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At the start of World War II, in September 1939, Spain had only recently come through its bitter Civil War . With the active help of the Fascist Italian and Nazi German governments, the fascist Falange under General Francisco Franco had defeated the democratic Republican government and was consolidating its power. DIPLOMACY In these circumstances, it's unsurprising that Spain favoured the then victorious Axis Powers . Apart from ideology, Spain had a debt, to Germany, of $212 million for supplies of Matériel during the Civil War. Indeed, in June 1940, after the defeat of France, the Spanish Ambassador to Berlin had presented a memorandum in which Franco declared he was "ready under certain conditions to enter the war on the side of Germany and Italy". At first, the German leader, Adolf Hitler , did not encourage Franco's offer. After all victory was assured - or so it appeared - so why share the spoils?. Later on, in September, when Britain had demonstrated its resilience, Hitler was more receptive to Spanish approaches and promised help for Franco in return for its active intervention. This had become part of a strategy to eradicate British power in the Meditteranean by bringing Spain and Vichy France into the war, against Britain, with their possessions in north-west Africa. Hitler promised that "Germany would do everything in its power to help Spain" and would recognise Spanish claims to French territory in Morocco , in exchange for a share of Moroccan raw materials. Franco responded warmly, but without any firm commitment. Hitler and Franco negotiated, at Hendaye on 23rd October 1940 to fix the details of their alliance. By this time, the advantages had become less clear for either side. Spain relied upon United States oil supplies and the US had agreed to listen to British recommendations on this. As a result, the Spanish were told that supplies would be restricted, albeit with a ten week reserve. Any Spanish intervention would rely, inevitably, upon German ability to supply oil. Some of Germany's own activity relied upon captured French oil reserves, so Spanish needs were unhelpful. From the German point of view, Vichy's active reaction to British and Free French attacks ( Destruction Of The French Fleet At Mers-el-Kebir and '' Dakar '') had been encouraging, so perhaps Spanish intervention was less vital. Also, in order to keep Vichy "on-side", the proposed territorial changes in Morocco became a potential embarrassment and were diluted. As a consequence of this, neither side would make sufficient compromises and after nine hours, the talks failed. Hitler declared he would rather have "three or four teeth extracted" than repeat the experience. In December, Hitler returned to the issue of Gibraltar. He attempted to force Franco's hand with a blunt request for the passage of German troops to attack Gibraltar. Franco refused, citing the danger that Britain still presented to Spanish colonies and choosing to wait until Britain "was on the point of collapse". Hitler got tougher and offered grain and military supplies as an inducement. By this time, however, Italian troops were being chased from Cyrenaica and the Royal Navy had continued to show its freedom of action in Italian waters. Britain was clearly not finished. Franco responded "that the fact has left the circumstances of October far behind" and "the Protocol then agreed must now be considered outmoded". Thus ended diplomatic efforts to persuade Spain to join the war or to allow free passage to the Axis. Spain's fascist government and its support for the Axis powers, particularly Nazi Germany, led to a period of post-war isolation. A number of nations withdrew their ambassadors and Spain was not admitted to the United Nations until 1955. MILITARY Operation ''Felix'' See Also: Operation Felix Before Hendaye, there had been Spanish-German planning for an attack, from Spain, upon the British territory of Gibraltar which was, and is, a British naval base. At the time, Gibraltar was important for control of the western exit from the Mediterranean and the sea routes to the Suez Canal and Middle East , as well as Atlantic patrols. The Germans also appreciated the strategic importance of north-west Africa for bases and as a route for any future American involvement. Therefore, the plans included the occupation of the region by substantial German forces, to forestall any future Allied invasion attempt. The plan, Operation '' Felix '', was in detailed form before the negotiations failed at Hendaye. By March 1941, military resources were being ear-marked for '' Barbarossa '' and the Soviet Union. Operation ''Felix-Heinrich'' was an amended form of ''Felix'' that would be invoked once certain objectives in Russia had been achieved. In the event, these conditions were not fulfilled and Franco still held back. As the war progressed and the tide turned against the Axis, the Germans planned for the event of an Allied attack through Spain. There were three successive