The Spanish Civil War Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The Spanish Civil War Quiz
Image: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty

About This Quiz

As a revolution gripped the country, Spanish citizens took up arms against one another and mercilessly slaughtered their neighbors. How much do you know about the Spanish Civil War?
The Spanish Civil War pitted the Republicans against which group?
Communists
Nationalists
Democrats
Which side was assisted by Nazi Germany?
Republicans
Nationalists
neither
In what year did the Spanish Civil War begin?
1934
1935
1936

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Which side was made up of mostly Roman Catholics?
Nationalists
Republicans
neither side
About how many foreign volunteers fought with the Republicans?
about 5,000
about 8,000
about 30,000
How did the United Kingdom react to the outbreak of the war?
They didn't want anything to do with it.
They secretly helped the Nationalists.
They immediately assisted the Republicans.

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Which side mounted a vicious repression of anyone who didn't agree with their ideology?
Republicans
Nationalists
both sides
How did Franco take control of the Nationalists?
No one else wanted the job.
He was elected.
He killed his rivals.
Which country was the first to publicly announce its support for the Republicans?
Cuba
France
Mexico

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The Republican side was mostly made up of what?
Hippies
the working class
middle-class suburbanites
During the war, nearly 7,000 Catholic clergy were killed in violence nicknamed what?
Red Terror
The Holy Horror
Crucifixion of the Church
In total, about how many people died during the war?
about 250,000
about 320000
about 500,000

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In the early stages of the war, what caused most deaths?
executions
Spanish flu
Arson
Which country did NOT support the Nationalists during the war?
Germany
USSR
Italy
Historians often note the war for which extraordinary characteristic?
Atrocities
the use of chemical weapons
the amicable ending

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How did the Republicans convince the USSR to help them fight the Nationalists?
They paid them.
They threatened them.
They begged them.
At the beginning of the military coup, which major city did the Nationalist rebels capture?
Madrid
Barcelona
Seville
After the war, what sort of government was Spain left with?
a dictatorship
a republic
a democracy

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How many nations promised not to intervene in the war?
12
19
27
After the war ended, for how long did Francisco Franco rule Spain?
three years
13 years
36 years
Why did both sides seek out foreign military aid?
They were both financially destitute.
They were both too puny to win.
They wanted to spark a world war.

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As the war settled in, the Nationalists basically adopted a policy based on what?
terror
financial equality
fairness
About how many French men fought in the International Brigades?
about 10,000
about 20,000
about 30,000
During the war, a town named Guernica became famous for what?
Nationalists set the town on fire.
Civilians were targeted by aerial bombardment.
Nazi troops massacred hundreds of people.

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How many people died in the bombing of Guernica?
1,600
800
no one knows
How long did Nationalist forces lay siege to Madrid?
three days
three months
three years
Why did Italy's Mussolini decide to join the Nationalists in the war?
Hitler told him to.
He hated Stalin.
He had extra bombs nearing their expiration dates.

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After the war, about how many people died as Franco exacted revenge against his political opponents?
400,000
100,000
No one knows.
What opportunity did Hitler see by sending forces to the war?
He was testing his military might.
He thought Spain might be a good place to start World War II.
He wanted Spanish weapons.
How did Franco reward Hitler's help when World War II began?
He remained neutral.
He joined the Allies.
He joined the Nazis.

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