Defunct
181-465: The Francisco Franco National Foundation (Spanish: Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco ; FNFF ) is a foundation created in 1976 devoted to promoting the legacy of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco . The only child of Franco, Carmen Franco (1926–2017) led the organisation and later became its honorary president . In 2017, 200,000 people signed a petition, calling on the Spanish government to ban
362-584: A major scandal in parliament , and eliminated Alejandro Lerroux , the head of the Radical Republican Party, from the premiership. Subsequently, Alcalá-Zamora vetoed the logical replacement, a majority centre-right coalition, led by the CEDA, which would reflect the composition of the parliament. He then arbitrarily appointed an interim prime minister and after a short period announced the dissolution of parliament and new elections. Two wide coalitions formed:
543-536: A "possible caudillo for a military uprising". Disenchantment with Azaña's rule continued to grow and was dramatically voiced by Miguel de Unamuno , a republican and one of Spain's most respected intellectuals, who in June 1936 told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should "...debiera suicidarse como acto patriótico" ("commit suicide as a patriotic act"). In June 1936, Franco
724-402: A civic “Acción Ciudadana”. All these concepts were resemblant of Primo de Rivera state party, Unión Patriótica, the amorphous and bureaucratic structure built from scratch and organized around general values such as patriotism, discipline, work, law and order. It is not clear whether Franco has ever considered seriously any of the above options; it seems that by late 1936 he started to opt for
905-557: A continuance of the war and in the keeping up of the tension in the Mediterranean." Hitler distrusted Franco; according to the comments he made at the conference he wanted the war to continue, but he did not want Franco to achieve total victory. He felt that with Franco in undisputed control of Spain, the possibility of Italy intervening further or of its continuing to occupy the Balearic Islands would be prevented. By February 1937
1086-645: A corporative state yet he could have not distinguished between the regimes in Italy, Austria , Portugal and Germany . It seems that at that time he expected that the Falangists and the Carlists would work out the merger terms themselves; in a letter to Rome Nicolás Franco claimed that both parties were in midst of negotiations, that the talks were going on well and that the major problem was Don Javier, unwilling to cede power. Contemporary scholar concludes that Franco considered
1267-515: A daughter, María del Carmen . Franco would have a close relationship with his daughter and was a proud parent, though his traditionalist attitudes and increasing responsibilities meant he left much of the child-rearing to his wife. In 1928 Franco was appointed director of the newly created General Military Academy of Zaragoza, a new college for all Spanish army cadets , replacing the former separate institutions for young men seeking to become officers in infantry, cavalry, artillery, and other branches of
1448-603: A deal agreed by both parties might be better than a solution imposed by the military. Exchange of public statements at the turn of 1936 and 1937 immediately revealed major differences: an article by Carlist pundit presented both as partners, but in response Hedilla declared that Traditionalists were most likely to be absorbed by Falange. First informal consultation talks were staged by compromise-minded politicians in January 1937 and were re-opened in February, though in both parties there
1629-458: A dichotomous choice between "communism" or a markedly totalitarian "National" State, and setting the mood of the masses for a military rebellion. The diffusion of the myth about an alleged Communist coup d'état as well a pretended state of "social chaos" became pretexts for a coup. Franco himself along with General Emilio Mola had stirred an anti-Communist campaign in Morocco. On 23 February, Franco
1810-505: A different formula, based not on a general political amalgam but formatted along more specific lines. In November he confessed in private that perhaps the Falangist doctrine could be incorporated without the Falange. The same month in liaison with Hedilla he asked the party head of Servicio Exterior section to propose terms of would-be merger with the Carlists; there is no outcome known, though it
1991-408: A failure. One argument put forward is that it failed to actually unify all Nationalist political groupings; Carlism and Alfonsism survived as autonomous forces and soon new ones started to emerge. Another argument is that the newly created state party, Falange Española Tradicionalista, has never become the vehicle of popular mobilization, a platform of forging a political course and a social backbone of
SECTION 10
#17328701687492172-432: A fellow africanista , General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano , on 21 September 1924 to propose that Queip de Llano organize a coup d'état against Primo. In the end, Franco complied with General Primo's orders, taking part in the retreat of Spanish soldiers from Xaouen in late 1924, and thus earning a promotion to colonel. Franco led the first wave of troops ashore at Al Hoceima (Spanish: Alhucemas ) in 1925. This landing in
2353-457: A formal political unity within the Nationalist zone, albeit not one of genuine affection. It in reality represented the absorption of Carlist offshoots into a subsequently domesticated and subordinated Falange. Most scholars consider unification to have been a stepping stone towards a semi-fascist state. This augmented Falange served as Spain's sole legal party for the next 38 years, becoming one of
2534-540: A locally known Rioja politician José Mazón Sainz (36). The ten was complete with Pedro González-Bueno , an Alfonsist closer to Serrano rather than to the party mainstream (41). Out of 22 individuals who formed pre-unification executive bodies of FE and CT only Hedilla and Rodezno were listed; except Rodezno and Arellano none had earlier parliamentary experience. The decree which followed shortly adopted original Falangist motives – yoke and arrows , Cara al sol , black-red banner, “camarada”-style addressing – as motives of
2715-585: A manifesto and left for Africa, where he arrived the next day to take command. A week later the rebels, who soon called themselves the Nationalists , controlled a third of Spain; most naval units remained under control of the Republican loyalist forces, which left Franco isolated. The coup had failed in the attempt to bring a swift victory, but the Spanish Civil War had begun. Franco rose to power during
2896-503: A massive rally of youth, staged in October in Burgos and intended as display of unity, turned into embarrassment when in front of Franco a multi-thousand crowd broke into a “blue” Falangist part and a “red” Carlist part. The unificated Carlist leaders were getting increasingly disappointed about their marginalization while the original Navarrese executive – still operational – addressed Franco with
3077-600: A message of complaint and asked for some sort of rectification. In the second half of 1937 many Carlist local leaders who initially engaged in the emerging FET structures were now bombarding their men in Junta Política with letters of outrage, complaining about lack of Falangist give and take and demanding immediate intervention. Violent street clashes between Falangists and Carlists (both unificated and non-unificated) were not rare, with hundreds of arrests following. In October 1937 Franco decided to set up Consejo Nacional ,
3258-612: A monarchical officer. Disappointed with the plans by Spain's Prime Minister, Lieutenant General Miguel Primo de Rivera , for a strategic retreat from the interior to the African coastline, Colonel Franco wrote in the April 1924 issue of Revista de Tropas Coloniales ( Colonial Troops Magazine ) that he would disobey orders of retreat given by a superior. As a result, Franco had a tense meeting with Primo de Rivera in July. Lieutenant Colonel Franco visited
3439-513: A narrative. In Falangist ranks – which consisted in overwhelming majority of new recruits unrelated to pre-war revolutionary syndicalism – the unification was viewed simply as absorption of Carlism and adoption of new leadership, though a number of Falangist public demonstrations against the unification took place in several cities. In Carlist ranks the mood differed from sheer enthusiasm to protest; some requeté units considered abandoning their frontline positions. Many settled for what they perceived
3620-480: A new constitution, it should have arranged for regular parliamentary elections and adjourned, according to historian Carlton J. H. Hayes . Fearing the increasing popular opposition, the Radical and Socialist majority postponed the regular elections, thereby prolonging their stay in power for two more years. This way the republican government of Manuel Azaña initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would "modernize"
3801-598: A new party - the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS). As all other parties were declared dissolved at the same time, the FET became the only legal party in Nationalist Spain. It was defined in the decree as a link between state and society and was intended to form the basis for an eventual totalitarian regime. The head of state – Franco himself –
SECTION 20
#17328701687493982-456: A new party would be greatly transformed afterwards, it would accept Traditionalist doctrine and some Carlist symbols, and it would be headed by a triumvirate, possibly including Don Javier. The negotiations did not produce any agreement, most likely because Rodezno did not have the mandate from Fal and Don Javier. The meetings were also flavored with a Juanista spirit, especially that the Falangists were represented among others by Pemán . Though
