ABSTRACT
Undoubtedly, the significance of the Spanish Civil War lies in its position at the crossroads of the clash between fascism and democracy in a Europe on the brink of all-out war. The advances made have mostly been attributed to improvements within the medical services in the Republican Zone. This is largely due to the fact that among the early published works on the Spanish Civil War, a number of medical textbooks and memoirs were written by people who had served the Republic, and it was these texts that served as a starting point for later scholars. Recent histories of medicine of the Spanish Civil War, especially studies written in English, have by and large concentrated on the role played by international volunteers in the provision of medical aid during the conflict. The defeated of the Spanish Civil War were left in no doubt at the end of the conflict exactly whom Franco held responsible.
