Francisco Franco (1 Viewer)

[Combat]

Press report today indicating that Spain intends to exhume Franco this week and remove him from the El Escorial. I wonder what kind of reaction that gets from his supporters? Might backfire on them and stir up a lot of unnecessary trouble.

 

[jazzeum]

This process has been going on for some time and was contested by the family; I have been following it in the Spanish press. The rightists have complained but the party of Sanchez, the PM, was re-elected with more seats than before so fallout will not be as much as before. Moreover, the country has its hands full with the fallout from the Supreme Court decision regarding the separatist leaders in Cataluña so there are more important things to worry about right now.

They should destroy the Valle de los Caídos, built by the fascists on the back of Republican prisoners, but that’s not going to happen. Only now is the country coming to grips with the Civil War.

 

[Combat]

This process has been going on for some time and was contested by the family; I have been following it in the Spanish press. The rightists have complained but the party of Sanchez, the PM, was re-elected with more seats than before so fallout will not be as much as before. Moreover, the country has its hands full with the fallout from the Supreme Court decision regarding the separatist leaders in Cataluña so there are more important things to worry about right now.

They should destroy the Valle de los CaÃ*dos, built by the fascists on the back of Republican prisoners, but thatÂ’s not going to happen. Only now is the country coming to grips with the Civil War.

I had a chance to visit many years ago and it is an impressive place with a lot of significance. In terms of Franco, I'm not sure they are doing anyone any favors by stirring this up. Why revisit the divisions between the fascists and communists which has otherwise been relegated to the history books? For all the atrocities committed by Franco, it is impossible to know if Spain would have been better or worse off if the communists had won. The glorification of the Republican cause took place in a pre-WWII era when most didn't realize the evils of communism in Stalin's time.

 

[jazzeum]

Overthrowing a democracy can never be tolerated. The moneyed interests were threatened by moderate reforms so they started a rebellion. The Communists were a minor part of society. They only became important when the west would not help a legitimately elected government. There have been a legion of books written so I’d direct you to those. I’d also suggest Paul Preston’s book on the Spanish Holocaust.

Spanish society, unlike other countries, have never had a reconciliation — after Franco died the political parties agreed not to do so. After Franco died, it may have been a good idea but sooner or later it has to happen. People want to know where the remains of their relatives are. Here is a recent article, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/19/...ume-fallen.html#click=https://t.co/CGkoSebAkY

Another one, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/...tion=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

 

[jazzeum]

If you’d like to read a couple of novels about the War, I’d recommend the following, Sebastià Alzamora’s Blood Crime and Cristina Sánchez-Andrade The Winterlings. They are not very long but are pretty good.

 

[jazzeum]

This is an interesting book, a bit unusual, but worth a read, if you’re interested in the Spanish Civil War, https://www.nyrb.com/collections/classics/products/uncertain-glory?variant=41949442055

 

[MikeNick]

This is an interesting book, a bit unusual, but worth a read, if you’re interested in the Spanish Civil War, https://www.nyrb.com/collections/classics/products/uncertain-glory?variant=41949442055

Thank you for the advice. Because of it, I bought Preston's The Spanish Civil War
MikeNick

 

[jazzeum]

Thank you for the advice. Because of it, I bought Preston's The Spanish Civil War
MikeNick

Hugh Thomas’s book is still a great book. A book I really love is Ronald Fraser’s Blood of Spain: An Oral History of the Spanish Civil War. It’s one of the best books I’ve read on the War.