The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism

May 15, 2004
Often considered the opening round of World War II, the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 has long been treated as just that and not much more. Payne (A History of Fascism, 1914-1945) argues that the Soviets had a major stake in the conflict; they used it as a training period for both their troops and their ideology. Using previously unavailable primary sources, Payne documents Soviet strategies and activities, as well as communism in Spain from 1917 to 1939. He challenges the accepted view of the revolution in Spain as a struggle of democracy against fascism. Instead, he believes that the civil war could not have been fought had democracy still been alive in Spain in 1936 and that the basic cause of the war was the revolutionary process-a thesis well supported by his primary sources. Likely to become the definitive work on the Soviet Union's active participation and military intervention in the Spanish Civil War, this is recommended for collections with an interest in this era.-David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L.

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