El presente artículo compara el papel de los comisarios políticos y los capellanes militares durante la Guerra Civil española, evalúa la efectividad de ambos organismos dentro del esfuerzo bélico de los dos bandos y examina los retos de mantener la moral combativa y una adecuada disciplina durante un largo conflicto. También considera las relaciones entre los soldados y los comisarios o capellanes que se encargaban de ellos. Concluye que tanto comisarios como capellanes fueron pilares importantes de la movilización bélica de su bando, pero que los capellanes eran generalmente más efectivos en esta labor por no resultar divisivos.
This article examines the role of Republican political commissars and Nationalist chaplains during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 in a comparative light. It assesses the effectiveness of both organizations within the two sides’ war efforts, as well as examines the challenge of maintaining combat morale and adequate discipline during a drawn-out conflict. It also considers the relationship between front-line soldiers and the commissars and chaplains that oversaw them. The article concludes that commissars and chaplains were important central components of both sides’ wartime mobilization, but that chaplains were generally more effective in this role because they were not divisive.
