Civil War in Europe, 1905–1949 Stanley G

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Civil War in Europe, 1905–1949

This is the first account in any language of the civil wars in Europe during the era of the world wars, from 1905 to 1949. It treats the initial confrontations in the decade before World War I, the confusing concept of “European civil war,” the impact of the world wars, the relation between revolution and civil war, and all the individual cases of civil war, with special attention to Russia and Spain. The civil wars of this era are compared to and contrasted with earlier internal conflicts, with particular attention to the factors that made this era a time of unusually violent domestic contests, as well as those that brought it to an end. The major political, ideological, and social influences are all treated, with a special focus on violence against civilians.

Stanley G. Payne has taught history in several universities, including Columbia University, UCLA, and the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a corresponding member of Real Academia Española de la Historia, Madrid. He has received various awards and prizes, most recently the Marshal Shulman Book Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (2005) and the Gran Cruz de Isabel la Católica from the Spanish government (2009). He has been coed- itor of the Journal of Contemporary History since 1999. Professor Payne is the author of some twenty books and many articles, as well as other edited, coedited, and coauthored books. Most recently, he is the author of The Collapse of the Spanish Republic, 1933–1936: Origins of the Civil War; Franco and Hitler; and Spain: A Unique History.

Civil War in Europe, 1905–1949

Stanley G. Payne University of Wisconsin, Madison

cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107648159

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First published 2011

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Payne, Stanley G. Civil war in Europe, 1905–1949 / Stanley G. Payne. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-107-01090-1 (hardback) 1. Civil war – Europe – History – 20th century. 2. Europe – History, Military – 20th century. 3. Europe – Politics and government – 1871–1918. 4. Europe – Politics and government – 1918–1945. 5. Europe – Social conditions – 20th century. 6. Violence – Europe – History – 20th century. 7. Revolutions – Europe – History – 20th century. 8. Civilians in war – Europe – History – 20th century. 9. War and society – Europe – History – 20th century. 10. Social conflict – Europe – History – 20th century. I. Title. d424.5.p39 2011 303.6′409409041 – dc22 2011000377

isbn 978-1-107-01090-1 Hardback isbn 978-1-107-64815-9 Paperback

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Contents

Preface page vii Chronology of Events ix Glossary of Political Acronyms xi

Introduction: Revolution and Civil War as Forms of Conflict 1

Part one World War I and an Era of Internal Conflict, 1905–1935 1 World War, Revolution, Civil War, 1905–1918 15 2 The Russian Civil War, 1917–1922 33 3 The Political and Social Crisis in Europe, 1918–1923 69 4 Civil Strife and Dictatorship, 1930–1935 96

Part two The Conflict in Spain, 1931–1939 5 The Revolutionary Process in Spain 117 6 Revolution and Civil War, 1936–1939 137 7 Significance and Consequences 181

Part three Civil War and Internal Violence in the Era of World War II 8 The Multiple Wars of Europe, 1939–1945 193 9 The Civil Wars in Yugoslavia and Greece 208 Conclusion 225

Index 233

Preface

The notion of a “European civil war” during the decades 1914–45 has become rather popular with certain historians during the past generation; the most recent book bearing this title appeared in Spain in 2010. The concept is applied primarily to the world wars, and secondarily to the conflict between Nazism and Communism. None of the works involved devotes much attention to the numerous civil wars and insurgencies that in fact took place during these years. This study therefore represents an initial attempt to treat them all, however briefly, within a single volume. The entire manuscript has been read by David Gress, Juan Linz, and Michael Seidman, and Stathis Kalyvas has critiqued the section on Greece. Each of them has made valuable criticisms, suggestions, and corrections, for which I am grateful. This book ranges far across European history and politics, and, in the years to come, further research will undoubtedly correct deficiencies and fill gaps. Madison, Wisconsin November 2010