4163-552: A party of pathetic failures half-sold to parliamentarism was the object of massive propaganda onslaught on part of both Falange and Comunión. Franco first mentioned unification in October, but during 5 months he apparently struggled to work out its terms; in February he was stuck with laborious comparison of José Antonio 's and Víctor Pradera 's works, in handwritten notes on the margins trying to identify points of convergence. The process gained momentum in late winter of 1937; most scholars relate it to arrival of Ramón Serrano Suñer ,
4344-599: A period of accelerated growth known as the " Spanish miracle ". At the same time, his regime transitioned from a totalitarian state to an authoritarian one with limited pluralism . He became a leader in the anti-communist movement, garnering support from the West , particularly the United States . As the dictatorship relaxed its hard-line policies, Luis Carrero Blanco became Franco's éminence grise , whose role expanded after Franco began struggling with Parkinson's disease in
4525-414: A political agreement with the generals. The only party which did close a deal, the Carlists, secured an ambiguous agreement with the head of the conspiracy, General Emilio Mola ; it specified terms of access to the coup rather than a future political regime. Initial statements issued by various generals during the first days of the following rebellion remained politically vague; on territories controlled by
4706-516: A political dictatorship. Until April 1937 right-wing political parties remained legal and though martial law imposed grave restrictions on their activity it was to some extent tolerated; afterwards all political entities except FET were outlawed, while FET itself was formatted as organization fully controlled by Franco and his bureaucracy. Licensing of political activity was no longer the result of temporary hardships related to war and military administration but became an intrinsic and fundamental feature of
4887-709: A professional squadron from the Luftwaffe (2JG/88) with about 24 planes. All these planes had the Nationalist Spanish insignia painted on them, but were flown by Italian and German nationals. The backbone of Franco's air force in those days was the Italian SM.79 and SM.81 bombers, the biplane Fiat CR.32 fighter and the German Junkers Ju 52 cargo-bomber and the Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter. On 21 September, with
5068-417: A reassignment and ultimately abandoned his family, marrying another woman. While Franco did not suffer any great abuse by his father's hand, he would never overcome his antipathy for his father and largely ignored him for the rest of his life. Years after becoming dictator, under the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade, Franco wrote a brief novel called Raza , whose protagonist is believed by Stanley Payne to represent
5249-399: A result, in the early spring of 1937 situation was getting increasingly complex. Franco and Serrano were working on unification terms, to be imposed upon Falange and Comunión; both parties tried to agree their own terms as measure of defense against anticipated military dictate; both Falangist and Carlist executives were internally divided with one faction conspiring against another, in Falange
5430-505: A three-day forced march led by Franco. In 1923, now a lieutenant colonel , he was made commander of the Legion. On 22 October 1923, Franco married María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès (11 June 1900 – 6 February 1988). Following his honeymoon Franco was summoned to Madrid to be presented to King Alfonso XIII . This and other occasions of royal attention would mark him during the Republic as
5611-637: A truce comparable to that offered by Carlos VII to the Madrid government in course of the Spanish–American War . Most other politicians complied; Gil-Robles ordered dissolution of Acción Popular while Yanguas and Goicoechea declared their total support; it was only the JAP commander Luciano de la Calzada who protested and was condemned to internal exile. Many party papers demonstrated perhaps genuine enthusiasm, while various juntas, alcaldias and other groups flooded
Francisco Franco National Foundation - Misplaced Pages Continue
5792-476: A “masterstroke” or “golpe maestro”. First, it ensured at least formal political unity which greatly contributed to the eventual Nationalist triumph in the Civil War. Second, it marginalized autonomous centers of power which potentially might have posed a challenge to military dictatorship and which indeed in early 1937 started to demonstrate such ambitions. Third, it retained loyalty of volunteer militias recruited by
5973-485: Is likely that he hinted at a would-be merger also to Rodezno. In December 1936 the military propaganda enforced the “Una Patria Un Estado Un Caudillo” slogan, made mandatory in sub-titles of all newspapers issued in the Nationalist zone, including the Falangist and the Carlist ones. By the same time the party militias were formally militarized and subjected to army control, even though their Falangist and Carlist political flavor
6154-481: Is not entirely clear whether unification was a hastily rushed provisional measure triggered by displays of Falangist and Carlist ambitions or rather a carefully prepared step which had matured in Franco's mind for some time. It is open to debate whether FET was initially intended to harbor a generally vague political program so that doctrinal rigidity did not stand in the way of getting “neutral mass” affiliated, or whether it
6335-455: Is the author of a sharp critical reflection against the participation of the left in the revolt: "The uprising of 1934 is unforgivable. The argument that Mr Gil Robles tried to destroy the Constitution to establish fascism was, at once, hypocritical and false. With the rebellion of 1934, the Spanish left lost even the shadow of moral authority to condemn the rebellion of 1936." At the start of
6516-538: The Canary Islands . Initially reluctant, he joined the July 1936 military coup , which, after failing to take Spain, sparked the Spanish Civil War. During the war, he commanded Spain's African colonial army and later, following the deaths of much of the rebel leadership, became his faction's only leader, being appointed generalissimo and head of state in 1936. He consolidated all nationalist parties into
6697-635: The FET y de las JONS (creating a one-party state ) and developed a cult of personality around his rule by founding the Movimiento Nacional . Three years later the Nationalists declared victory, which extended Franco's dictatorship over Spain through a period of repression of political opponents . His dictatorship's use of forced labour , concentration camps and executions led to between 30,000 and 50,000 deaths. Combined with wartime killings, this brings
6878-604: The French Foreign Legion . Franco became the Legion's second-in-command and returned to Africa. In the Rif War , the poorly commanded and overextended Spanish Army was defeated by the Republic of the Rif under the leadership of the Abd el-Krim brothers, who crushed a Spanish offensive on 24 July 1921, at Annual . The Legion and supporting units relieved the Spanish city of Melilla after
7059-545: The Junta Técnica del Estado . The civilians appointed to head specific sections of this quasi-government "resembled the traditional Right" and were recruited from Alfonsist, Carlist, and other generic conservative ranks, with no specific party background prevailing. The regime permitted limited political proselytizing but kept politicians in check; CEDA head Gil-Robles was forced to remain in Portugal , Infante Juan, championed by
7240-585: The Popular Front on the left, ranging from the Republican Union to the communists , and the Frente Nacional on the right, ranging from the centre radicals to the conservative Carlists . On 16 February 1936 the elections ended in a virtual draw, but in the evening leftist mobs started to interfere in the balloting and in the registration of votes, distorting the results. Stanley G. Payne claims that
7421-594: The Republican zone, in September 1936 Falange formed a provisional Junta de Mando composed of largely inexperienced young leaders and headed by Manuel Hedilla ; the party kept developing its structures, building youth, female, children, propaganda, paramilitary, student, syndicate, sanitary and other sections. By late 1936 Falange supplied some 55% of all volunteers and clearly outpaced the Carlists; apart from former CEDA or Renovación militants, also some right-wing republicans started to join Falange in order to counterbalance
Francisco Franco National Foundation - Misplaced Pages Continue
7602-518: The Second Melillan campaign in 1909 against native Moroccans, the first of several Riffian rebellions. Their tactics resulted in heavy losses among Spanish military officers , and also provided an opportunity to earn promotion through merit on the battlefield. It was said that officers would receive either la caja o la faja (a coffin or a general's sash). Franco quickly gained a reputation as an effective officer. In 1913, Franco transferred into
7783-768: The Spanish Army as a cadet in the Toledo Infantry Academy from 1907 to 1910. While serving in Morocco , he rose through the ranks to become a brigadier general in 1926 at age 33. Two years later, Franco became the director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza . As a conservative and monarchist , Franco regretted the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931, and
7964-475: The Spanish Army of Africa . The first days of the insurgency were marked by an imperative need to secure control over the Spanish Moroccan Protectorate . On one side, Franco had to win the support of the native Moroccan population and their (nominal) authorities, and, on the other, he had to ensure his control over the army. His method was the summary execution of some 200 senior officers loyal to
