As has already been said, most older spanish have absolutely no desire to discuss this subject and are often offended if you bring it up, same goes for Franco.

It appears there's a forum on the Civil War, albeit part of a larger site on Axis History:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewforum.php?f=32

Thanx S T Retire,
So far I have read Laurie Lee's trilogy on Spain – A Rose in Winter; When I walked out one summer's morn; A moment of war (his record of his time in the trenches in the front line)

Also Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (his time in the trenches and after he was wounded and discharged).

I am about to start Anthony Beevor's SCW tome, the most recent version; after I have finished the SCW in the OUP's VSI series by Helen Graham, who is professor of Spanish history at Royal Holloway College. This is a very recent book, pub 2005, and although only a Very Short Introduction it is very good on the broad brush background of the politics. For instance she contradicts Orwell's view of the politics behind the fighting in Barcelona, pointing out that he was not a speaker of either Spanish or Catalan (it would seem she is fluent in both.

Incidentally I was surprised to read that Orwell hated the Sagrada Familia; I love it - especially Josep Subirach's stauary on the Passion Portal

The Paul Preston book is also well reviewed and as he is Professor at the LSE I expect it to be a scholarly book (i.e. not sensationalist)

Thanx also for the addresses of websites, very helpful.

I have only got 'into' Spain since visiting Barca in 2006 and as I am now in my 70s it's a bit late to pick up the language. I did French, German, Latin and a smatter of Greek at school; but no Espanyol.

Muchas gracias mi amigos, muey bien. vaya con dios. (here endeth my Spanish apart fron dos caffe con leche and donde esta los servicios; very important in one's eighth decade!)

Regards to all Superskib

I'm also interesting in trying to learn more about this, I think it struck home how recent it all is when my Spanish teacher told us she has memories of Franco as she is a child of the 70's.

So I appreiciate any recommendations of reading as all I have done so far is read the novel Madrid in Winter!! Which as soontoretire said is a good read and was a good introduction for me!
It made me look at the Spanish older generation with respect at all the hardship they went through and more understanding of how the many recent changes in Spain must be huge for them to adapt to.

I'd love to know more about the civil war as well, especially from the older people themselves. We haven't heard from my relatives in Spain since we emigrated from Spain before the civil war started. It cut us off and I'm afraid I might never find my family of the sites listed which one would you guys say is the most impartial?

Orwell's Homage to Catalunya was a superb book, and very interesting. Reading it made me realise that there was a huge difference between the Catalans who started it and the far left, Russian backed thugs who took it over, butchering those who disagreed with them on their own camp as it were.

They were such a nasty piece of work that it was a damn good job Franco won. Had the Russians taken over it would have been far, far worse.

Interesting book,...but just one man's very limited experience, and possibly biased view, of part of a small area of the battle zone,well away from the more serious areas of conflict.
Having said that,there's more than likely a large element of truth in your second para.

I'm fairly sure the Basques are not as fond of Franco's victory as some on here seem to be.

Yeah I'm not too sure they really liked it either, but looking at it objectively, Franco was the lesser of 2 evils I'm afraid. I mean, look at what Stalin did in the Purge

By the way, love your quote under your name so true!

Oh, hello. That's post number 1 from you. I missed that.

If you're researching for a play, story, or whatever, you really need to get a grip with Spanish and Spain rather tha ask on a web forum.

I met someone in Madrid researching Civil War history for a play. On a 2 week excursion. Not enough time. You have to get into the villages where the TV/Internet and even the papers count for less.

Plenty of stories to be told, but how factual they are is a very different matter.

A good friend of mine is currently painting a series of pictures decpicting rural abandon. It's only us Brits and Northern Europeans who live in villages where there is no work!

He hears many stories. Many, many, many.

He's the sort of guy who gains respect and trust from people. You need to learn how to do that also.

Or, you can just make it up from what you read on the web.

most serious histrorians seem to agree that the Nationalists executed around double the number of civilians and prisoners than the Republicans did during the civil war

Does that really make them so much the worse of the two evils,......and what do you think the score would have been had the Republicans won?

I've met a few who sing the praises of Franco. Still today. Perhaps they're to young to remember?

Of all I have read, and all I have listened to, the biggest question that still remains in my mind is whether Franco and Hitler were really the Two egos too big for each other we are told they were. Spain today survives the bombing that most of Europe endured during WWII. The horrors of the 'practice' bombing or, Operation Rügen, in Guernica hasn't been fully explained to my mind. Franco managed to keep Spain well out of the bigger war!

War is always ugly. History is only written in books by the winners.

who knows? But in what I've read I don't see much to suggest that because Stalin provided the Republicans with some weaponry (much of it pretty old and obsolete) and "military advisors" the Republicans would have turned Spain into another Soviet Union and emulated Stalins massacres. After all, Hitler provided the Nationalists with much more substantial support and on winning the war they didn't start sending jews off to death camps and invading their neighbours.

Leaving aside the issue (which is hotly debated) of whether it was Franco's intention to stay out of the war, Spain suffered tremendously in the post-war years - they were known as the years of hunger in Spain. Whereas other European countries could rely on Marshall aid (or Soviet investment) to help build their countries up again, Spain was isolated and effectively boycotted by most countries.