Fighting for Europe: European Narratives and Spanish Experiences in the Blue Division

The Spanish volunteers fighting in the Blue Division on the Eastern Front during the Second World War understood they were fighting in defence of Europe. Spanish propaganda echoed that of Germany in presenting the conflict as the defence of European civilization against bolshevism and Asiatic barbarism. The Spanish conception of Europe differed, however, from that of Germany, focussing on the role of Catholicism in European civilization, the universal character of the Spanish national revolution, and the centrality of Spanish colonialism the Reconquista to European history. These alternative narratives were reflected in the ambiguous response of Spanish troops to the various versions of Europe they experienced both on the Eastern Front and the rear areas of Central and Eastern Europe between 1941 and 1944. Whilst many responded positively to the European ‘brotherhood’ they witnessed at the front and formed good relations with their colleagues in the Wehrmacht, others reacted against their international surroundings by emphasising their Spanishness, their unique national characteristics, bringing them into conflict with their German allies. Relations with civilians in Eastern and Central Europe were often more positive, particularly with their fellow Catholics in Poland, but were complicated as the Russian border approached and the limits of civilized Europe were breached. This paper seeks to explore narratives of Europe within the Blue Division, both as they were constructed from above and as they were experienced from below by the front line troops, and in particular the tensions between Spanish nationalism and the internationalism of European narratives and experiences.