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 agents of the rebellious General Franco. And then this phrase began to be used in politics and journalism to refer to enemy secret forces working within the state with the aim of destroying it.
Prehistory of occurrence
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 did not have the opportunity to acquire land and suffered from the arbitrariness of the 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 made up 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, practically like a state within a state. They had their own views on the future of Spain and often ignored the direct orders of the king. And after the Rif 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 brutally suppressed any protests and rallies with the help of still loyal military men.
In 1923, the situation in the country deteriorated so much that one of the famous Spanish generals decided to stage a military coup. By dissolving the government and parliament, he introduced strict censorship in Spain and, in fact, established a military dictatorship. Then there were attempts to rehabilitate the country's economy based on the experience of the Italian fascists. The rejection of foreign production and the stimulation of domestic enterprises began to bear certain fruits, but with the outbreak of the global crisis, all efforts came to naught. After such a setback and strong pressure from the king and the public, General Primo de Rivera resigned.
A year later, the monarchy collapsed in Spain, and the country became a full-fledged republic. In June, elections were held, which were won by the Socialists and Liberals. From that moment on, a socialist course was clearly defined in the Spanish Republic. The country was proclaimed a "Democratic Republic of all working classes", and active pressure began on the former elite of the state: priests, landowners and the military. Over the course of five years, Spain more and more plunged into a political and economic crisis, there were repeated attempts at coups and seizure of power.
Civil War
In 1936, a wave of murders of supporters of the right-wing forces swept across the country, and some leaders of nationalist movements were killed. 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 rebel general Emilio Mola became the organizer of the resistance. According to his scheme, all the military involved in the conspiracy were supposed to seize all command and control bodies and other important objects in the country at the same time and as quickly as possible. The date for drastic measures 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 forces loyal to the rebel general. Madrid was stunned by the insolence 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 Jose Giral found a not entirely obvious way to repel the rebellious military - immediately after his appointment, he ordered the distribution of free weapons to all who sympathize with the Popular Front and are ready to fight for it. Thanks to such drastic measures, the coup did not have much success; in many regions it literally failed. The authorities of the republic were able to restore 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 the fires of riots and civil unrest were raging in Spain, the rebels Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco were able to enlist the support of the Italian fascists and German nationalists in the person of Mussolini and Hitler. This made it possible to turn the tide of events in favor of the Spanish junta, and the rebels began to gradually move towards Madrid.
The emergence of the term "fifth column"
The plan of the traitorous opposition was extremely simple: with about ten thousand soldiers at their disposal, the nationalists intended to encircle the capital of Spain and gradually narrow the encirclement, until the resistance from the popular front was completely ended. During a full-scale attack, the nationalists were supposed to be assisted by General Franco's agents, which were located inside the city. Commander Emilio Mola has repeatedly stated that in addition to his four columns, there is also a fifth one, inside the city, which will provide all the necessary assistance at the right time.
It was then that the expression "fifth column" was first used. Secret supporters of the junta could not engage in open combat ahead of time, instead they carried out all sorts of subversive activities. They arranged explosions, distributed propaganda materials and the like.
Other mentions
During World War II, the term was widely used in propaganda for the allied countries. The "Fifth Column" was portrayed as a pest capable of causing serious damage to production, or disrupting the supply of necessary food and weapons under Lend-Lease.
Later, the term "fifth column" became a political cliché, which is very actively used in the territory of the countries of the former USSR. In the nineties, along with him, the expression "Jewish column" was also actively used, mainly in relation to oligarchs and representatives of the intelligentsia of Jewish origin.
Modern media and political bloggers, especially in Russia, fit everyone who is trying to protest against dubious laws and government reforms, citizens with an active civic position, and even non-profit foundations, under the notion of a “fifth column”. And if the usual ignorance occurs when labeling inconspicuous populists and idlers, then in some cases such negative assessments have very sad consequences.
The media and television today have a tremendous influence on public opinion and attitude, this tremendous force is able to convince anyone and anything. The dangerous tendency of labeling everyone and everything sometimes leads to terrible phenomena, for example, some people do not take the threat of the AIDS epidemic seriously or even deny its existence.
Finally
Of course, one cannot completely deny the possible threats to the country's state integrity, economic and political prosperity. The existence of the so-called fifth column, internal and external enemies, cannot be denied. But at the same time, you should not lose your head and rely on facts. As any problem has causes and consequences, so any information has prerequisites and primary sources. In the age of high-speed Internet and the endless pursuit of sensations, likes and views, the first publication or video that comes across cannot be taken as the pure truth.
For information, it is better to use the official sites of reputable publications and, oddly enough, Wikipedia. Contrary to the misconception that anyone can write anything there, this is not entirely true. Indeed, anyone can write and supplement articles, but an outright "gag" will not work there thanks to the established traditions of very strict moderation.
