1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Nee Wilson, and I'm Holly Fry. We are 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: kicking off Unearthed this season with a look at Francisco 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: Franco and the Spanish Civil War. These are topics that 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: have come up Unearthed a lot of times at this point. 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: In particular, we have talked about the discovery of mass 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: graves in Spain connected to the war and efforts to 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: identify the bodies in them and return them to family 10 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: members wherever possible. We have also talked last year about 11 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: Spain's parliament voting to exhume the remains of Dictator Francisco 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: Franco and relocate them somewhere. At that time, they were 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: talking about a state funded mausoleum. The Spanish Civil War 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: was also part of our Six Impossible episodes this past June, 15 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: when we talked about the vacuation of about four thousand 16 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: children after the bombing of Gernika. Every time any of 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: this comes up in an episode, I think we really 18 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: need to get into more detail on that because we 19 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: have not talked about a ton of Spanish history and 20 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: since debate over what to do with Franco's remains has 21 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: continued to make headlines all throughout. I mean, I think 22 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: I have like ten articles about it pinned on our 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: Unearthed pin board. This seemed like a good time to 24 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: finally do that, So we are going to talk about 25 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: his career both as a military man and a dictator, 26 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: and why there is so much contention about what to 27 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: do regarding his final resting place. And this is also 28 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: one of those topics that could really be a whole series. 29 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: You could launch an entire podcast that's only about the 30 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: run up to the Spanish Civil War and then the 31 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: war itself and then the dictatorship that followed it. So 32 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: that's really our our focus is his military service, his 33 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: time as a dictator, and and why I there's such 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: controversy over exactly what to do with his remains. Francisco 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: Franco Baha Monday was born December four and l Ferrell 36 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: in northwestern Spain. For generations, the men and his family 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: had served in the navy, and his father was an 38 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: officer in the Spanish Naval Administrative Corps. Franco's plan was 39 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: to join the navy as well, and he started studying 40 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: at the Naval Preparatory Academy when he was twelve, but 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: the Spanish Navy was still really struggling to recover from 42 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: the Spanish American War at that point, including the loss 43 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: of pretty much its whole Pacific fleet at the Battle 44 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: of Manila Bay. As a result, the Naval Academy canceled 45 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: its entrance exams the year that Franco was supposed to 46 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: take them, so he shifted over to the army instead 47 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,519 Speaker 1: and started attending the Infantry Academy in nineteen o seven 48 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: when he was fourteen. Franco didn't have much in common 49 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: with his classmates, and later on the same was true 50 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: for his fellow soldiers. He was small, and he had 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: a high voice ace and he was bullied for it. 52 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: He also had a reputation for being extremely serious and reserved, 53 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: while the other men tended to spend their free time 54 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: drinking and looking for women. In this way, Franco was 55 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: a lot more like his mother than his father. His 56 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,799 Speaker 1: father was known as an eccentric womanizer who was too 57 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,359 Speaker 1: casual with money, while his mother was a devout Catholic 58 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: who was serious and austere. Franca's performance at the Naval 59 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: academy was competent, but it wasn't exceptional. After he graduated, 60 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: he spent a couple of years stationed in his hometown 61 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: before being granted a transfer that he had requested to Morocco. 62 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: He was transferred there in nineteen twelve, when he was 63 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: nineteen years old. A small part of northern Morocco had 64 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: become Spanish territory during the Scramble for Africa. To quickly 65 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: recap that the Scramble for Africa spanned the late nineteenth 66 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: and early twentieth centuries, as multiple European nations divided Africa 67 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: among themselves without regard to the nation's empires and kingdoms 68 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: that were already there, and without any input from any 69 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: actual Africans. Spain's control of northern Morocco was part of 70 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: a very complicated deal in which Britain, France, and Italy 71 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: were all trying to secure their own interest in parts 72 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: of Northern Africa, and the end, most of Morocco was 73 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,720 Speaker 1: under French control, but the northern part closest to Spain, 74 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 1: just right across the water from the southern tip of Spain, 75 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: connected to both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, that part 76 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: was Spanish territory. After arriving in Morocco, Franco was promoted 77 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: to first lieutenant in command of a Moroccan cavalry