The Pete Quiñones Show Episode 1286: Learning from the Martyrdom of José Calvo Sotelo w/ Karl Dahl
8 snips
Oct 30, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Karl Dahl, an expert on the Spanish Civil War and historical fiction, delves into the assassination of José Calvo Sotelo, which marked a pivotal moment for the Right in Spain. He explores how government elements enabled the murder and the implications of his early political life. The podcast reveals chilling details of the night of Calvo Sotelo's murder and the cover-up that followed. Dahl further examines Calvo Sotelo's transformation into a martyr and the broader geopolitical stakes surrounding the conflict.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Primary Sources Change The Spanish War Narrative
- Spanish academic and primary sources reveal the leftist violence and Bolshevik influence were deeper than common English accounts show.
- Karl Dahl argues mainstream English historians often omit Spanish-language primary evidence that changes the narrative.
No Comfortable Middle Ground Existed
- There was no moderate middle ground; Spanish leftist movements were often revolutionary and not libertarian.
- Karl Dahl stresses that many English narratives sanitize the radicalism of Spain's left.
Calvo Sotelo's Rise And Political Visibility
- Jose Calvo Sotelo rose from Galician middle-class origins to prominence as a conservative intellectual and minister.
- His exile, monarchist networking, and return made him a symbolic target for the left by 1936.
