Falange Española de las JONS the Second Spanish Republic. Expanding rapidly from several thousand to several hundred thousand members, the Falange's male membership was accompanied by a female auxiliary, the "Sección Femenina". Led by José Antonio's sister Pilar, this latter subsidiary organization claimed more than a half million members by the end of the Civil War and provided nursing and support services for the Nationalist forces. The command of the party rested upon Manuel Hedilla as many of the first generation leaders were dead or incarcerated by the Republicans. Among them was José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was a Government prisoner. As a result,
Background of the Spanish Civil War as the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas, who had influence over the judiciary and the press. Rural landowners were told to think of the Republic as godless and communist. The second group consisted of organisations that had supported the monarchy, such as the Renovación Española and Carlists, who wished to see the new republic overthrown in a violent uprising. The third group were Fascist organisations, among them supporters of the dictator's son, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. Primo de Rivera was the most significant leader of fascism in Spain. The press often editorialised about a foreign Jewish–Masonic–Bolshevik plot. Members of the