Publication: La Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España en tiempos de guerra (1936-1945)
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2021-09-30
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Abstract
Este trabajo se corresponde con una investigación original en base a documentos archivísticos españoles, estadounidenses y alemanes (muchos de ellos poco o nada explorados) para presentar las vicisitudes de la Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España (CTNE, actualmente Telefónica) durante la guerra civil española y la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Se justifica el interés y la pertinencia de la investigación por la importancia que tiene, para entender mejor la Guerra Civil y la historia de la CTNE, la gestión de la red telefónica civil y su interacción con las transmisiones militares, el posicionamiento ante la Guerra de los directivos españoles y estadounidenses de CTNE, así como por el escaso tratamiento del asunto en la historiografía de la Guerra Civil y de la propia historia de la CTNE. En cuestiones metodológicas se destaca la importancia de la disponibilidad en abierto de un alto porcentaje de las fuentes archivísticas, gracias a acuerdos de colaboración firmados con diferentes archivos, mediante una catalogación de fondos documentales sobre telecomunicaciones en la Guerra Civil, cuya versión provisional está disponible en el blog https://historiatelefonia.com. Se sintetiza el desarrollo de la CTNE en España desde 1924 como filial de la multinacional estadounidense International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT); se muestra el uso de recursos de la CTNE en el golpe de Estado de julio de 1936, en unos casos a favor de la sublevación y en otros en contra, así como el diferente posicionamiento de directivos estadounidenses y españoles de la empresa. Se narra cómo hubo dos Consejos de Administración paralelos de la CTNE, uno en zona republicana bajo dirección de la ITT y otro en zona sublevada con directivos españoles. Se describe la gestión de la red telefónica en ambas zonas y los problemas asociados. En zona republicana destacó el poder exhibido por los Comités de Control Obrero, en contra muchas veces de los intereses de la empresa; en zona sublevada la ayuda de material por parte principalmente de Alemania y el uso militar de la red telefónica civil. Una vez acabada la guerra, se muestran los intentos de control de la CTNE por el nuevo Estado franquista, lo que supuso un conflicto diplomático entre España y Estados Unidos, precisamente coincidente con el periodo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Como parte de este conflicto, se inició un sumario jurídico-militar contra directivos estadounidenses de la ITT/CTNE. En el intento de control de la CTNE intervino también Alemania, con negociaciones para traspasar el capital estadounidense de la CTNE a capital alemán, en concreto a las empresas alemanas del grupo ITT. Todo ello culminó con la nacionalización de la CTNE al adquirir el Estado la mayoría de las acciones, aunque el suministro de equipos y asesoramiento técnico siguió casi en exclusividad siendo parte de las empresas de ITT. Por último, se hace una aproximación a los procesos de represión y depuración de empleados de la CTNE, tanto en zona republicana como en zona rebelde durante la Guerra, así como a la depuración posterior en la postguerra por parte de la dictadura franquista. Debido a que los resultados son parciales por las limitaciones del trabajo, se indican futuras líneas de investigación para ampliar los resultados obtenidos.
In this work we present an original investigation based on documents from Spanish, German and American archives (to date little or not at all researched), whose goal is to shed light on the intricacies of the National Telephone Company of Spain (CTNE, currently Telefónica) during the Spanish Civil War and WWII. The importance of researching such topic is clear, since it is a key factor in the understanding of the Civil War, the history of the CTNE, the management of the civil telephone network and its interaction with military transmissions, the sides favoured during war times by the CTNE's Spanish and American managers. Likewise, the need for such research is equally clear due to the scarcity of previous work on the mentioned topics. As for the methodology, we highlight the importance of having open to the public a large proportion of the relevant sources, thanks to a number of cooperation agreements between different archives. A draft of the catalogue of these documents related to telecomunications and the Civil War is available at https://historiatelefonia.com. We summarize the development of the CTNE in Spain from 1924 as a regional branch of the american company International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT) and we show the use of resources from the CTNE on the coup of July 1936 -both in favour and against it-, and how different managers, both Spanish and American, took different sides in the resulting conflict. We recount the situation in which there were two different Board of Directors of the CTNE, one in the Republican zone, under control of the ITT, and second one in the zone controlled by the rebels and run by Spanish managers. We offer a description of the management of the telephone network on both zones and related problems. In the republican zone, the Trade union gained much power, often against the company's interests. On the other hand, the rebels received material supplies, mostly from Germany, and militarized the civil network. In the aftermath of the war, the new state (under Franco's control) tried to take control of the CNTE, unleashing a diplomatic conflict between Spain and the United States that overlaps with the WWII. In the context of such conflict, Spanish authorities initiated a military lawsuit against American managers of the ITT/CTNE. Germany also played a role in such conflict by trying to negotiate the transfer the American firm to German companies belonging to the ITT. The conflict culminated with the Spanish State buying most shares of the CTNE, and thus effectively taking control of it, although the supply and technical support was still almost exclusively provided by ITT companies. Finally, we address the repression and cleansing of employees of the CTNE carried out both zones, as well as the purge during the early years of Franco's dictatorship after the war. Since, due to the constraints of the work, the results are uncompleted, we point out possible future research directions.
In this work we present an original investigation based on documents from Spanish, German and American archives (to date little or not at all researched), whose goal is to shed light on the intricacies of the National Telephone Company of Spain (CTNE, currently Telefónica) during the Spanish Civil War and WWII. The importance of researching such topic is clear, since it is a key factor in the understanding of the Civil War, the history of the CTNE, the management of the civil telephone network and its interaction with military transmissions, the sides favoured during war times by the CTNE's Spanish and American managers. Likewise, the need for such research is equally clear due to the scarcity of previous work on the mentioned topics. As for the methodology, we highlight the importance of having open to the public a large proportion of the relevant sources, thanks to a number of cooperation agreements between different archives. A draft of the catalogue of these documents related to telecomunications and the Civil War is available at https://historiatelefonia.com. We summarize the development of the CTNE in Spain from 1924 as a regional branch of the american company International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT) and we show the use of resources from the CTNE on the coup of July 1936 -both in favour and against it-, and how different managers, both Spanish and American, took different sides in the resulting conflict. We recount the situation in which there were two different Board of Directors of the CTNE, one in the Republican zone, under control of the ITT, and second one in the zone controlled by the rebels and run by Spanish managers. We offer a description of the management of the telephone network on both zones and related problems. In the republican zone, the Trade union gained much power, often against the company's interests. On the other hand, the rebels received material supplies, mostly from Germany, and militarized the civil network. In the aftermath of the war, the new state (under Franco's control) tried to take control of the CNTE, unleashing a diplomatic conflict between Spain and the United States that overlaps with the WWII. In the context of such conflict, Spanish authorities initiated a military lawsuit against American managers of the ITT/CTNE. Germany also played a role in such conflict by trying to negotiate the transfer the American firm to German companies belonging to the ITT. The conflict culminated with the Spanish State buying most shares of the CTNE, and thus effectively taking control of it, although the supply and technical support was still almost exclusively provided by ITT companies. Finally, we address the repression and cleansing of employees of the CTNE carried out both zones, as well as the purge during the early years of Franco's dictatorship after the war. Since, due to the constraints of the work, the results are uncompleted, we point out possible future research directions.