regiment, 78 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: and he approached his command the same way he had 79 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: approached his time at the academy. He was competent, professional, prepared, serious, 80 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,799 Speaker 1: and honest. In nineteen fifteen, at the age of twenty two, 81 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: he was promoted to captain, making him the youngest captain 82 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: in the Spanish Army. This wasn't just because of his competence, though, 83 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: It was also because he put a bigger priority on 84 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: self present nation than some of his fellow officers did, 85 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: so he moved up through the ranks as they were 86 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: wounded or killed. He continued to do this until he 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: was seriously wounded in nineteen sixteen and transferred back to 88 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: Spain to recover. While he was there, he met Carmen 89 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: Polo E Martinez Valdez, and the two of them plans 90 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: to get married, but in nineteen twenty Franco was made 91 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: second in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion and sent 92 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: back to Morocco, so the two of them didn't actually 93 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: get married until nineteen twenty three. Later on, they also 94 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: had one daughter, Franco's second stretch of military service in 95 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: Morocco mostly took place during a war between Spanish colonial 96 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: forces and the Riffian people. You will also see them 97 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: referred to simply as the riff This was a five 98 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: year war that began after the Riffian people tried to 99 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: break away into an independent republic. Spain faced a massive 100 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: defeat in July of ninety one, losing between eight thousand 101 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: and ten thousand men and being forced to retreat eat 102 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: A combination of French and Spanish forces put down the 103 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: uprising in nineteen five. Franco was one of the most 104 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: vocal and visible Spanish officers and this extremely bloody war, 105 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: and he was increasingly celebrated for that back in Spain. 106 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: Along the way, he was also promoted to lieutenant colonel 107 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: and made commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion. He was 108 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: promoted to brigadier general in nineteen twenty six, making him 109 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: the youngest brigadier general in all of Europe. Two years later, 110 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: he was made director of Spain's General Military Academy. Throughout 111 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: Franco's life, up to this point, Spain had been a 112 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: monarchy ruled by King Alfonso. Alfonso's father had died before 113 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: he was born, so he was a monarch from birth, 114 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: although his mother acted as regent until nineteen o two. 115 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: Since eighteen seventy six, Spain's constitution had also required government 116 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: controlled elections that rotated through liberal and conservative parties. The 117 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: setup sounds really k addic to me, and on top 118 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: of that, it was also prone to manipulation and corruption, 119 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: and by the nineteen twenties things were getting worse. A 120 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: military coup in ninety three established Miguel Primo de Rivera 121 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: as Prime Minister. He ran the Spanish government as a dictatorship. 122 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: Another series of attempted coups after that tried but failed 123 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: to remove him from office. Spain's colonial activities and Morocco 124 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: were also very expensive and very bloody, and Spain was 125 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: really not getting a lot to show from all of that. 126 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: There were repeated assassination attempts against both King Alfonso and 127 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: his wife Eugenia, and then the Wall Street crash of 128 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: ninety nine, combined with ongoing economic issues to spark the 129 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: Great Depression. All of these factors ultimately led to both 130 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: Primo de Rivera and King Alfonso losing support, including the 131 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: support of the military Primo de Rivera was forced out 132 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: of office shortly before dying in ninety and the Key 133 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: was forced to leave Spain on April fourteenth, ninety one, 134 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: although he did not formally abdicate. Because Spain had very 135 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: briefly been a republic from eighteen seventies three to eighteen 136 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: seventy four, the period after Alfonso's departure is known as 137 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: the Second Republic. Becoming a republic did not fix Spain's problems, though, 138 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: Spain's newly democratic government started trying to roll out a 139 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: series of mostly pretty liberal reforms. Most people in rural 140 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 1: parts of Spain were landless laborers, so efforts were made 141 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: to redistribute land to them. The new government also tried 142 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: to reform the education system and reduce the power of 143 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: the Catholic Church. It also tried to drastically reduce military 144 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: spending and the size of the military. This affected Francisco 145 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: Franco directly. The General Military Academy was dissolved and he 146 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: was placed on inactive status. The Spanish government faced increasing 147 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,959 Speaker 1: criticisms over all of these reforms. They tended to happen 148 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: very slowly due to a range of issues, including bureaucracy 149 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: and the Great Depression. Eventually, they were