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The 1939 Madrid Victory Parade (Spanish: desfile de la Victoria de Madrid de 1939) was held in Madrid on 19 May 1939, over a month after the victory of the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). It was the climax of a series of parades held in various Spanish capitals. It was also the first of a yearly series, named Día de la Victoria (Victory Day), held on 1 April until 1976, the year after Francisco Franco's death. The parade, along with a church ceremony at Santa Bárbara on the following day, aimed to underscore the enduring nature of Franco's headship of the state during the conflict and to solidify his role as the victorious "Caudillo" to the nation.
Preparations
editAfter the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War, the Franco regime began preparations for a display of power in Madrid, a city that had withstood a siege by the victors for nearly three years. Within a few weeks of Madrid's capitulation on April 14, the specific units that would participate in the parade were determined.[1] The Madrid parade was to be the final event in a series that had previously taken place in various locations across Spain, including the Andalusian capitals and Valencia.[2] In the spring, Franco embarked on what would be the first of his tours through the Spanish provinces. This tour had the dual purpose of establishing contact with the population and affirming his leadership.[3]
The parade was commanded by General Andrés Saliquet, Commander of the Madrid Military Region, and was presided by the Franco.
More than 120,000 men and 1,000 vehicles took part in the parade, including small contingents of the German Condor Legion, the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie and the Portuguese Viriatos. The forces went along Paseo de la Castellana, the main Madrid avenue, in a North to South direction and in total spent around 4 hours in marching past the full path. Around 400,000 people attended the event.
The environment was spectacularly fitted out with countless patriotic, triumphal and Franco's Cult of personality slogans.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Montoliu Camps, Pedro (2005). Madrid in the Postwar Period. Silex Editions. p. 66. ISBN 9788477371595.
- ^ Preston, Paul (Jan 1, 1998). Franco: Caudillo de Espana. Spain: Grijalbo. ISBN 978-8439702412.
- ^ Payne, Stanley G (1987). El Regimen de Franco. Spain: Madrid: Alianza. p. 247. ISBN 9788420695532 – via Internet Archive.
Sources
edit- Casanova, Julián (2010). The Spanish Republic and Civil War. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-73780-7.
- Payne, Stanley G. (2008). Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II. Connecticut, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12282-4.
- Payne, Stanley G. (2011). Spain: A Unique History. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299250249.
- Payne, Stanley G. (2012). The Spanish Civil War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-17470-1.
- Preston, Paul (1996) [1986]. A Concise history of the Spanish Civil War. London: Fontana. ISBN 978-0-00-686373-1. OCLC 231702516.
- Thomas, Hugh (1961). The Spanish Civil War (1st ed.). London: Eyre and Spottiswoode.
- Westwell, Ian (2004). Condor Legion: The Wehrmacht's Training Ground. Spearhead. Vol. 15. Ian Allan publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3043-5.
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