HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 109

among dwellers on the Mediterranean coast
of Valencia.
The diminished standing of Blasco Ibáñez
among contemporary Spanish critics has
much to do with the very success of his best
known novels, Sangre y arena ( Blood and
Sand ) published in 1908 and Los cuatro jine-
tes del Apocalipsis ( The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, from 1916). Both were interna-
tional best-sellers in translation and became
even better known in cinema productions.
In each case Blasco Ibáñez is blamed for
creating stereotypes and over dramatizing
family confrontations. Although some of
the blame for these impressions may attach
to the films rather than the novels them-
selves, commentators complain that for
many people outside of Spain, Blasco Ibáñez
is the only Spanish writer whose name they
can remember and his bullring images have
become clichés.

failed to achieve Hitler's immediate goal,
free passage for German forces through
Spain to attack the British fortress of G IBRAL -
TAR . However, after Hitler's invasion of the
Soviet Union in June 1941 and the procla-
mation of a so-called Great Anti-Bolshevik
Crusade, considerable enthusiasm arose
among the Spanish people. Those who
resented Russian aid to the Loyalists during
the civil war or who regarded communism
as a threat to Christian civilization were
eager to join in the fight (as were many in
Nazi-occupied Europe). Franco announced
that volunteers would be accepted from the
Spanish armed forces and from the civilian
population. Although his original intention
envisioned a few thousand men, more than
18,000 came forward within a month, and it
was estimated that several times that num-
ber could easily have been raised. The major-
ity of these volunteers were professional
soldiers (including some 2,000 officers) or
veterans of the civil war. Even some who
sympathized with the republic volunteered
in the hope of winning release for impris-
oned relatives. Under the command of Gen-
eral Agustín Muñoz Grande, a division
comprising three brigades of infantry (named
after the cities of B ARCELONA , V ALENCIA , and
S EVILLE ) with supporting units of armor and
artillery was formed. In addition, several
squadrons of German aircraft manned by
Spanish fliers were formed.
By August 1941 most of the initial Span-
ish contingent was en route to Russia. Until
late 1942, Spanish soldiers and airmen played
an active role in the siege of Leningrad and
in operations near that city. More than 5,000
were killed, and a comparably high propor-
tion, wounded. Many earned major decora-
tions, including some of the highest honors
bestowed by the Reich. While in combat they

Blue Division (División Azul)
This Spanish military unit was the means
by which Spain, although nominally neu-
tral, participated in World War II, support-
ing Germany in the fight against the Soviet
Union. Adolf Hitler's regime had provided
substantial military support (mostly through
air power) to the Nationalists during the
S PANISH C IVIL W AR . When the German dic-
tator launched his war with Britain and
France, a few months after the end of the
Spanish conflict, he clearly expected both
gratitude and assistance from General F RAN -
CISCO F RANCO , the new ruler in M ADRID . El
Caudillo was able to make the plausible
excuse that his country needed time to
recover from recent hardships. Even a per-
sonal meeting between the two men at the
Spanish-French frontier in summer 1940