8145-542: The Spanish Ministry of Culture started proceedings to outlaw the foundation under the 2022 Democratic Memory Law . This article about politics in Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an organisation based in Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975)
8326-682: The Spanish transition to democracy . The legacy of Franco in Spanish history remains controversial, as the nature of his dictatorship changed over time . His reign was marked by both brutal repression, with tens of thousands killed, and economic prosperity, which greatly improved the quality of life in Spain. His dictatorial style proved adaptable enough to allow social and economic reform , but still centred on highly centralised government , authoritarianism , nationalism , national Catholicism , anti-freemasonry and anti-communism . Francisco Franco Bahamonde
8507-406: The province of Cuenca programmed for 3 May 1936, after the results of the February 1936 election were annulled in the constituency. But Primo de Rivera refused to run alongside a military officer (Franco in particular) and Franco himself ultimately desisted on 26 April, one day before the decision of the election authority. By that time, PSOE politician Indalecio Prieto had already deemed Franco as
8688-461: The 1960s. In 1973, Franco resigned as prime minister —separated from the office of head of state since 1967 —due to his advanced age and illness. Nevertheless, he remained in power as the head of state and as commander-in-chief. Franco died in 1975, aged 82, and was entombed in the Valle de los Caídos . He restored the monarchy in his final years, being succeeded by Juan Carlos , King of Spain , who led
8869-591: The Alfonsists were not admitted they realized what was going on; their most active politicians, José María Areilza and Pedro Sainz-Rodriguez , kept advocating unification in talks with both FE and CT men, apparently calculating that within a multi-party merger they would be better off than marginalized outside the new organization. At that time also Gil-Robles concluded that all parties must disappear in “amplísimo movimiento nacional” and seemed prepared to accept unification, though from above rather than from below; CEDA as
9050-489: The Alfonsists, was asked to leave Spain, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma , the Carlist pretender to the throne, was permitted only a brief stay in Spain, and the leader of the Comunión Tradicionalista, Fal Conde, was exiled with inflated charges advanced. Military censorship prevented dissemination of pieces deemed excessively related to party propaganda and encouraged these kept within limits of general adhesion to
9231-567: The Austria-based Don Alfonso Carlos , perished in late September 1936 and was succeeded by a regent, France-based Don Javier . The latter met Franco twice in 1936 and both leaders remained highly skeptical about each other; Franco preferred to speak to the experienced Navarrese leader, conde Rodezno . Like Falange, the Carlists tried to make their best of the autonomy allowed by the military administration; in October 1936 their propaganda paid more attention to Don Javier assuming
SECTION 50
#17328701687499412-785: The Carlist Obra Nacional Corporative scheme and in some regions Acción Popular and Renovación sections fused with the Carlists. In Navarre the Carlists ran sort of an own state structure. Initial statements of the military remained extremely vague politically, and frequently repeated phrases referring to patriotic unity resembled banal old-style clichés rather than an articulated political concept. Since right-wing parties were not dissolved by Junta de Defensa it might have been understood that some sort of limited multi-party regime might be maintained. As late as in September 1936 Franco declared that following military victory he would hand over power to “any national movement” supported by
9593-544: The Carlists. The Carlist and pre-unification Falange press departments were told to stop party propaganda. By May 9. provincial jefes were demanded to submit inventory of pre-unification party assets and in mid-May the new party started to take over their bank accounts. Also in mid-May specialized sections of the new party started to emerge with personal appointments made, again with visible Falangist predominance, be it Sección Femenina or Milicia Nacional. Civil governors organized rallies supposed to demonstrate fraternization of
9774-636: The Catalan population. Similarly, both Italian and German planes bombed the Basque town of Guernica at Franco's request. The Republican opposition was supported by communists, socialists, and anarchists within Spain as well as the Soviet Union and volunteers who fought in the International Brigades . Following the pronunciamiento of 18 July 1936, Franco assumed the leadership of the 30,000 soldiers of
9955-419: The Civil War the party functioned exactly as it was designed to. There are other questions related to unification which remain open to debate. It is not agreed whether FET was created as a stepping stone towards a Fascistoid/Fascist state or whether it was set up principally to eliminate any competitive centers of power and served rather traditional objectives of securing dictatorial powers of one individual. It
10136-528: The Civil War, López Ochoa was assassinated; his head was severed and paraded around the streets on a pole, with a card reading, 'This is the butcher of Asturias'. Sometime after these events, Franco was briefly commander-in-chief of the Army of Africa (from 15 February onwards), and from 19 May 1935, on, Chief of the General Staff . At the end of 1935, President Alcalá-Zamora manipulated a petty-corruption issue into
10317-432: The Falangists considered Carlism a half-dead prehistoric reactionary relic, while the Carlists viewed the Falangists simply as “red scum”. In practical terms after July 1936 relations between the two were ambiguous; technically allies within the Nationalist conglomerate, they nevertheless competed for posts, assets and recruits. While politicians and front-line militias remained on at least correct if not amicable terms, in
10498-461: The Falangists nor the Carlists decided to oppose the unification openly and the most intransigent groupings opted merely for non-participation. Key Falangist and Carlist assets – volunteer militia units, formally incorporated into the army but still maintaining their political identity and in mid-1937 amounting to 95,000 men - remained loyal to the military leadership. As a result of unification, no major political discrepancies were allowed to surface in
10679-466: The Falangists proposed that Comunión gets incorporated, though they conceded to a future Traditionalist monarchy, some separate Carlist features until 6 months after the war and the party youth named “requeté”. Carlists suggested a merger of equals into an entirely new party based on Traditionalist principles, headed by a triumvirate or with Don Javier as a regent; the formation would be dissolved following installation of Traditionalist monarchy. No agreement
10860-463: The Falangists tamed and viewed the Carlists, as usual inflexible and intransigent, as the chief obstacle; he was also increasingly irritated by their “tono de soberanía”. However, he was also annoyed by socially radical Falangist propaganda; in February censorship scrapped publication of an earlier José Antonio's speech, which contained the promise of “dismantling capitalism”; few major Falangist politicians were briefly detained for trying to disseminate
11041-507: The Franco Salamanca headquarters with messages of adhesion. First steps to consolidate the new party were taken in late April and May 1937, though their mechanism is not entirely clear; it remains obscure whether they were engineered by administration or by the Junta. Franco initially attended its weekly meetings but soon ceased doing so; it was Serrano who served as a link between him and
SECTION 60
#173287016874911222-507: The Junta declared martial law , which theoretically prevented any political activity. On September 13 the Junta issued a decree which dissolved all Popular Front parties and those opposed to "the patriotic movement". Soon afterwards it condemned "political partisanship" though not "specific ideologies", stating that the future government would introduce "the only politics and the only unionization possible" and prohibited all political or trade union activities. This ban on political activity
11403-535: The Junta in line with Rodezno's advice and he discussed with Hedilla the name of the party, with “Falange Española de Tradición” a viable option as late as mid-April. Terms of the unification came as unpleasant if not nasty surprise to most Falangist and Carlist politicians, especially that they differed from earlier sketchy plans presented by Franco to Hedilla and Rodezno. The Falangists might have been satisfied with their apparent predominance in terms of program and symbols, yet except Hedilla none of their heavyweights
11584-458: The Nationalist faction as basically a Carlist-military alliance. The Falangists saw the Nationalist effort very much in terms of a syndicalist revolution, with Falange the only genuine live political force amidst remnants of old, pathetically antiquated other parties. Both CT and FE considered the army – even though viewed with some suspicion as respectively liberal or reactionary – a necessary tool to gain control of all Spain, but they expected
11765-497: The Nationalist zone, a stark contrast with raging competition and conflicts which plagued the Republican coalition; scholars underline that at least formal political unity greatly contributed to final Nationalist victory in 1939. Another result of the unification was transformation of political regime in the Nationalist zone; before it might have been perceived as a strong military leadership, afterwards it started to assume features of