unpopular on every side. 150 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: Those on the political right objected to the proposed reforms 151 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: happening at all, while those on the left thought they 152 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: weren't ambitious enough or happening fast enough. Then, in nineteen 153 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: thirty three, Conservatives gained a majority in the Spanish Parliament 154 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: and started rolling back what few reforms had been made 155 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 1: in the earlier administration. Franco was restored to his former 156 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: position in the army, and a year later he was 157 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: promoted again. In nineteen thirty four, miners went on strike 158 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: in the Asturious region of Spain, and this strike progressed 159 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: into a revolt. The revolt was violently suppressed by the 160 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: Spanish military, and once again Franco was praised for his 161 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,439 Speaker 1: role in putting down an uprising. Franco got a lot 162 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: of praise for putting down uprisings. That was like one 163 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: of the things people loved best about him. But by 164 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: that point things were really unraveling in Spain. Speaking in 165 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: very broad strokes, people were increasingly politically divided and polarized 166 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: between the left and the right. Groups, parties and factions 167 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: on each side started coalescing into unified movements on the 168 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: left was the Popular Front and on the right was 169 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: the National Front. In the February sixteenth, ninety six election, 170 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 1: the Popular Front won the majority in the Spanish Parliament. 171 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: The newly elected government was concerned about rising nationalism within 172 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: Spain's military. The military was purged of suspected conspirators, and 173 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: some high ranking officers were transferred to remote territory to 174 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: get them out of the way. One of these officers 175 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: who was transferred was Franco. Throughout his career, his actions 176 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 1: had been really clearly aligned with the more nationalist side 177 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: of Spanish politics, but he had never vocally taken a 178 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 1: side in politics, and he had not participated in the 179 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: earlier political coup is that the military had tried to undertake. 180 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: After the nineteen thirty six election, though he thought the 181 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: political situation in Spain was really precarious, he started appealing 182 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 1: to this new government to declare a state of emergency. 183 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: He was instead transferred to the Canary Islands off the 184 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: coast of northern Africa to get him out of the way. 185 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: He would return to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, 186 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,439 Speaker 1: which we were going to talk about after we first 187 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. From the creation of 188 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: the Second Republic until nineteen thirty six, the Spanish government 189 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 1: really struggled to try to hold the country together during 190 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: this series of increasingly turbulent elections and the creation of 191 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: these coalitions among the nation's various political parties and groups, 192 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: and as we noted before the break, people had become 193 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:58,439 Speaker 1: extremely polarized. The nation's military leaders tended to be aligned 194 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 1: with the National Front. After the nineteen thirty six election, 195 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: they feared the influence of communists and socialists in Spain 196 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,679 Speaker 1: and objected to the reforms and policies that the new 197 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: government started making. As a result, generals under Emilio Mola 198 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: started planning another coup. At first, Franco was not eager 199 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: to have any part of all this. Like we said earlier, 200 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:24,119 Speaker 1: his actions were obviously more in line with the nationalist 201 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: side of things, but he had avoided taking a public 202 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: political position, and he had already gotten a punitive transfer 203 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: to the Canary Islands. He just didn't want to get 204 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 1: caught up in an attempted coup that had the potential 205 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 1: to fail and then completely destroy his career. But as 206 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: planning went on and it started to look more like 207 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 1: Mola's coup might be successful, Franco changed his mind. The 208 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: coup was set to take place on July eighteenth, ninety six, 209 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: with the uprising beginning within the army in Morocco on 210 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: the day before. Franco initially broadcast a manifesto from the 211 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 1: Canary Islands, but soon returned to Morocco to take command 212 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: of the Army of Africa, which would become the Nationalist Army. 213 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: This coup is also cited as where the term fifth 214 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: column comes from. Uh That term came up, I think 215 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: in our Executive Order nineties sixty six episode with people 216 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: in the United States saying that they feared a fifth 217 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: column of Japanese insurgents. So Emilio Mala had four columns 218 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: that would head towards Madrid, and then he described that 219 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: there was also a fifth column of supporters in Madrid 220 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,959 Speaker 1: who would rise up and fight with them when they 221 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: got there. However, the coup as planned was not successful. 