Catalonia and World War II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
When, in 1939, World War II erupted in Europe, Catalonia was part of Spain led by the caudillo Francisco Franco, who declared Spain neutral in the conflict. The country was devastated by the recently finished Spanish Civil War, which resulted in the defeat of the Second Spanish Republic and the creation of the Spanish State, and Catalonia, who was an autonomous region under the Republican government (1931-1939) lost the whole of its self-government when the Nationalist army occupied the area.
However, despite the fact that Spain was officially neutral in World War II, the conflict affected Catalan territory and Catalans who lived outside, as well its institutions in exile, in different degrees.