The Fifth Column is a phenomenon that arose in the Spanish Republic during the Civil War of 1936–39. That was the name of the rebel General Franco's agents. And then this phrase began to be used in politics and journalism to refer to the enemy secret forces working within the state with the goal of destroying it.
Background
The Spanish kingdom entered the 20th century with enormous problems: a strong economic crisis was raging in the country, against which the discontent and unrest of the people gradually began to arise. The peasants were not able to acquire land and suffered from the arbitrariness of landowners. The rights of workers in factories were severely violated, wages were extremely low, and working conditions were almost hard labor. In addition, national minorities, which accounted for almost a quarter of the population of the entire Spanish kingdom, began to raise the issue of independence. Gradually, popular unrest began to develop into interethnic and even ideological enmity.
At the same time, the Spanish military forces existed quite apart, almost like a state in a state. They had their own views on the future fate of Spain and often ignored the direct orders of the king. And after the Reef War of 1921-1926, some generals began to seriously think about how to get to power in the country. The king of Spain did not even try to carry out any reforms aimed at improving the lives of ordinary citizens, and he brutally suppressed any protests and rallies with the help of the more loyal military.
In 1923, the situation in the country deteriorated so much that one of the famous Spanish generals decided to stage a military coup. Having dissolved the government and parliament, he imposed strict censorship in Spain and in fact established a military dictatorship. Then there were attempts to rehabilitate the country's economy according to the experience of Italian fascists. The rejection of foreign production and the stimulation of domestic enterprises began to bear fruit, but with the outbreak of the global crisis, all efforts came to naught. After such failure and strong pressure from the king and the public, General Primo de Rivera resigned.
A year later, the monarchical system collapsed in Spain, and the country became a full-fledged republic. In June, elections were held in which the socialists and liberals won. From that moment on, the socialist course was clearly outlined in the Spanish Republic. The country was proclaimed the "Democratic Republic of all the working classes", and active pressure also began on the former elite of the state: priests, landowners and the military. For five years, Spain has plunged more and more into the political and economic crisis, and attempts have repeatedly been made to coup and seize power.
Civil War
In 1936, a whole wave of killings of supporters of right-wing forces swept through the country, and some leaders of nationalist movements were destroyed. In connection with these events, the military decided to stop the "red threat" and organize another coup, planning to suppress the socialists and ultimately seize power. The organizer of the resistance was the rebellious general Emilio Mola. According to his scheme, all military personnel involved in the conspiracy were to capture all governing bodies and other important objects in the country at the same time and as quickly as possible. The date for decisive action was July 17, 1936.
Many colonies of the Spanish Republic quickly came under the control of the military, and by July 19, more than half of the country was under the control of a loyal rebel general. Madrid was stunned by the arrogance of the military, and the government did not know how to act in this situation. In just one day, three heads of the Spanish government were replaced. The appointed liberal José Hiral found a not-so-obvious way to repulse the rebellious military - immediately after his appointment, he ordered the distribution of free weapons to everyone who sympathizes with the popular front and is ready to fight for it. Thanks to such decisive measures, the putsch did not have much success, in many regions it literally failed. The authorities of the republic were able to regain their influence and retain more than 70% of the territories. Despite this, it was not possible to completely restore order, the country gradually began to plunge into a civil war.
While riots and riots erupted in Spain, the rebels Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco were able to enlist the support of Italian fascists and German nationalists in the person of Mussolini and Hitler. This allowed turning the tide in favor of the Spanish junta, and the rebels gradually began to move towards Madrid.
The emergence of the term "fifth column"
The plan of the opposition traitors was extremely simple: having about ten thousand soldiers at their disposal, the nationalists intended to surround the capital of Spain and gradually narrow the circle until the resistance from the popular front was completely stopped. During the full-scale attack, the agents of General Franco, who was inside the city, were supposed to help the nationalists. The commander Emilio Mola has repeatedly stated that in addition to his four columns, there is also a fifth, inside the city, which at the right time will provide all the necessary assistance.
It was then that the expression "fifth column" was first used. Secret supporters of the junta could not engage in open battle ahead of time, instead they conducted all sorts of subversive activities. Settled explosions, distributed propaganda materials and the like.
Other references
During World War II, the term was widely used in the propaganda of the allied countries. The Fifth Column was portrayed as a pest that could cause serious damage to production, or disrupt the supply of necessary food and weapons under Lend-Lease.
Later, the term "fifth column" became a political cliche, which is very actively used in the territory of the countries of the former USSR. In the nineties, along with it, the expression "Jewish column" was also actively used, mainly in relation to oligarchs and representatives of intelligentsia of Jewish origin.
Modern media and political bloggers, especially in Russia, are driving the concept of the “fifth column” of all those who are trying to protest against dubious laws and reforms of the government, citizens with an active civic stance and even non-profit foundations. And if when hanging labels on stealth populists and loafers, ordinary ignorance takes place, then in some cases such negative assessments have very sad consequences.
The media and television today have a tremendous impact on public opinion and attitude, this huge force can convince anyone and anything. The dangerous tendency to label everyone and everything sometimes leads to terrible events, for example, some people do not take the threat of the AIDS epidemic seriously or completely deny its existence.