222 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: The Nationalist force was unable to take Madrid, setting off 223 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: almost three years of devastating civil war. Speaking again in 224 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: broad strokes, this was a war between the left and 225 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: the right. On the right where the nationalists they tended 226 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: to be Catholic and affluent. A lot of them owned 227 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: land or businesses. A lot of Nationalists were also monarchists, 228 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 1: and Nationalists were backed by the Spanish military. Then on 229 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: the left were the Republicans, also known as the Loyalists, 230 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: which largely included people in the middle class, along with 231 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:14,679 Speaker 1: laborers in both agriculture and in the urban centers. The 232 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,839 Speaker 1: Loyalists side was loyal to the government that had been 233 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: democratically elected in nineteen thirty six, while the nationalists wanted 234 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: to overthrow that government. This war was incredibly bloody and brutal. 235 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: Twenty seven nations signed a non intervention agreement, but Germany, Italy, 236 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: and the Soviet Union disregarded it. Germany and Italy sided 237 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: with the Nationalists, and the Soviet Union sided with the Republicans. 238 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: All three nations provided military aid to their respective sides. 239 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: When the Army of Africa was moved from Morocco to Spain, 240 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: it was done with aircraft from Germany and Italy. There 241 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: was also the bombing of civilian targets that we talked 242 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: about in that Six Impossible Episodes earlier this year. As 243 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: the war on individual cities and towns fell and were 244 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: retaken with huge casualties on both sides, including amongst civilians. 245 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: So the nationalist force would take a city and execute 246 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: Republican supporters, only for the Republican force to do the 247 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: same thing after taking it back, or the reverse would 248 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: happen regardless, though the death toll was immense and the 249 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,800 Speaker 1: civil war was marked by atrocities on both sides of 250 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: the fighting. On October one, ninety six, the nationalist side 251 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: named Franco its head of state. By that point, the 252 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: other leading generals had been killed in combat or plane crashes. 253 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: He started further consolidating the various parties and factions to 254 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: try to make one unified nationalist side. One of these, 255 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: the Falone or Phalanx Party, became an official nationalist state 256 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: party in April of ninety seven. Four months later, thanks 257 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: to the nationalists pro Catholic leanings, the Vatican formally recognized 258 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: Franco as the Spanish head of state. At that point, 259 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: the International Brigades had also started arriving in Spain. The 260 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: International Brigades were, as the name suggests, volunteers from numerous nations. 261 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: A lot of the organization effort had been spearheaded by 262 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union. These were people who came to Spain 263 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: from all these other places to fight on the side 264 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: of the loyalists. By the end of the war, more 265 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: than sixty thousand volunteers had served with the International brigades. 266 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: Most of them were from France, although people came from 267 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 1: roughly fifty countries. A lot of the people who volunteered 268 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: to fight where socialists, communists, students, and labor organizers. George 269 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: Orwell also fought with the Republican army and wrote homage 270 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: to Catalonia about the experience. By the spring of nineteen 271 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: thirty nine, Franco's nationalists were headed toward victory. Republican soldiers 272 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: and civilians had started fleeing towards France. Catalonia was the 273 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:01,600 Speaker 1: last major Republican stronghold aside from Madrid, and after it fell, 274 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,440 Speaker 1: the Republican side surrendered. Franco's force entered Madrid on March 275 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: twenty eight, and the war was formally over on April first, 276 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,200 Speaker 1: ninety nine. The estimated death toll from the Spanish Civil 277 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: War is five hundred thousand people, although the Nationalists placed 278 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,360 Speaker 1: the figure at more like a million people immediately after 279 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 1: the war was over. Spain's population at the time was 280 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: about twenty five million people, so about two percent of 281 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: the population was killed just in the war, but the 282 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: bloodshed didn't end when the war was over. As many 283 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,959 Speaker 1: as a hundred thousand people disappeared after the war as 284 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:43,040 Speaker 1: the nationalist regime started executing people with Republicans sympathies. Hundreds 285 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: of thousands more were made political prisoners. Republicans were also exiled, 286 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: and people all across the political spectrum died of starvation 287 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: and disease after the war or left Spain in the 288 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: wake of it. Franco became Spain's ruler in a government 289 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: that technically had a parliamentary system but was really a 290 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 1: military dictatorship. The parliament was more like an advisory body 291 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: than an actual legislative government