vii

Chronology of Events

1905 First Russian Revolution 1906 Iranian Revolution 1907 Great Rumanian Peasant Revolt 1908 Young Turks seize power in Istanbul 1909 Greek military coup 1910 Mexican Revolution Portuguese Republic 1911 Chinese Revolution 1914–18 World War I 1915–16 Expulsion and genocide of Armenians in Turkey March 1917 Collapse of tsarist regime November 1917 Bolshevik coup d’etat January–April 1918 Finnish civil war 1918–20 Main phase of Russian civil war January–February 1919 Portuguese mini–civil war January 1919 “Spartacist” revolt in Berlin February 1919 General strike in central Germany March–August 1919 “Béla Kun regime” in Hungary April 1919 Räterepublik in Munich June 1919 Slovak Soviet Republic March 1920 “Kapp Putsch” followed by general strike in Germany March 1921 Communist “March Action” in Germany October 1922 Italian Fascist “March on Rome” June 1923 Overthrow of Stamboliski in Bulgaria followed by Communist insurrection September 1923 Primo de Rivera pronunciamiento in Spain October 1923 Abortive Communist insurrection in Germany November 1923 Hitler’s “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich 1924 Abortive Communist insurrection in Estonia

x Chronology of Events

1926 Pilsudski coup d’etat in Poland; new authoritarian governments in Lithuania, Portugal, and (briefly) Greece 1928 “Third Period” of world revolution declared by Comintern 1930–33 Depression crisis in Germany April 1931 Second Republic in Spain 1933 Authoritarian regime in Austria February 1934 Socialist insurrection in Austria October 1934 Revolutionary insurrection in Spain August 1935 Comintern announces tactic of Popular Front February 1936 Popular Front electoral victory in Spain July 1936 Spanish civil war begins September 1936 Franco made commander-in-chief by military junta November–December 1936 Battle of Madrid March 1937 Battle of Guadalajara March–October 1937 Franco conquers northern Republican zone May 1937 “May Days” anarchist revolt in Barcelona Juan Negrín prime minister of Republican government April 1938 Offensive by Franco splits Republican zone in two July–November 1938 Battle of the Ebro March 1939 Overthrow of Negrín April 1, 1939 Spanish civil war ends August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939–45 World War II 1939–45 Ethnic conflict in Western Ukraine 1941–45 Yugoslav war of resistance and civil war 1943–44 First round of Greek civil war 1943–45 Civil war in northern Italy December 1944–February 1945 Second round of Greek civil war 1946–49 Third round of Greek civil war 1944–50s Insurgency against Communist regimes by resistance movements in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia 1944–52 Insurgency of Maquis in Spain

Glossary of Political Acronyms

AVNOJ Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia CEDA Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rightist Groups CHEKA Special Commission for Security (Soviet Union) CNT National Confederation of Labor (Spain) CPY Communist Party of Yugoslavia CTV Corps of Volunteer Troops (Italy) DAG Democratic Army of Greece EAM National Liberation Front (Greece) ECCI Executive Commission of the Communist International ELAS National People’s Liberation Army (Greece) FAI Iberian Anarchist Federation (Spain) FET Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx IMRO Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (Bulgaria) IRA Institute of Agrarian Reform (Spain) JONS Juntas of National Syndicalist Offensive (Spain) JSU United Socialist Youth (Spain) KAPD Communist Workers Party of Germany KKE Communist Party of Greece KPD Communist Party of Germany NDH Independent State of Croatia NEP New Economic Policy (Soviet Union) NKVD People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (Soviet Union) NSDAP National Socialist German Workers Party (“Nazi Party”) PASOK Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Greece) PCE Spanish Communist Party PCF Communist Party of France PCL Political Combat Leagues (Germany) PNF National Fascist Party (Italy) POUM Worker Party of Marxist Unification (Spain) PSI Socialist Party of Italy PSOE Socialist Workers Party of Spain

xii Glossary of Political Acronyms

PSUC Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (Spain) RFB Red Front-fighters League (German Communist militia) RILU Red International of Labor Unions SA Storm Detachment (Nazi militia) SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany SR Socialist Revolutionaries (Russia) SS Protection Squads SSR Soviet Socialist Republic UGT General Union of Labor (Spain) USPD Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics