Chimerical Thoughts? Winston Churchill and Spain

Abstract

Con el estallido de la Guerra Civil en 1939, el Partido Conservador británico hubo de afrontar el debate sobre la postura a adoptar con respecto al conflicto español y -a medida que las armas nacionales anunciaban la victoria franquista- en lo referente al propio régimen político que se fraguaba. Todo ello constituye un interesante microcosmos para poder analizar como se fraguó la evolución ideológica de los componentes del partido, ya en vísperas de la II Guerra Mundial. Por su relevancia en ese momento, el capítulo presta especial atención a la posición de Winston Churchill.

With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the British Conservative Party faced the complex debate of which position to adopt in relation to the conflict. With the looming of the nationalist victory, it was necessary to do so in what refereed to the dubious political regime lead by General Franco. Figures as Randolph Churchill or Julian Amery were correspondents in Spain during the war, playing a role in shaping conservative opinion toward a conflict that was just another piece in the complex chessboard of late thirties European international relations. All that constitutes an interesting melting pot that allow us to go deeper in the analysis on how the war in Spain influenced the political evolution of relevant party members, with WWII already in the horizon. The figure of Winston Churchill is central, due to the relevant part he was to play in shaping British-Spanish relations in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.