The offer by the new State. Propaganda and indoctrination of the rebel soldier in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Abstract

In recent years, historiography has addressed the building process of the Francoist regime through the analysis of the war experience of Rebel soldiers during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). This has produced two main interpretations: that coercion was the primary role played by the army, being the indoctrination significantly subordinated to it. And, consequently, that a relevant ideologisation experience among Rebel soldiers didn’t take place. From this frame, the article aims to question these two ideas, arguing that there was indeed a process of ideologisation of Rebel soldiers in which, moreover, the army played a crucial role. Therefore, this allows to rethink the importance of the army’s indoctrination policies. By analysing military sources concerning these policies at a general and divisional level, and incorporating soldiers’ perspectives through their war diaries, I will delve into the forms and topics of this propaganda, arguing that the pragmatic approach, more than the ideological one, was ultimately what attracted combatants to the New State. Moreover, this interpretation would allow to understand how social support towards the dictatorship was built among war veterans, and more generally among the whole Spanish society.