branch, and Franco was the 292 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: sole authority over policies and decisions. Franco's government restored power 293 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,880 Speaker 1: to the Catholic Church and did not tolerate dissent. Laws 294 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: restricted civic freedoms, including the freedom of speech, and people 295 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: who opposed the government were tried in military courts and 296 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: given sentences that were harsh and arbitrary. On September one, 297 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: ninety nine, just five months after the end of the 298 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 1: Spanish Civil War, Germany invaded Poland, which marks the beginning 299 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: of Europe's involvement in World War Two, and it seemed 300 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 1: likely that Spain would ally with the access powers of 301 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: Italy and Germany, especially given Italy and Germany's military assistance 302 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,400 Speaker 1: on the nationalist side during the Spanish Civil War. Spain's 303 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: dictatorship was also more aligned with Nazi Germany and Fascist 304 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: Italy than it was with the Allied Powers, but Franco 305 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: proved to have the same kind of self preservation that 306 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,959 Speaker 1: he did back in his early years of army service. 307 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: He met with both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and 308 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: discussed what it would take for Spain to join the 309 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: war on their side. Spain wanted territory after the war 310 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: was over, including Gibraltar and Morocco, and Spain also wanted 311 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: huge amounts of assistance to help with the recovery from 312 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: the Civil War. Neither Italy nor Germany was willing to 313 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 1: agree to Spain's terms, finding them way too demanding. Hitler 314 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: is widely reported to have said after this meeting that 315 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: he'd quote rather have three or four teeth pulled than 316 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: ever have to have a meeting with Franco again. So 317 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: Spain sympathized with the Access Powers but mostly stayed neutral 318 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 1: in World War Two. But as it seemed increasingly likely 319 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,959 Speaker 1: that the Access Powers were going to lose, Franco started 320 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: making gestures to the Allies. For example, Franco allowed Allied 321 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: pilots who were shot down free passage through Spain so 322 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 1: that they could get back to their units via Portugal. 323 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 1: He allowed Jewish refugees similar passage through Spain. Spain's relative 324 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: neutrality during World War Two was not enough to gain 325 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 1: the trust of other world leaders after the war was over, 326 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: though Franco was described as the last surviving Fascist dictator. Consequently, 327 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: Spain was barred from joining the United Nations, and the 328 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: other United Nations member states withdrew their ambassadors out of Madrid. 329 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: Spain was also left out of the Marshal Plan that 330 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: was meant to aid Western Europe's recovery after the war 331 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: was over. However, Spain's international isolation did not last very 332 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: long as the Cold War grew between the United States 333 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: and the Soviet Union. Franco was vocally anti communist, as 334 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: we noted in our episode on the mirraor Ball Sisters. 335 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: The United States was willing to overlook a lot when 336 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: it came to nations that opposed communism. The United States 337 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: and Spain started re establishing more normal diplomatic relationships in ninety. 338 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty three, the two nations signed a military 339 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: Assistance packed that involved allowing the US to build military 340 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,439 Speaker 1: bases in Spain in exchange for economic aid. Spain was 341 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: allowed to join the United Nations in nineteen fifty five. 342 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: By that point, Spain was at least technically a monarchy again. 343 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: The NINTI seven Law of Succession, which was passed in 344 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,200 Speaker 1: part to make Spain's government more palatable to other nations, 345 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: had established that Spain was a monarchy and that Franco 346 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: was just acting as a regents until naming a successor, 347 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: but this law didn't set any kind of timeline for 348 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: that to happen. It gave Franco the freedom to be 349 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: regent's kind of in quotation marks for life. In the 350 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties and sixties, student protests led Franco's regime to 351 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: relax some of its more authoritarian policies at least somewhat, 352 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: but there was still ongoing resistance to Franco's rule along 353 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: with violence from separatists. This was particularly true among Basque nationalists, 354 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: but to be clear, the Basques were not the only 355 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: separatists in Spain. Spain's remaining colonies also pressed for independence, 356 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: with Morocco becoming independent of both Spain and France in 357 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six. In nineteen sixty nine, Franco finally named 358 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: his successor, Prince Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso. Franco 359 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,679 Speaker 1: continued acting as regent until nineteen seventy three, although he 360 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: continued to work behind the scenes after that until his 361 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 1: health prevented it. He died in Madrid on November twentieth, 362 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy five, after more than a year of very 363 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,280 Speaker 1: serious illnesses. Franco's burial place is what brought us to 364 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: doing an episode on him today, and we're going to 365 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: get to that after we pause for a little sponsor break. 