Galicia and World War II
The participation of Galicia, Spain, in World War II was marked by its location on Spain's Atlantic coast. Despite Spain's neutrality in the war, the country was affected due to its strategic location. The tungsten mines, such as the Mines of San Fins, were used for the Axis war industry. The extraction and transport of the mineral carried out by front companies, such as the Finance and Industrial Corporation.
Hundreds of Galicians traveled to fight with the Germans on the Eastern Front, in the Blue Division. On the other side, former republican combatants fought with the allies, many of them having been confined in French concentration camps.
Tungsten
were vital in economic warfare. Tungsten was one of those used to manufacture armaments. Before the war, the main producers were China, Burma and the United States of America. During the war, British sea power gave the Allied powers access to these countries, and denied them to the Axis powers. Germany had to seek sources in Europe. Spain and Portugal were the only producers, with Galicia accounting for almost 70% of Spanish reserves. For this reason, it became the main center of extraction.| Year | Quantity | Value in millions of pesetas |
| 1939 | 76 | 0,755 |
| 1949 | 563 | 6,985 |
| 1941 | 156 | 3,623 |
| 1942 | 159 | 18,751 |
| 1943 | 1396 | 241,054 |
| 1944 | 2502 | 406,455 |
| 1945 | 1662 | 246,221 |
Lorenz beam
In 1939, the Germans built a 112m high aerial, in Arneiro in the municipality of Cospeito. It carried the communications of the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, with a radius of a thousand miles. The station had two repeating lower and auxiliary buildings.It formed part of a German network of nineteen stations. The Allies' sabotage plans were not carried out, since Spain was treated as a neutral country. The Lorenz beam was also eventually used by the British and Americans.