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

“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

“The revolution and civil war in Spain was pathologically brutal and characterised by the use of powerful propaganda. The religious extremism, vicious sectarianism and foreign intervention that fuelled much of the violence has been well documented by Pierre Broué (The Revolution and Civil War in Spain 1934–1939), Anthony Beevor (The Battle for Spain), Paul Preston (The Spanish Civil War) and Ken Loach (Land and Freedom).
… The tsunami of propaganda that poured out from nationalist and republican war rooms in the shape of news footage, photography and radio messages has been covered before, but the propaganda campaigns launched in Britain by both nationalists and republicans have not. Hugo Garcia is an academic and roots his analysis in empiricism and scientific method but still manages to fill this knowledge gap engagingly. The narrative is at its most enjoyable when talking about the artistic and political talent that flocked to Spain to involve themselves in the war. Some of Europe’s most prominent figures were recruited: Picasso, Arthur Koestler and Ilya Ehrenberg all supporting the republican effort while Sir Charles Petrie and Edgar Neville were staunch nationalists.
… Garcia takes us through the complex and crude propaganda techniques waged by both sides in their bid to garner support, but it soon becomes clear that neither side really won the propaganda war in Britain. Demonstrations up and down the country against the nationalists and their methods, as at Guernica, were seen as a sign of failure – the British government had recognised the Franco government by February 1939 – and while it could be argued the republicans won the propaganda battle, their victory was purely technical and perhaps prolonged the war.
… The lessons have not been lost on today’s political activists. A clear ideology and simplicity of message routinely bushwhacks nuanced pragmatism, just as emotion so often trumps reason and enlightenment. Garcia’s execution of detail is near perfect and it is always a pleasure to be in the hands of a writer who knows his subject. This is essential reading for everyone who wants to understand one of the 20th century’s most influential wars but, more importantly, it encourages everyone to challenge the filtered and distorted version of the world delivered daily by newspapers and broadcasters.” Tribune

“García believes that the reportage of the horrors of the Spanish war was most effective in convincing neutrals of the horror of war in general, rather than of one particular side, and thus consolidated support for non-intervention. In a depressing conclusion, he argues that, even if the Republican propaganda had been better, it would probably still not have achieved enough to be able to save the Spanish Republic. Sadly, it is difficult to disagree with García’s view that “this was, from very early in the war, a lost cause”. Once Britain and France were determined to pursue non-intervention, despite ample evidence of a huge German and Italian presence in Spain, the Spanish Republic was effectively doomed.” Richard Baxell, International Brigade Memorial Trust


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

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