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The Truth about Spain!
Mobilizing British Public Opinion, 1936–1939

Hugo García
Hugo García received a Ph.D. in Political Science from UNED (Spain’s Open University) in 2005 and until recently worked as a research fellow at the Department of History of Political Thought and Social Movements at Complutense University, Madrid. His research focuses on the history of propaganda and political ideologies in interwar Europe. He has published articles on the topic in leading Spanish and British historical journal, and given papers at conferences and seminars both in Spain and in Britain.

“An important and stimulating reading for those interested in the Spanish Civil war, its significance for Britain and the development of propaganda in the twentieth century.” Twentieth Century British History

“Meticulously researched, carefully articulated, lucid and balanced in its treatment of what remains for many a touchstone issue in making political choices and attaching labels (…) an exemplary monograph of its kind.” Journal of Contemporary History

“García ably studies the production, content, and effects of both Nationalist and Republican propaganda in Great Britain.” The English Historical Review

“The aim of ‘The Truth about Spain’ is not to establish the veracity or otherwise of the Spanish propaganda campaigns, but to reveal their inner workings and how these impinged upon their efforts to sway British public opinion. Furthermore, García quite rightly highlights a consequence of the propaganda that has been either deliberately ignored or greatly underplayed: the extent to which “the words and images of those years have set the agenda for historical debate ever since the war’s end, and the arguments constructed at that time have been revived and re-elaborated countless times”. From the General Series Editor’s Preface, Nigel Townson, the Complutense University of Madrid

From a review of the Spanish edition:
“In the conflicts of the twentieth century, the propaganda battle became increasingly important in determining who could emerge victorious. This was certainly true for the Spanish Civil war (1936–39) where both sides recognized the need to ensure that their version of events prevailed on the international stage. Indeed, as Hugo Garci´a points out, with the Germans and Italians providing various propaganda services for the Nationalists and the Soviet Union doing similarly for the Republic, the propaganda aspect of the conflict was as international as the rest of it (p. 113). The beleaguered Republic needed the lifting of ‘Non-Intervention’, the Nationalists its continuance, and in this context Britain, as one of Non-Intervention’s architects, was a crucial propaganda battle ground. This is also something of a growth area in studies of Britain and the Spanish Civil War, as 2008 also saw the publication of David Deacon’s study of the way the conflict was represented in the British news media (though there is only a limited overlap with Mentiras Necesarias). Hugo García’s valuable study breaks down into three sections, concentrating first on the structures that both sides created to censor information and provide propaganda and the personnel who operated them; second on the nature of this propaganda; and finally on its effects on British public opinion. The first two sections are exhaustively researched and impressively detailed.
… Yet, notwithstanding the thorny issue of precisely who in Britain thought what and when, how strongly and whether they constituted the ‘majority’, it remains clear that the Spanish Civil war captured the popular mind in Britain in a way that no similar conflict has managed to before or ever since. In this respect, the propaganda battle the Republic and Nationalists engaged in did matter as people concerned about the gathering war clouds over Europe had to get their information from somewhere. Thus, Mentiras Necesarias – albeit, perhaps, inadvertently – poses more questions than it answers. For this reason it is important and stimulating reading for those interested in the Spanish Civil war, its significance for Britain and the development of propaganda in the twentieth century.” Twentieth Century British History


Based on a combination of a wide range of second-hand sources with previously unknown archival material from Spain, Britain, France and the United States, this book explores the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39 as a propaganda battle aimed mainly at foreign public opinion. It shows how both Nationalists and Republicans used the experiences of previous conflicts such as World War I, as well as that of their totalitarian allies, in order to set up a number of propaganda and censorship services with the goal of persuading foreign – and specifically British – audiences of the legitimacy of their causes, and of the need to give them political, military, and relief assistance.
… The propaganda messages designed by both sides – ranging from the atrocities committed by the enemy to illegal foreign intervention on its behalf – are analyzed in detail, together with the techniques that were employed to transmit these messages: eye-witness accounts, official commissions, unofficial missions of investigation, documentaries, art exhibitions, etc. As to the impact of both campaigns on the British population, the author argues that their crude nature helped to mobilize both the extreme right and the extreme left, but alienated the great majority, who preferred to rally to the Non-Intervention policy adopted by the Baldwin and Chamberlain governments. The chronicle of this relatively neglected topic demonstrates not only the utter modernity of the Spanish conflict, but also the origin of some of the arguments still employed by current historians of the war.

Acknowledgements Introduction: The Truth about Spain Antecedents Chapter 1 – The Age of Modern Propaganda, 1896–1939 Protagonists in the Battle Chapter 2 – The Nationalists: Between Intransigence and Pragmatism Chapter 3 – The Republicans: Triumphing over Chaos Disentangling the Truth Chapter 4 – Defining the War Chapter 5 – The Battle of Atrocities Chapter 6 – The Battles of Civilization: Religion, Art, Culture Chapter 7 – The Battle over Foreign Intervention Outcome of the Battle Chapter 8 – The Converted and the Unconverted: The British and the Spanish Conflict Epilogue: Echoes of the Battle Glossary Notes Bibliography

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