11946-680: The Navy, but as a result of the Spanish–American War the country lost much of its navy as well as most of its colonies. Not needing any more officers, the Naval Academy admitted no new entrants from 1906 to 1913. To his father's chagrin, Francisco decided to try the Spanish Army . In 1907, he entered the Infantry Academy in Toledo . At the age of fourteen, Franco was one of the youngest members of his class, with most boys being between sixteen and eighteen. He
12127-561: The Republic (one of them his own cousin). His loyal bodyguard was shot by Manuel Blanco. Franco's first problem was how to move his troops to the Iberian Peninsula , since most units of the Navy had remained in control of the Republic and were blocking the Strait of Gibraltar . He requested help from Benito Mussolini , who responded with an offer of arms and planes. In Germany Wilhelm Canaris ,
12308-624: The Republic. Hitler's policy for Spain was shrewd and pragmatic. The minutes of a conference with his foreign minister and army chiefs at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin on 10 November 1937 summarised his views on foreign policy regarding the Spanish Civil War: "On the other hand, a 100 percent victory for Franco was not desirable either, from the German point of view; rather were we interested in
12489-594: The Republican government. The Catalan Bloc Obrer i Camperol (BOC) advocated the need to form a broad workers' front and took the lead in forming a new and more encompassing Alianza Obrera , which included the Catalan UGT and the Catalan sector of the PSOE, with the goal of defeating fascism and advancing the socialist revolution. The Alianza Obrera declared a general strike "against fascism" in Catalonia in 1934. A Catalan state
12670-549: The Soviet Union's military help started to taper off, to be replaced by limited economic aid. The designated leader of the uprising, General José Sanjurjo , died on 20 July 1936 in a plane crash. In the nationalist zone, "political life ceased". Initially, only military command mattered: this was divided into regional commands ( Emilio Mola in the North, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano in Seville commanding Andalucia , Franco with an independent command, and Miguel Cabanellas in Zaragoza commanding Aragon ). The Spanish Army of Morocco
12851-451: The Spanish Civil War, which began in July 1936 and officially ended with the victory of his Nationalist forces in April 1939. Although it is impossible to calculate precise statistics concerning the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, Payne writes that if civilian fatalities above the norm are added to the total number of deaths for victims of violence, the number of deaths attributable to the civil war would reach approximately 344,000. During
13032-483: The Spanish Republicans, the operation was put in place with remarkable speed and energy. The first load of arms and tanks arrived as early as 26 September and was secretly unloaded at night. Advisers accompanied the armaments. Soviet officers were in effective charge of military operations on the Madrid front. Kennan believes that this operation was originally conducted in good faith with no other purpose than saving
13213-568: The army and the navy. Moreover, in January the Junta reached to the German NSDAP and the Italian PNF seeking a political understanding behind the back of the military; they vaguely suggested that “Franco is [only] for today”. In the early 20th century Carlism was a second-rate force; like Falange it benefited from radicalization of the mid-1930s, though unlike Falange it enjoyed major appeal only in some regions of Spain. The Carlist pretender,
13394-588: The army and the party, Ladislao López Bassa (32); they were accompanied by one fresh Falangist who had joined after the July coup, a career military officer Darío Gazapo Valdés (46), and one oddball vaguely related to the party with – or at least it might have seemed so – literary rather than political ambitions, Ernesto Giménez Caballero (38). There were 4 Carlists, all of them Rodeznistas: Tomás Domínguez Arévalo (conde Rodezno, 55), his lieutenant Luis Arellano Dihinx (31), rather detached member of Carlist executive Tómas Dolz de Espejo (conde de la Florida, 58) and
13575-487: The army to be politically passive and each claimed exclusive right to define political content of the future state. The most dynamic political power was Falange; a 1933-born third-rate party known mostly for street violence and as a point of reference for Spanish Fascism , in the atmosphere of rapid radicalization of 1936 it attracted tens and soon hundreds of thousands of mostly young people. With its leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera and many other top activists trapped in
13756-540: The army. Franco was removed as Director of the Zaragoza Military Academy in 1931; when the Civil War began, the colonels, majors, and captains of the Spanish Army who had attended the academy when he was its director displayed unconditional loyalty to him as Caudillo . The municipal elections of 12 April 1931 were largely seen as a plebiscite on the monarchy. The Republican-Socialist alliance failed to win
13937-501: The astute man impressed with Italian Fascism who immediate replaced conventional Nicolas Franco as Caudillo's key adviser. Generalísimo was also increasingly concerned with both Falange and Carlism assuming a bolder tone; in March Don Javier and Hedilla addressed him with letters which blended declarations of loyalty with demands, while Falangist congresses drafted grand schemes which demonstrated designs for political hegemony. As
14118-482: The blockade, successfully deploying a convoy of fishing boats and merchant ships carrying some 3,000 soldiers; between 29 July and 15 August about 15,000 more men were moved. On 26 July, just eight days after the revolt had started, foreign allies of the Republican government convened an international communist conference at Prague to arrange plans to help the Popular Front forces in Spain. Communist parties throughout
14299-637: The body vaguely specified in the Unification Decree as part of the FET executive; he opted for simple nominations. The list of 50 nominees as announced in the media was organized according to an order probably intended to rank them in terms of prestige and importance, with Pilár Primo de Rivera (Falange), Rodezno (Carlism), Queipo de Llano (military) and José Mariá Pemán (Alfonsism) heading the list. There were 24 Falangists appointed, this time including many “legitimists”; among 12 Carlists there were mostly Rodeznistas but also Fal Conde and few of his followers;
14480-478: The cabinet presided over by Portela Valladares resigned, with a new cabinet being quickly set up, composed chiefly of members of the Republican Left and the Republican Union and presided over by Manuel Azaña . José Calvo Sotelo , who made anti-communism the focus of his parliamentary speeches, began spreading violent propaganda—advocating for a military coup d'état, formulating a catastrophist discourse of
14661-502: The campaign in Asturias, had been seen as a left-leaning officer) emerged as officers prepared to use "troops against Spanish civilians as if they were a foreign enemy". Franco described the rebellion to a journalist in Oviedo as, "a frontier war and its fronts are socialism, communism and whatever attacks civilisation to replace it with barbarism." Though the colonial units sent to the north by
14842-604: The cargo came Soviet agents, technicians, instructors and propagandists. The Communist International immediately started to organise the International Brigades , volunteer military units which included the Garibaldi Brigade from Italy and the Lincoln Battalion from the United States. The International Brigades were usually deployed as shock troops , and as a result they suffered high casualties. In early August,
15023-453: The champion of all political life in the Nationalist zone. In few years it turned out that instead of a platform unifying all major political forces the FET became a Falange-dominated structure controlled by state bureaucracy. Independently minded leaders of the original Falange like Aznar or González Veléz were disciplined and at times jailed in case they went off limits and the others like Fernández Cuesta realized that Falangist hegemony in
15204-552: The conflict unfolding along mostly personal lines and in Carlism related to the unification strategy. In mid-March the Carlists already sensed urgency, apparently aware that unification was no longer a distant perspective but an immediate future. In late March the Rodezno-led group of leaders which tended to accept a merger outmaneuvered Don Javier and Fal and in circumstances which bordered internal coup within Carlism forced them to accept
15385-451: The congress, was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. The entrance of CEDA in the government, despite being normal in a parliamentary democracy, was not well accepted by the left. The Socialists triggered an insurrection that they had been preparing for nine months. The leftist Republican parties did not directly join the insurrection, but their leadership issued statements that they were "breaking all relations" with
15566-408: The cost of being pushed to the sidelines. Historians debate whether the original Falange “was killed”, “castrated” and “committed suicide” during the unification process - i.e. it ceased to be an autonomous, revolutionary movement - and FET should be considered an entirely new entity, or whether the party was rather transformed and FET should be viewed as some sort of continuity of FE. Similarly, there
15747-403: The country. Franco was a subscriber to the journal of Acción Española , a monarchist organisation, and a firm believer in a supposed Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik conspiracy, or contubernio (conspiracy). The conspiracy suggested that Jews, Freemasons, Communists, and other leftists alike sought the destruction of Christian Europe, with Spain being the principal target. On 5 February 1932, Franco
15928-683: The death toll of the White Terror to between 100,000 and 200,000. During World War II , he maintained Spanish neutrality , but supported the Axis —in recompense to Italy and Germany for their support during the Civil War— damaging the country's international reputation in various ways. During the start of the Cold War , Franco lifted Spain out of its mid-20th century economic depression through technocratic and economically liberal policies, presiding over
16109-443: The decrees were written; on April 11 Franco told Serrano to finalize the terms and it appears that even on April 18 there were “two or three minor things” to be completed. Neither the Carlists nor the Falangists were admitted to editorial work and they learned the actual terms of the merger once the decrees had been announced publicly. However, they were sounded on some issues; Franco changed the set of his original Carlist appointees to
16290-492: The dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera and were therefore discredited in some nationalist circles, and Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera was in prison in Alicante (he would be executed a few months later). The desire to keep a place open for him prevented any other Falangist leader from emerging as a possible head of state. Franco's previous aloofness from politics meant that he had few active enemies in any of
16471-520: The discontent in the Spanish Republican Army , but received no reply. The other rebels were determined to go ahead con Paquito o sin Paquito (with Paquito or without Paquito ; Paquito being a diminutive of Paco , which in turn is short for Francisco ), as it was put by José Sanjurjo , the honorary leader of the military uprising. After various postponements, 18 July was fixed as the date of
16652-567: The end of the monarchy, he did not object, nor did he challenge the legitimacy of the republic. The closing of the academy in June by the provisional War Minister Manuel Azaña however was a major setback for Franco and provoked his first clash with the Spanish Republic . Azaña found Franco's farewell speech to the cadets insulting. In his speech Franco stressed the Republic's need for discipline and respect. Azaña entered an official reprimand into Franco's personnel file and for six months Franco
16833-500: The exiled Fal be made ambassador in Vatican , yet in general terms he left the regent no option but to accept unification. Eventually Franco consented to Don Javier's request and allowed Fal back in Spain, met him in August and vaguely offered him high posts, which Fal politely declined. Both Don Javier and Fal considered Rodezno a half-traitor, though they preferred not to burn the bridges; in
17014-508: The factions that needed to be placated, and he had also cooperated in recent months with both Germany and Italy. Unification Decree (Spain, 1937) The Unification Decree was a political measure adopted by Francisco Franco in his capacity of Head of State of Nationalist Spain on April 19, 1937. The decree merged two existing political groupings, the Falangists and the Carlists , into
17195-415: The field. After two weeks of heavy fighting (and a death toll estimated between 1,200 and 2,000), the rebellion was suppressed. The insurgency in Asturias in October 1934 sparked a new era of violent anti-Christian persecutions with the massacre of 34 priests, initiating the practice of atrocities against the clergy, and sharpened the antagonism between Left and Right. Franco and López Ochoa (who, prior to
17376-464: The first broadcast is not clear. On April 20 the document appeared as Decreto número 255 in Boletín Oficial del Estado and was dated April 19; the same day and during the next few days it was reproduced in all newspapers issued in the Nationalist zone. On explicit order of the Franco headquarters the decree was read in frontline units on April 21. Another decree, numbered 260 and dated April 22,
17557-505: The future regime of Spain. Few months into the civil war it was already evident that the balance of power among right-wing parties underwent a major shake-up. The decomposed CEDA, Renovación and Agrarians were dwarfed by Comunión Tradicionalista and Falange Española, two groupings responsible for some 80% of volunteers in ranks of the Nationalist party militias . It was their efficiency as recruitment structures which mattered to Franco and
17738-706: The government at Franco's recommendation consisted of the Spanish Foreign Legion and the Moroccan Regulares Indigenas, the right-wing press portrayed the Asturian rebels as lackeys of a foreign Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy. With this rebellion against legitimate established political authority, the socialists also repudiated the representative institutional system as the anarchists had done. The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga , an Azaña supporter, and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco
17919-502: The head of the Abwehr military intelligence service, persuaded Hitler to support the Nationalists; Hitler sent 20 Ju 52 transport aircraft and six Heinkel biplane fighters, on the condition that they were not to be used in hostilities unless the Republicans attacked first. Mussolini sent 12 Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 transport/bombers, and a few fighter aircraft. From 20 July onward Franco
18100-459: The head of the column at the town of Maqueda (some 80 km away from Madrid), Franco ordered a detour to free the besieged garrison at the Alcázar of Toledo , which was achieved on 27 September. This controversial decision gave the Popular Front time to strengthen its defences in Madrid and hold the city that year, but with Soviet support. Kennan alleges that once Stalin had decided to assist
18281-504: The heartland of Abd el-Krim's tribe, combined with the French invasion from the south, spelled the beginning of the end for the short-lived Republic of the Rif . Franco was eventually recognised for his leadership, and he was promoted to brigadier general on 3 February 1926, making him the youngest general in Europe at age 33, according to Payne and Palacios. On 14 September 1926, Franco and Polo had
18462-492: The idea of reproducing a Fascist scheme. During late winter and early spring of 1937 Franco talked to Italian Fascist heavyweights Farinacci , Cantalupo and Danzi; all tried to inspire him towards a long-term solution modelled after Italy, based on the concept of a monopolist Partido Nacional Español state party. None was particularly impressed by Franco and they considered him politically bewildered; Farinacci noted with disgust that Franco uttered some disorganized phrases about
18643-412: The idealised man Franco wished his father had been. Conversely, Franco strongly identified with his mother (who always wore widow's black once she realised her husband had abandoned her) and learned from her moderation, austerity, self-control, family solidarity and respect for Catholicism, though he would also inherit his father's harshness, coldness and implacability. Francisco followed his father into
18824-437: The instrumental pillars of Franco's regime . The military conspirators of 1936 did not produce any clear vision of a political regime which would follow the coup; in the short run, some administrative powers were to stay with provincial civil committees, composed of most representative or most committed individuals. The key right-wing factions in Spain were rather loosely involved in the plot, and almost none of them concluded
19005-460: The king, who reversed it. Franco also received the Cross of Maria Cristina, First Class . With that he was promoted to major at the end of February 1917 at age 24. This made him the youngest major in the Spanish army. From 1917 to 1920, he served in Spain. In 1920, Lieutenant Colonel José Millán Astray , a histrionic but charismatic officer, founded the Spanish Foreign Legion , along similar lines as
19186-463: The late 1930s and the early 1940s; former CEDA politicians were not welcome. In terms of program the initial propaganda focused on unity or got trapped in contradictions, like “revolutionary program which stems from Spanish tradition”; the Italians were perplexed about weight of the religious ingredient and considered the program a chaotic amalgam which did not merit the name of “Fascism”. Eventually FET
19367-781: The list contained 8 Alfonsists, some of them eminent, 5 high-ranking military men and 1 former CEDA politician, Serrano Suñer. Among the appointees 12 had earlier Cortes experience. The appointments marked the end of the constituent phase of Falange Española Tradicionalista. Though the balance of power within the new state party was yet to be established and though its actual political line initially remained vague, some key features were already set and would not be subject to change; firm personal leadership of Franco, predominance of original Falange and its syndicalism, decorative role of formal collective executive bodies like Junta Política or Consejo Nacional and general dependence on state administrative bureaucratic structures. The key outcome of unification
19548-524: The main planner of the attempted coup that had now degenerated into a civil war, and was strongly identified with the Carlist monarchists and not at all with the Falange , a party with Fascist leanings and connections ("phalanx", a far-right Spanish political party founded by José Antonio Primo de Rivera ), nor did he have good relations with Germany. Queipo de Llano and Cabanellas had both previously rebelled against
19729-492: The majority of the municipalities in Spain but had a landslide victory in all the large cities and in almost all the provincial capitals. The monarchists and the army deserted Alfonso XIII and consequently the king decided to leave the country and go into exile, giving way to the Second Spanish Republic . Although Franco believed that the majority of the Spanish people still supported the crown, and although he regretted
19910-415: The marginalized parties and did not weaken the Nationalist frontline strength. Fourth, it created a vehicle for control and channeling of popular political mobilization. Fifth, it strengthened personal position of Franco and apart from the role of military commander and head of administration made him also the champion of domestic Nationalist politics. There are some scholars who tend to consider unification
20091-400: The military. Initially volunteers constituted 38% of all troops available to the Nationalists on the peninsula; as conscription was getting implemented by November this figure went down to 25%. Both groupings were increasingly viewing themselves as future masters of new Spain. The Carlists considered themselves exclusive political partners of the military as agreed back in July 1936; they saw
20272-453: The monarchist Carlists. Franco kept meeting Hedilla, listened to his advice and even made some effort to flatter him, yet he usually denied Hedilla's requests. The Falangist executive, itself divided mostly along personalist lines between Hedillistas and so-called “legitimists”, were getting increasingly frustrated about military domination; in early 1937 they empowered Hedilla to demand total political hegemony with military control reduced to
20453-726: The new organization, with other willing Spaniards also entitled to join. The decree dissolved “all other political organizations and parties”, though it did not specify explicitly whether FE and CT were dissolved as well. The second point defined Jefe del Estado, Junta Política (Secretariado) and Consejo Nacional as executive bodies. Junta was supposed to aid Jefe in all matters; half of its members were to be appointed by Jefe del Estado and half by Consejo Nacional. The decree did not specify how members of Consejo were to be nominated. All bodies were supposed to work towards final structure of “totalitarian state”. The third point declared all party militias merged into Milicia Nacional. The preamble stated that
20634-468: The new party; its uniform was to be a combination of a Falangist blue shirt and a Carlist red beret. It is not entirely clear who was responsible for ultimate shape of the unification documents, but most scholars tend to attribute at least most of the authorship to Serrano Suñer; apparently the Generals Mola and Queipo de Llano were consulted earlier on the drafts or the draft. It is not known when
20815-422: The newly formed regulares : Moroccan colonial troops with Spanish officers, who acted as elite shock troops . In 1916, aged 23 with the rank of captain, Franco was shot in the abdomen by guerrilla gunfire during an assault on Moroccan positions at El Biutz , in the hills near Ceuta; this was the only time he was wounded in ten years of fighting. The wound was serious, and he was not expected to live. His recovery
20996-621: The organisation. In 2018, after new Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised that Franco's remains would be removed from the Valley of the Fallen , the Foundation collected a petition with 24,000 signatures to oppose the proposal. While relatively marginal in Spanish political culture, the FNFF (and members of the Franco family) gained enormous public visibility in connection with the dictator's exhumation. In 2024,
21177-432: The organization would lead to buildup of a Catholic, regionalist, social and ultimately Traditionalist monarchy. Another round of talks with Falangists took place on April 11 and it is only at that point that Hedilla realized the urgency; the parties agreed they would keep talking and confirmed no interference of a 3rd party would be accepted. On April 12 Franco met a few Rodeznistas and informed them that decreed unification
21358-409: The party archives; until 1942 this figure grew to 1,450. The Falangists were clearly gaining the upper hand. The party statutes, released in August, defined multiple specialized sections of the organisation; out of 14 delegaciones created only 3 were headed by the Carlists. At one point Giménez suggested a formal purge, a proposal rejected by Franco. Most gatherings demonstrated lingering divisions;
21539-400: The party executive. The post of temporary secretary went to López Bassa; other most active figures in the Junta turned out to be Fernando González Vélez (a Falangist old-shirt appointed in place of Hedilla) and Giménez Caballero. Top provincial party posts were filled with a Carlist and a Falangist alternating as delegado and secretario; 22 provincial jefaturas went to the Falangists and 9 to
21720-445: The people, which might have hinted at some electoral procedure and political competition. However, in October he started to make private comments about a possible forced political unification. Terms of such a unification remained extremely unclear; some like Goicoechea supported a general “patriotic front”, some suggested a personalist “Partido Franquista” and people in caudillo's close entourage like Nicolás Franco preferred rather
21901-400: The prevailing mood was this of disorientation. Many tended to view the news as introduction of some vague bureaucratic structure above the existing Falangist and Carlist organizations. Most did not realize the arbitrary nature of unification and believed that it was fully agreed and endorsed by their respective leaders, especially that the official propaganda and censorship clearly advanced such
22082-510: The print anyway. Theoretical platforms of Falange and Comunión were strikingly distinct. The former advanced a syndicalist revolution and vehement Spanish nationalism , both to be incorporated in an omnipotent state; the latter were committed to a loose monarchy, society entrenched in traditional roles and de-centralized state accommodating local Basque and Catalan liberties. Though both were equally hostile to democracy, parliamentarism and socialism, they did not hold each other in high regard;
22263-516: The process was blatant electoral fraud, with widespread violation of the laws and the constitution. In line with Payne's point of view, in 2017 two Spanish scholars, Manuel Álvarez Tardío and Roberto Villa García published the result of a major research work in which they concluded that the 1936 elections were rigged, a view disputed by Paul Preston, and other scholars such as Iker Itoiz Ciáurriz, who denounces their conclusions as revisionist "classic Francoist anti-republican tropes". On 19 February,
22444-448: The program of the new party would be based on 26 points of the original Falange, though it might be subject to changes and improvements. The new party was defined as “link between the state and the society”. The decree which nominated members of Junta Política listed 10 names. Among 5 Falangists there were 3 “old-shirts”; Manuel Hedilla (35 years), a businessman Joaquín Miranda González (43) and an officer with loyalties divided between
22625-412: The rear fistfights and clashes between Carlists and Falangists were by no means rare and at times they escalated into gunfights; they mutually sabotaged their rallies and denounced each other to military authorities. Since late 1936 Carlist and Falangist leaders got wind of unification idea, vaguely nurtured by Franco. Unsure about its terms and whether resistance was a viable option, they concluded that
22806-475: The rebels local commanders appointed mayors or auxiliary civilian bodies composed mostly of locally recognized right-wing personalities, typically those associated with CEDA , Alfonsism , Carlism, or the defunct Spanish Patriotic Union . The top executive body of the rebel government, the Junta de Defensa Nacional , was set up on July 23 as an instrument of administration and intendancy rather than politics. On July 30
22987-499: The regency than to Franco assuming the state jefatura, and in late 1936 headlines of Carlist press exalted the exiled leader Fal Conde as caudillo, reserving for Franco only small-font notes at the bottom of the page. In December the Carlists launched their own syndicalist scheme. In early 1937 Carlism started to demonstrate agglutinatory appeal; some CEDA politicians discussed merger, a small Partido Nacionalista Español merged indeed, an independent syndicalist organization CESE joined
23168-403: The regent or errors committed by their unificated leaders, who prematurely decided to withdraw). Many questions remain in relation to the unificated parties themselves. It is not entirely clear why the Carlists and the original Falange succumbed to the unification pressure, with various motives quoted: Franco's strategy of first carving out tractable politicians and then misleading them as to what
23349-523: The regime, e.g. Gil-Robles' order that JAP must fully follow military command or RE head Antonio Goicoechea 's call for a "patriotic front". Franco himself kept meeting with right-wing politicians, usually ignoring the intransigent ones and speaking only to these deemed tractable. No political plans were discussed. In general, his guests were expected to mobilize civilian support for the regime with no political commitment offered in return, except that in an unspecified future "the people" would be free to decide
23530-462: The regime; instead it rather discouraged popular activism, served as mere transmission belt from administration and turned into a bureaucratic machinery which attracted mostly opportunists and careerists. Others responded that first, the role of FET in the Francoist Spain evolved over decades and it was principally determined in the early 1940s, not in the very initial phase, and second, that during
23711-586: The revolutionaries in Mieres and Sama , 58 religious buildings including churches, convents and part of the university at Oviedo were burned and destroyed, and over 100 priests were killed in the diocese. Franco, already General of Division and aide to the war minister, Diego Hidalgo , was put in command of the operations directed to suppress the violent insurgency. Troops of the Spanish Army of Africa carried this out, with General Eduardo López Ochoa as commander in
23892-599: The right which did experience growth, and at a dramatic rate, were the Carlist Comunión Tradicionalista and the Falange Española de las JONS. Comunión Tradicionalista ( 10 mandates ) openly operated its national and provincial war councils, its key asset being volunteer militia units, the Requetés , which in the first months of the war claimed 20,000 men. The Falange, which in February obtained only 0.4% of
24073-547: The second half of 1937 they focused on saving what could have been saved – related institutions, newspapers, buildings – from takeover by FET. In case of the original Falange its leaders from the anti-Hedillista “legitimist” faction, some released from jail, preferred to remain on the sidelines and not to engage; this was the case of Agustín Aznar, Sancho Dávila, Dionisio Ridruejo , Fernando González Vélez, Rafael Garcerán or Francisco Moreno, who viewed unification as “killing two authentic beings to create an artificial one”. During
24254-586: The situation in western Andalucia was stable enough to allow Franco to organise a column (some 15,000 men at its height), under the command of then Lieutenant-Colonel Juan Yagüe , which would march through Extremadura towards Madrid. On 11 August Mérida was taken , and on 15 August Badajoz , thus joining both nationalist-controlled areas. Additionally, Mussolini ordered a voluntary army, the Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV) of fully motorised units (some 12,000 Italians), to Seville, and Hitler added to them
24435-437: The speech at one point hailed great contribution of Falange, Traditionalism and “otras fuerzas” to note that “we have decided to finalize this unifying work”, to revert to grandiloquent paragraphs later on. Most newspapers issued in the Nationalist zone printed the entire address on April 19. The actual unification decree was first disseminated by Radio Nacional in repeated broadcasts aired during April 19, though exact hour of
24616-733: The state party was possible only given Franco was acknowledged as the unquestionable leader and source of all power. Comunión opted for semi-clandestine autonomous identity; Fal did not accept his seat in Consejo and Don Javier expelled from the party all these who had accepted without his earlier consent. Instead of unification, the merger turned into Franco-domesticated Falange absorbing Carlist offshoots , who either (like Iturmendi ) renounced their former identity or (like Bilbao ) retained it as vague general outlook or (like Rodezno) withdrew after some time anyway. The Alfonsists engaged half-heartedly, then got divided and eventually mostly of them left in
24797-410: The strategy, or at least not to oppose it openly. Franco was delighted to hear the news, but the merger-minded Carlists still hoped for a deal agreed with Falange, not imposed by the military. In early April their Junta adopted a plan which envisioned common party led by a directorio, to be composed of 3 Carlists, 3 Falangists and 6 nominees of Franco, himself the directorio president; they still hoped
24978-417: The summer and fall of 1937 Serrano kept negotiating with them and eventually secured their cautious engagement, the access by some dubbed as suicide of the original Falange; others note that at this point the original Falange signed a pact with Franco, and its notary was Serrano. It was strengthened once the original Secretary General, Raimundo Fernández Cuesta , made it from the Republican zone and in October
25159-526: The suspension of all CEDA political activity. Though some of CEDA heavyweights remained politically active, Juventudes de Acción Popular (JAP), CEDA's youth wing and formerly its most dynamic organ, reorganized in September 1936 as a paramilitary force with few thousand members. Renovación Española (13 mandates) and Partido Agrario (11 mandates) were also in decay, with the Alfonsists of RE in particular being preoccupied with engineering schemes related to Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona . The two groups on
25340-497: The system. The change enhanced position of Francisco Franco further on and started to shape the system as his personal political dictatorship. Until April he was the supreme army commander and the head of state, the roles which defined his position in military and administrative, but not in strictly political terms. The Unification Decree, which outlined political monopoly of FET and named Jefe del Estado as its leader, formally set up also political personal supremacy of Franco and made him
25521-415: The terms came as a bucket of cold water. In few days he and his men visited Franco to voice their unease, yet they remained tractable and did not mount explicit protest or opposition. Some key Carlist politicians resigned, including the requeté head Zamanillo; the Carlist tycoons from the onset skeptical about the merger welcomed the decree with deafening silence. Among local leaders and the rank-and-file
25702-411: The time civil war began, Franco had already become a major general and would soon be a generalissimo , while none of his higher-ranking fellow cadets had managed to get beyond the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Franco was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in June 1912 at age 19. Two years later, he obtained a commission to Morocco. Spanish efforts to occupy the new African protectorate provoked
25883-413: The unified parties. Official propaganda kept exalting the unification as glorious end to a centuries-old historical process. The first task, given to the new party, was rather modest: organize nursing courses. The leaders of Carlism and the original Falange assumed a highly skeptical wait-and-see stand. Franco made some effort to lure both. He sent very respectful letters to Don Javier and suggested that
26064-434: The unified party would look like, overwhelming military pressure, Falangist and Carlist illusions that they could outsmart Franco or their leaders having been ready to sacrifice what they considered secondary features in order to achieve the common goal of defeating the Republicans. It remains to be debated who was better off: Falange, which achieved hegemony at the cost of losing autonomy, or Carlism, which retained autonomy at
26245-531: The uprising. The situation reached a point of no return and as presented to Franco by Mola, the coup was unavoidable, and he had to choose a side. He decided to join the rebels and was given the task of commanding the Army of Africa . A privately owned DH 89 De Havilland Dragon Rapide , flown by two British pilots, Cecil Bebb and Hugh Pollard , was chartered in England on 11 July to take Franco to Africa. The coup underway
26426-484: The votes and lost its previously held one seat in the Cortes, experienced enormous growth in subsequent months and would come to be the most dynamic of party on the right. Its party structures functioned without restriction; its Primera Línea militias recruited 35,000 volunteers in a short period. In early October 1936 supreme power in the rebel zone was assumed by Francisco Franco, who set up an executive administration named
26607-635: The war, rape , torture , and summary executions committed by soldiers under Franco's command were used as a means of retaliation and to repress political dissent. The war was marked by foreign intervention on behalf of both sides. Franco's Nationalists were supported by Fascist Italy , which sent the Corpo Truppe Volontarie and by Nazi Germany , which sent the Condor Legion . Italian aircraft stationed on Majorca bombed Barcelona 13 times, dropping 44 tons of bombs aimed at civilians. These attacks were requested by General Franco as retribution against
26788-784: The world quickly launched a full scale propaganda campaign in support of the Popular Front. The Communist International (Comintern) immediately reinforced its activity, sending to Spain its Secretary-General, the Bulgarian Georgi Dimitrov , and the Italian Palmiro Togliatti , chief of the Communist Party of Italy . From August onward, aid from the Soviet Union began; by February 1937 two ships per day arrived at Spain's Mediterranean ports carrying munitions, rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, artillery, and trucks. With
26969-446: Was a naval officer and diplomat who married María Isabel Pascual del Pobil. Ramón was an internationally known aviator and a Freemason , originally with leftist political leanings. He was also the second sibling to die, killed in an air accident on a military mission in 1938. Franco's father was a naval officer who reached the rank of vice admiral ( intendente general ). When Franco was fourteen, his father moved to Madrid following
27150-574: Was a Spanish military general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975 as a dictator, assuming the title Caudillo . This period in Spanish history, from the Nationalist victory to Franco's death, is commonly known as Francoist Spain or as the Francoist dictatorship. Born in Ferrol, Galicia , into an upper-class military family, Franco served in
27331-454: Was able, with this small squadron of aircraft, to initiate an air bridge that carried 1,500 soldiers of the Army of Africa to Seville , where these troops helped to ensure rebel control of the city. He successfully negotiated with Germany, and Italy for more military support, and above all for more aircraft. On 25 July aircraft began to arrive in Tetouan and on 5 August Franco was able to break
27512-460: Was above his rank, but Franco was still unhappy that he was stuck in a position he disliked. The prime minister wrote in his diary that it was probably more prudent to have Franco away from Madrid. In 1932, the Jesuits, who were in charge of many schools throughout the country, were banned and had all their property confiscated. The army was further reduced, and landowners were expropriated. Home rule
27693-580: Was almost ready and called the Falangist Consejo Nacional for April 26. However, on April 16 his opponents in the executive visited Hedilla in his Salamanca office and declared him deposed; both Hedillistas and “legitimists” remained in touch with Franco and both were led to believe they had his support. The following day Hedilla stroke back and tried to arrest his opponents; the gunfight left two people dead. At this point Franco's security detained most of these involved except Hedilla, who on April 18
