Women in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War took place between 1936 and 1939 and broke out after a coup d'état failed in 1936. The fighting pitted the Republican fighters against the Nationalist fighters. The Republicans were left leaning on the popular side and the Nationalists were made up of an alliance of monarchists, conservatives, and traditionalists. The Spanish Civil War was seen as a class struggle, a religious struggle, and a fight between republican democracy and dictatorship. The Republican fighters received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico while the Nationalist forces got their support from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. Other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France all recognized the Republicans but followed a policy of nonintervention. In the end, the Nationalists won the Civil War and ruled over Spain as a dictatorship until the 1970's.

Women participated in the Spanish Civil War in both combatant and noncombatant roles. In this conflict, we see women acting as part of militias, whether they were integrated or not. We also see women working in other parts of the war industry, such as women replacing men in traditionally male dominated fields after these men left to fight. Women also involved themselves with the defense of cities, including a women's only battalion that was stationed in Madrid. During this time women also worked in the underground parts of war, making sure that messages were received and smuggled out of prisons.