This article traces the early contacts between the Spanish anti-Republican conspirators and Germany prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in July 1936. It offers new insights into the role played by General Sanjurjo in the run-up to the coup d'état and highlights the importance of chance and personality in the process which led to the Nazi intervention in Spain. The activities of Admiral Canaris' Abwehr as well as of the Gestapo, the Wehrmacht and the Nazi party prior to the coup are also reassessed. The article uses new Spanish archival evidence to identify how Franco's emissaries met with Hitler, while General Mola's emissaries followed in the wake of the contacts established by Sanjurjo. It challenges the role attributed to the German businessman Johannes Bernhardt enshrined in existing literature. Its conclusions also challenge existing military and economic interpretations of Hitler's decision to assist Franco by asserting the importance of large strategic motives behind the Führer's move.