), the right to speak one's language, the right to a divorce, “workers insurance,” tolerable working conditions, the right to practice their own religion, the right not to go to church every Sunday...Does that sound like communism to you?

[@christopherhook2141]

Maybe if the Spanish Republic actually stopped the violent mobs that were attacking the churches, landowners, and church officials, most of the officers in the Spanish military wouldn't have seen the need to revolt.

[@bullfrommull]

My grandad took a ambulance from Stirling to Spain to help the people .

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Gimme a like if you get that.

[@jimcappa6815]

You must be old like me. I was going to comment the same thing!

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

@@jimcappa6815 👊🏿👴🏿

[@jimcappa6815]

@@JohnDrummondPhoto 👊

[@jfruser]

Franco was the second wisest leader in Europe during WWII. He defeated communism in his country and then stayed out of the pointless blood bath of WWII. (Second only to whomever the Swiss had chosen as their chief executive. If they had one.).

[@developmental_rationalist]

If he doesnt do it he will be lying in Katyn, and spanish people will suffer worse than polish peole. Every "evil" guy they reproach is the one that got them out of the cruel total war burden and death camps. mannerheim probably is as great. Baltic country and eastern europe suffered way more. And franco isnt even fascist, he is incredibly cool to not sacrifice spanish blood for hitler.