****The current (Leftist) government of Spain has erased that history;****
It is interesting to see how Hollywood has protrayed the Spanish Civil War through the years.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS (anti-Franco)
THE ANGEL WORE RED (anti-communist)
PAN’S LABYRYNTH (Anti-Franco)
“For Whom The Bell Tolls” is pathetically biased; it is no wonder Hemingway killed himself after realizing who he’d been carrying water for.
Look at “Sahara” with Humphrey Bogart; the Frenchman says he’s been fighting fascism a long time, starting in Spain (he was included to give the illusion that the US and France were allies in that war, which they surely weren’t). In “The Guns of Navarone” one member of the commando outfit (who hesitates early on, then reassures the commander that he’s ready for action again) also fought for the “Republic” in Spain prior to WWII. The US government, with Hollywood’s cooperation, deliberately lied about Joseph Stalin’s atrocities, going so far as to arm him and turn over Eastern Europe to him at the end of the war. The Spanish people knew firsthand what Stalinism was, and they won their civil war because they saw the truth.
Americans’ self-perception in terms of our history is very different than the rest of the world views it; Eastern Europeans in particular certainly don’t view us as the “crusaders” of WWII. Once the Cold War started the anti-Franco nonsense died down; while we fought proxy wars he kept his promise of peace for Spain.