plans, progressively less aggressive as German capability waned: Operation ''Isabella'' See Also: Operation Isabella This was planned in April 1941 as a reaction to a British landing on the Iberian Peninsular . German troops would advance into Spain to support Franco and expel the British. Operation ''Ilona'' or ''Gisella'' ''Ilona'' was a scaled down version of ''Isabella'', subsequently renamed ''Gisella''. Devised in May 1942, to be invoked whether or not Spain stayed neutral. Ten divisions would advance to Barcelona and, if necessary towards Salamanca . Operation ''Nurnberg'' In June 1943, ''Nurnberg'' was purely a defensive operation in the Pyrenees in the event of Allied landings in the Iberian peninsular. JEWS AND OTHER REFUGEES There has been debate about Spain's wartime attitude towards refugees. Francoist Spain does not appear to have shared the rabid anti-semitic ideology promoted by the Nazis. Certainly, about 25,000 to 35,000 refugees, mainly Jews, were allowed to transit through Spain to Portugal and beyond. About 5,000 Jews in occupied Europe benefitted from Spanish protection. This agreed, however, while some historians argue that these facts demonstrate a humane attitude, others point out that Spain only permitted ''transit'' and did not wish to increase its own small Jewish population. Refusal to admit refugees would also have further damaged its fragile relations with the Allies. MANPOWER Although Spain remained formally neutral throughout World War II, it remained ideologically aligned with the Nazis in Germany and the Fascists in Italy. There was also a "debt" for the help that these regimes had given to Franco's military revolt. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Franco immediately offered Spanish manpower to help in civilian warwork and military volunteers to fight against the Bolsheviks. This was accepted by Hitler and, within two weeks, there were more than enough volunteers to form a division - the '' Blue Division '' or ''Division Azul'' - including an air force squadron - the '' Blue Squadron ''. The Blue Division trained in Germany and served, with distinction, in the Siege Of Leningrad , notably at the Battle Of Krasny Bor . In October 1943, under severe Allied diplomatic pressure, the Blue Division was ordered home leaving a token force until March 1944. In all, about 45,000 Spanish served on the Eastern Front, mostly committed volunteers, and 4,500 died. About 100,000 Spanish civilian workers were sent to Germany to help maintain industrial production. RESOURCES & TRADE Despite lacking cash, oil and other supplies, Francoist Spain was able to supply some essentials to Germany. There were a series of secret war-time trade agreements between the two countries. The principle resource was Wolfram (or Tungsten) Ore from German-owned mines in Spain. Wolfram was essential to Germany for its advanced precision engineering and therefore for armament production. Despite Allied attempts to buy all available supplies, which rocketed in price, and diplomatic efforts to influence Spain, supplies to Germany continued until August 1944. Payment for wolfram was effectively set against the Spanish debt to Germany. Other minerals included iron ore, zinc, lead and mercury. Spain also acted as a conduit for goods from South America, for example, industrial diamonds and platinum. After the war, evidence was found of significant gold transactions between Germany and Spain, ceasing only in May 1945. It was believed that these were derived from Nazi looting of occupied lands, but attempts by the Allies to obtain control of the gold and return it were largely frustrated. ESPIONAGE AND SABOTAGE As long as Spain permitted it, the Abwehr , the German intelligence organisation, was able to operate in Spain and Spanish Morocco, often with Spanish cooperation. Gibraltar's installations were a prime target for sabotage, using sympathetic anti-British Spanish workers. One such attack occurred in June 1943, when a bomb caused a fire and explosions in the dockyard. The British were generally more successful after this and managed to use Turned Agents and sympathetic anti-Fascist Spaniards to uncover subsequent attacks. A total of 43 sabotage attempts were prevented in this way. In January 1944, two Spanish workers, convicted of attempted sabotage, were hanged. The Abwehr also maintained observation posts along both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar, reporting on shipping movements. A German agent in Cádiz was the target of a successful Allied Disinformation Operation prior to the invasion of Sicily in 1943. In early 1944, the situation changed. The Allies were clearly gaining the advantage over Germany and one double agent had provided enough information for Britain to make a detailed protest to the Spanish government. As a result, the Spanish government declared its "strict neutrality". The Abwehr operation in southern Spain was consequently closed down. REFERENCES
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