Description
Book SynopsisIn 1941, the Franco regime established the Spanish Division of Volunteers to take part in the Russian campaign as a unit integrated into the German Wehrmacht. Recruited by both the Fascist Party (Falange) and the Spanish army, around 47,000 Spanish volunteers joined what would become known as the Blue Division.
The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front, 19411945 explores an intimate history of the Blue Division from below, using personal war diaries, letters, and memoirs, as well as official documents from military archives in Spain, Germany, Britain, and Russia. In addition to describing the Spanish experience on the Eastern Front, Xosé M. Núñez Seixas takes on controversial topics including the Blue Division’s proximity to the Holocaust and how members of the Blue Division have been remembered and commemorated. Addressing issues such as the behaviour of the Spaniards as occupiers, their perception by the Russians, their witnessing of the Holocaust,
Trade Review
“The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front makes for compelling reading…This accessible book should be read by anyone interested in modern Spain, the Eastern Front, Axis allies, or soldier motivation.” -- Grant T. Harward, US Army Center of Military History * Michigan War Studies Review *
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction: The Blue Division, the Franco Regime, and the Second World War 1. Russia Is Guilty! 2. A Long March: From Central Europe to the Volkhov Front 3. The Blue Division On the Front 4. Occupation Practices of the Blue Division in Northwest Russia 5. The Last Crusaders of the Nazi New Order, 1944–1945 6. War Veterans and Memories from the Eastern Front in Franco’s Spain Conclusion: A Spanish Exception in the War of Extermination? Sources Bibliography
