Civilian Bombing and Civil Defence in the Spanish Civil War Bombs Along the Mediterranean by David A. Messenger

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Messenger, David A., Author.

Contributor:

SpringerLink (Online service)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military history.

Politics and war.

Europe--History--1492-.

Europe.

History, Modern.

Europe--History.

Cities and towns--History.

Cities and towns.

Military History.

Military and Defence Studies.

History of Modern Europe.

Modern History.

European History.

Urban History.

Local Subjects:

Military History.

Military and Defence Studies.

History of Modern Europe.

Modern History.

European History.

Urban History.

Physical Description:

XII, 133 pages 1 illustrations online resource

Edition:

1st edition 2025

Contained In:

Springer Nature eBook

Place of Publication:

Cham Springer Nature Switzerland Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan 2025

Summary:

This book explores the impact of the bombing of civilians during the Spanish Civil War. The Civil War has long been recognized as bringing together the political, social and other elements key to understanding the 1930s in Europe and later, the Second World War. It was a conflict involving fascism, communism, anarchism and other movements of the day, and led to a dictatorship that kept Spain separate from the rest of Europe until the late 1970s. Recent scholarship on the Civil War has focused on the deaths of 200,000 civilians in the conflict, largely as a result of executions, a number that equals and perhaps surpasses the number of those killed in battle. This effectively recasts the conflict as one that is better thought of as a systematic attack against civilians, rather than as a traditional military conflict. What is missing from this new understanding of the Civil War is an analysis of the impact of bombing. The infamous bombing of civilians in the Basque town of Guernica is widely known but, in reality, the bombardment of civilians was a regular feature of the conflict, including in both Madrid and Barcelona. This book therefore provides a study of the war against civilians from the air, civilian responses to these attacks, and the contemporary memory of this part of the Civil War. David A. Messenger is Professor of History at the University of South Alabama, USA

Contents:

1. The Air War in Spain, 1936-1939

2. Aerial Bombardment and Civil Defense in Madrid and Madrid Province, 1936-1939

3. Bombing and Civil Defense in Alicante, Cartagena and Villena

4. Local Government, Passive Defense and Aerial Bombardment in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

5. Civilian Violence and the Memory of Bombing

Other Format:

Printed edition:

ISBN:

9783032106100

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license