Spain’s schools are still glossing over the Spanish civil war and the Franco dictatorship. How do we teach these crucial events properly?

The Spanish civil war lasted from 1936 to 1939, and led to the repressive Francisco Franco dictatorship, which lasted until 1975. Today, 90 years after the war broke out, it remains a traumatic, controversial part of Spain’s collective memory, and still weighs heavily on ideological and political debates.

Teaching it is vital, not just to understand the country’s relatively recent past, but also to lay the foundation of understanding on which civic and democratic education can be built.

© La Conversation - mercredi 15 juillet 2026