366 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: After Juan Carlos became King of Spain, he and his 367 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: Prime Minister, Adolpho Suarez Gonzalez started reforming the Spanish government. 368 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: A new constitution was passed on December six with almost 369 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: unanimous support. This constitution established Spain as a constitutional monarchy, 370 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: with the monarch in an a political role. That constitution 371 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: also establishes that Spanish citizens are equal under the law, 372 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: and it includes fundamental rights and freedoms like the freedom 373 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of privacy. This was, 374 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: of course, not the end of strife in Spain, but 375 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: one Carlos was able to make sweeping changes that modernized Spain, 376 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: protected civil rights, and restored democracy. Ironically, a big factor 377 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: in his power to do that was that he was 378 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: following Francisco Franco as head of state. Franco had given 379 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: himself very broad powers, and after following him, Juan Carlos 380 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 1: used that power to make big changes. Yeah, he basically 381 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: used that power that Franco had had passed on to 382 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,360 Speaker 1: him to do the opposite it of what Franco had 383 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: done during his time as dictator, and these reforms were 384 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,360 Speaker 1: really not what a lot of people expected of the 385 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 1: new king. Juan Carlos had very vocally praised Franco when 386 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: he was named successor, and then after Franco's death, he 387 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: made the Franco family part of the Spanish nobility. So 388 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: Francisco Franco's daughter was the first Duchess of Franco, but 389 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: Juan Carlos had also started secretly meeting and planning with 390 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: Democratic reformers long before Franco even died. The king also 391 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: oversaw Franco's funeral and his burial in the Valley of 392 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: the Fallen outside of Madrid. The Valley of the Fallen 393 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: is an immense monument whose construction started a year after 394 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: the Spanish Civil War ended, and it went on for 395 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,160 Speaker 1: twenty years. It's a basilica and crypt at the foot 396 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: of a cliff, with a massive granite cross on top 397 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: of the cliff. It's really hard to describe the sheer 398 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: immensity of this whole thing, and during its construction, Franco 399 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: had described I this monument and it's building as an 400 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,399 Speaker 1: act of atonement and reconciliation, one that was meant to 401 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 1: bring Spain together. However, it was also built by Republican 402 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 1: political prisoners. The circumstances of that building are described as 403 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 1: everywhere from forced labor to political prisoners being promised time 404 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:23,919 Speaker 1: off of their sentences if they worked on this being built. 405 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: It was also intended from the start to basically be 406 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: a monument to Franco and to be his own massive tomb. 407 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: After the monument was finished, the bodies of thirty three thousand, 408 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: eight hundred forty seven people who had been killed during 409 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: the war were exhumed and reinterred in the surrounding forest 410 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: to increase the scale of the monument. This was often 411 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: done without the permission or knowledge of the families, and 412 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: records were also really spotty, so in many cases people 413 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: whose family members remains were relocated now have no idea 414 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 1: exactly where they are, and there are ongoing legal battles 415 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:08,200 Speaker 1: to exhume, identify, and return people's remains. They're really heartbreaking 416 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: stories and all of this, and as far as people 417 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 1: who were like, Okay, I'm looking for my grandfather, meticulously 418 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: tracing the process of where their grandfather was, finally figuring 419 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: out exactly where he was killed and where the people 420 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: killed in that battle were buried, only to be told 421 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 1: that everyone there was just dug up and transported to 422 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,120 Speaker 1: the Valley of the Fallen without anybody keeping track of 423 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: exactly where. Only two people, though, are buried inside the 424 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: church itself. At the Valley of the Fallen, there's Francisco 425 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,680 Speaker 1: Franco and then there's the Falange party leader Jose Antonio 426 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,959 Speaker 1: Primo de Rivera, and today admission into This church is 427 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: only supposed to be for religious purposes, but for decades 428 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 1: people came to leave flowers on Franco's grave, or to 429 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: spit on it, or vandalize it or try to blow 430 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 1: it up. People visit the Valley of the Falling because 431 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: they lost family members in the war, but they also 432 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: visit annually on Franco's birthday to memorialize him. Over the years, 433 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,199 Speaker 1: there have been repeated proposals to exhume Francisco's remains and 434 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 1: move them somewhere else, to a more modest location that 435 