Studia Historica: Historia Contemporánea (Mar 2015)
Introduction to US historiography on the Spanish Civil War
Abstract
From the 1940s to the present, the quality and density of American historiography on the Spanish Civil War has fluctuated significantly. Some of the most important factors behind these fluctuations are: 1) Memories of the participation of the Lincoln Brigade’s volunteers and the subsequent suspicion towards them which emerged during the tensest moments of the Cold War; 2) Censorship by the Franco regime, hindering the carrying out of any serious investigation; 3) A relative diminishing of interest in Spain on the part of U.S. historians, as it is no longer the “exotic and different” country “it used to be” in the last century (bearing in mind the necessary precautions as regards such clichés); and 4 ) A greater maturity and independence of Spanish historians in relation to foreign hispanists. This article will examine the most important American books on the Spanish Civil War and those which generated the most controversies.
