The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939): Crossroads of Global Fascism

This article provides an analysis of Francisco Franco's personal secretary's collection held by the Archivo General de Palacio (AGP) in Madrid. It contains a series of documents mainly written during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) in which many individuals from diverse areas around the world showed their support for Franco and/or requested a variety of things. The analysis of these and other sources allows us to reposition the figure of Franco as one of the most important reference points in the counterrevolutionary sphere of the time on both sides of the Atlantic. Furthermore, this work highlights the global scope of the Spanish Civil War in its capacity to condition the agendas, emotions, attitudes, and political horizons of people from the most diverse backgrounds. Finally, the article explores how the conflict acted as a distorting mirror of political life in European and Latin American countries. This contributed to the radicalization of broad social and political sectors who, motivated by the fear of an imminent revolutionary outbreak, moved closer to fascism.