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: isn't effectively a monument to a dictator, someplace that wouldn't 436 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,359 Speaker 1: become a pilgrimage site for fascists. But those proposals have 437 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: proven to be incredibly controversial. Unlike Germany and Italy, Spain 438 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 1: did not suffer a military defeat during World War Two. 439 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 1: There was no war crimes investigation, no formal attempt to 440 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: seek justice and atonement after the Civil War was over. Instead, 441 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: the exact opposite happened. In ninety seven, political leaders agreed 442 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 1: to what was called the Pact of Forgetting. Sometimes this 443 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: is described as a packed to not ever discuss the 444 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: Civil War again, but that's not exactly right. It was 445 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: more like a negotiation among the various political factions to 446 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: not let the war get in the way of working 447 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: together to form a government, and not to invest government 448 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: resources into trying to resolve the past. This was followed 449 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: by a nineteen seventy seven amnesty law that legally formalized 450 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: that agreement. This law released political prisoners and allowed people 451 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: who had been forced out of Spain to return, but 452 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: it also protected the people who committed wartime atrocities from 453 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 1: ever being prosecuted. All this means that nobody on any 454 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 1: side was ever held accountable for the many atrocities of 455 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: the Spanish Civil War and the fascist regime that followed, 456 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 1: including Franco. There was no investigation, no truth commission, no 457 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:48,120 Speaker 1: civic commemoration of milestone anniversaries of the war. Spain instead 458 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: just tried to leave the past in the past and 459 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:55,120 Speaker 1: move on. That has started to change only very recently. 460 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: Spain's two thousand seven Law of Historical Memory condemned Franco 461 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: in his regime and established terms for removing some monuments 462 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: from the Franco era. It also recognized the people who 463 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,640 Speaker 1: fought on both sides of the war and established the 464 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: victims of the war and the dictatorship and their descendants 465 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 1: could seek restitution. The attempts to identify bodies in mass 466 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: graves that we've talked about on the show before mostly 467 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,960 Speaker 1: started after the passage of this two thousand seven law. 468 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: Just this year, Spain announced plans to establish a truth commission. 469 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: The Historical Memory Law and legislation to exhume Franco's remains 470 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: and similar steps have generally been taken when Socialists have 471 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: had the majority in Spain's government, and that's been over 472 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: the objection of Spain's conservative parties. Conversely, when conservative parties 473 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: have had power, they've either tried to roll back those 474 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: earlier laws or stopped supporting them or allocating money in 475 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 1: the budget to carry them out. And a lot of 476 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: people feel like the Historical Memory Law and other similar 477 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: legislat action is just digging up a horror from the 478 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: past that should be left there. All of this has 479 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: contributed to Spain being really divided over the legacy of 480 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: Francisco Franco and how he should be remembered. On one 481 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 1: side are people who consider him a fascist dictator whose 482 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: regime murdered or imprisoned hundreds of thousands of people following 483 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:25,520 Speaker 1: an attempted coup against a democratically elected government. On the 484 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: other side are people who think this attempted coup was 485 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: a necessary intervention against communism and that the Republicans would 486 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: have treated their opponents the exact same way if they 487 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:39,719 Speaker 1: had won, and since the Republican forces also committed massacres 488 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: and atrocities during the war, there are also a lot 489 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: of people living in Spain whose family members were killed 490 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: by the loyalists and not by Franco's regime, because Franco's 491 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: dictatorship was motivated more by a military style efficiency than 492 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: by a specific political doctrine. Another argument was that he 493 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: was sort of not that bad as fascist dictators go. 494 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: This reminds me of growing up in North Carolina and 495 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: the way we would talk about slavery and history class, 496 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,959 Speaker 1: and it was sort of like, well, we didn't have 497 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: nearly as many slaves as South Carolina, so it's not 498 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: that bad, which is just not a very valid argument. 499 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: There's a whole lot of he was a dictator, but 500 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: he was a good dictator, or he was authoritarian but 501 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: not totalitarian. His supporters also note that he never smoked 502 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,400 Speaker 1: or drank and is never known to have had an 503 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: extramarital affair, and they point to this as evidence that 504 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 1: he was a moral man rather than being a war criminal. Plus, 505 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: Spain's economy started booming in the nineteen sixties, which continued 506 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: until Franco's death. This period is nicknamed the Spanish Miracle. 507 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 1: Franco himself didn't really have anything to do with it, 508 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,680 Speaker 1: apart from handing the country's economic leadership over to relatively 509 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,920 Speaker 1: young ministers who liberalized the economy, but it still means 510 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 1: that some people remember him as having finally rescued Spain 511 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: from the economic devastation that followed the Civil War and 512 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: that went on for decades afterward. Spain has also faced 513 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 1: a huge economic crisis over the past decade, so many 514 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: people who remember the sixties remember them as a time 515 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: when Franco brought prosperity which democracy has now taken away. Plus, 516 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: all those decades leading up to the Spanish Civil War 517 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: were very turbulent, with increasing division and a series of 518 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: coups and attempted cus before the war itself even started. 519 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 1: By comparison, Franco's dictatorship was kind of calm. All of 520 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: this is complicated by the fact that Spain has never 521 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: had a thorough accounting of the war and Franco's dictatorship, 522 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: and it is divisive. One poll conducted in July asked 523 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: are you in favor of removing the remains of Francisco 524 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: Franco from the Valley of the Fallen? Just under forty 525 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:03,240 Speaker 1: one percent said yes. To the question do you think 526 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: it's a good time to address the issue, more than 527 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: fifty said no. It's also really still unfolding. Franco's descendants 528 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,720 Speaker 1: have said that they would like to have him reinterred 529 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: in the family crypt at La Almudena Cathedral in Madrid 530 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: with full military honors, but that plan has brought on 531 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: criticism that it would just make his burial place even 532 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 1: more accessible and just as likely to be made into 533 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,959 Speaker 1: basically a new shrine, a shrine that would become a 534 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: monument to fascism. And we are recording this episode on 535 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: December eleven, at which point the issue is still not settled, 536 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 1: which means that I fully believe that three days from now, Yeah, 537 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: some huge news story will break that will change everything 538 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: that we have just said about where it currently stands. Yeah, 539 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 1: it's that is a trend. When we record episodes that 540 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: reach into the current era. Yet it's pretty much immediately 541 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,880 Speaker 1: after we closed the door on record NG then suddenly 542 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 1: there's brand new news. I mean, the most recent articles 543 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,040 Speaker 1: that I read about this we're from yesterday and we're 544 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:07,880 Speaker 1: you know, we went and we go into the studio 545 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: at ten o'clock on Tuesday mornings, So it was like 546 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,080 Speaker 1: three o'clock yesterday afternoon was my last news update on 547 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,320 Speaker 1: the status of the burial place of Francisco Franco or 548 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,880 Speaker 1: in all way until about twenty minutes after the episode publishes. 549 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: Since we're prepping for holidays, we're prepping and invain. Yeah, 550 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: so so we'll be like trying to have Christmas and 551 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:35,520 Speaker 1: madly trying to uh acknowledge that things have shifted. Yep. Completely. 552 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,719 Speaker 1: Do you have a little bit of listener mail. I 553 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 1: knew and it is from Katie. Katie says, longtime listener 554 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: and huge fan at Katie here. A month ago you 555 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: did an episode on Crystal Knock, which later raised the 556 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,359 Speaker 1: discussion about the evolution of the name. For that night 557 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: last week, I happened to be in Berlin at the 558 00:34:55,640 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: Museum the Topography of Terrors, where coincidentally they were showing 559 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,520 Speaker 1: a special exhibit on that night. The exhibit itself was 560 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 1: called Crystal Knocked, but then throughout the text of the 561 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: exhibit the event was referred to as Reich's Pogrom Knocked. 562 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: I found that interesting and thought you might as well. 563 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,000 Speaker 1: They didn't really address the evolution of the name, but 564 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,440 Speaker 1: did address how awareness of the event has grown in 565 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:22,640 Speaker 1: the past decades. Attached our photos of the exhibit. Overall, 566 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,480 Speaker 1: it was incredibly moving, as the was the museum itself 567 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,279 Speaker 1: built over the block that used to contain the headquarters 568 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:32,120 Speaker 1: of the s S and the Gestapo. Also an episode 569 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: suggestion in pictures the Gate of Ishtar. So she goes 570 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,239 Speaker 1: on to talk about the Gate of Ishtar, and this 571 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: email included six really beautiful photographs um of the gate 572 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: and then also of parts of that museum exhibit. So 573 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 1: thank you so much, Katie. That was an interesting look 574 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:53,240 Speaker 1: at how a museum in Berlin might address the fact 575 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 1: that people may remember something by one name when that 576 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: name is not necessarily the preferred language in Germany. 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