27874-547: Was appointed to Junta Política. The “legitimists” – Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis , Agustín Aznar , Moreno – were in prison following the Salamanca events of April 16–17; Hedilla himself, misled by Franco that he would be appointed the leader, was shocked to find himself just one of 10 Junta members and on April 23 he refused to take his seat. He was almost immediately arrested, trialed, sentenced to death on inflated charges of treason, commuted and placed in prison. To Rodezno
28055-817: Was born on 4 December 1892 in the Calle Frutos Saavedra in Ferrol , Galicia, into a seafaring family. He was baptised thirteen days later at the military church of San Francisco, with the baptismal name Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo. After relocating to Galicia , the Franco family was involved in the Spanish Navy , and over the span of two centuries produced naval officers for six uninterrupted generations (including several admirals), down to Franco's father Nicolás Franco Salgado-Araújo [ es ] (22 November 1855 – 22 February 1942). His mother, María del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade [ gl ] (15 October 1865 – 28 February 1934),
28236-555: Was confirmed by the rump Falangist Consejo as the new Jefe Nacional. Hedilla rushed to Franco's headquarters and was greeted cordially; the two appeared on balcony, where Franco improvised a brief speech; it might have contained first public declaration of unification. At 10:30 PM the same day, April 18, Franco announced the unification in a radio broadcast; The long speech was formatted as historiosophic lecture on Spanish past with special attention paid to national unity as maintained throughout centuries. Referring to “nuestro movimiento”
28417-549: Was contacted, and a secret meeting was held within La Esperanza forest on Tenerife to discuss starting a military coup. An obelisk (which has subsequently been removed) commemorating this historic meeting was erected at the site in a clearing at Las Raíces in Tenerife. Outwardly, Franco maintained an ambiguous attitude until nearly July. On 23 June 1936, he wrote to the head of the government, Casares Quiroga , offering to quell
28598-439: Was decided that Franco was to be commander-in-chief (this unified command was opposed only by Cabanellas), and, after some discussion, with no more than a lukewarm agreement from Queipo de Llano and from Mola, also head of government. He was, doubtlessly, helped to this primacy by the fact that, in late July, Hitler had decided that all of Germany's aid to the Nationalists would go to Franco. Mola had been somewhat discredited as
28779-475: Was devastated by the closing of his academy; nevertheless, he continued his service in the Republican Army . His career was boosted after the right-wing CEDA and PRR won the 1933 election , empowering him to lead the suppression of the 1934 uprising in Asturias . Franco was briefly elevated to Chief of Army Staff before the 1936 election moved the leftist Popular Front into power, relegating him to
28960-568: Was ensuring political unity within the Nationalist camp. The most dynamic political groupings in the rebel zone, so far fully loyal but autonomous and demonstrating own ambitions, were marginalized. Falange was domesticated and though the independent national-syndicalist current within FET remained strong, the party was now firmly controlled by caudillo and his men. Carlism retained its independent political identity beyond FET yet it suffered from fragmentation bordering breakup and Comunión Tradicionalista started to languish in semi-clandestine life. Neither
29141-472: Was formatted along national-syndicalist lines. It remains obscure why Falange from the onset enjoyed advantage over the Carlists, and specifically whether it was the setup designed by Franco and Serrano (who appreciated greater Falangist mobilization potential and intended to present a counter-offer to radicalized masses), or whether it was the result of internal dynamics within the party (resulting from Carlist numerical inferiority, consistently skeptical stand of
29322-451: Was formatted along syndicalist lines and in the Francoist Spain it turned into merely one of many groupings competing for power; other of these so-called political families included the Alfonsists, the Carlists, the military, the technocrats, the Church and the bureaucracy. The unification is generally viewed as Franco's success which secured a number of objectives; some scholars consider it even
29503-507: Was from an upper-middle-class Roman Catholic family. Her father, Ladislao Bahamonde Ortega, was the commissar of naval equipment at the Port of El Ferrol . Franco's parents married in 1890 in the Church of San Francisco in El Ferrol. The young Franco spent much of his childhood with his two brothers, Nicolás and Ramón , and his two sisters, María del Pilar and María de la Paz. His brother Nicolás
29684-529: Was given a command in A Coruña . Franco avoided involvement in José Sanjurjo 's attempted coup that year, and even wrote a hostile letter to Sanjurjo expressing his anger over the attempt. As a result of Azaña's military reform , in January 1933 Franco was relegated from first to 24th in the list of brigadiers. The same year, on 17 February he was given the military command of the Balearic Islands . The post
29865-400: Was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of its own. In June 1933 Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis (Our Dearly Beloved), "On Oppression of the Church of Spain", in which he criticised the anti-clericalism of the Republican government. The elections held in October 1933 resulted in a centre-right majority. The political party with the most votes
30046-425: Was in sight, yet representatives of both groupings agreed they would resist interference of any third party; scholars suggest this stipulation was aimed against other right-wing parties rather than against Franco. In late February one more round of talks was held by Hedillistas and a different representation of Carlists, headed by Rodezno. The Falangist softened their position; Carlism would still be incorporated but
30227-478: Was itself split into two columns, one commanded by General Juan Yagüe and the other commanded by Colonel José Varela . From 24 July a coordinating junta , the National Defence Junta , was established, based at Burgos . Nominally led by Cabanellas, as the most senior general, it initially included Mola, three other generals, and two colonels; Franco was later added in early August. On 21 September it
30408-569: Was little agreement about the strategy to be adopted. Within Carlism Rodezno and the Navarrese maneuvered Fal and Don Javier into grudging permission to open negotiations; within Falange Hedilla tended to seek alliance with Carlism against the military dictate, while “the legitimists” preferred to align closer with the military in order to gain hegemony over other political groupings. Eventually
30589-527: Was not rigorously enforced on rightist organizations, but each of their fates differed significantly. The largest grouping, CEDA, which held 88 seats in the Cortes , had been gradually disintegrating since the February elections ; its structures had partially collapsed, having been abandoned by militants disappointed with the movement's legalist strategy. In addition, its leader José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones declared
30770-413: Was precipitated by the assassination of the right-wing opposition leader Calvo Sotelo in retaliation for the murder of assault guard José Castillo , which had been committed by a group headed by a civil guard and composed of assault guards and members of the socialist militias. On 17 July, one day earlier than planned, the Army of Africa rebelled, detaining their commanders. On 18 July, Franco published
30951-687: Was proclaimed by Catalan nationalist leader Lluis Companys , but it lasted just ten hours. Despite an attempt at a general stoppage in Madrid , other strikes did not endure. This left the striking Asturian miners to fight alone. In several mining towns in Asturias, local unions gathered small arms and were determined to see the strike through. It began on the evening of 4 October, with the miners occupying several towns, attacking and seizing local Civil and Assault Guard barracks. Thirty-four priests, six young seminarists with ages between 18 and 21, and several businessmen and civil guards were summarily executed by
31132-829: Was proclaimed party leader, to be assisted by the Junta Política and Consejo Nacional. A set of decrees which followed shortly after appointed members to the new executive. The merger was imposed upon the Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist Traditionalist Communion . Leaders of both parties – Manuel Hedilla of the Falange and Manuel Fal Conde of the Carlists – were outmaneuvered by Franco, who divided, deceived, and misled them and finally left them no option but to comply with unification on his own terms, and they along with other political opponents were subsequently marginalized. The Unification Decree ensured Franco's total political dominance and secured at least
31313-687: Was published on April 23; it contained names of individuals appointed to the first executive of the new party, Junta Política or Secretariado. One more decree followed shortly; it defined salute, insignia, anthem, banner, slogan and address code; it also allowed party militias incorporated into the army to use their own symbols until the end of the war. The unification decree announced in its first point that "Falange Española" and "Requetés" are integrated into one "political entity" led by Franco and named " Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS ". Another paragraph declared that all members of "Falange Española" and "Comunión Tradicionalista" are affiliated in
31494-434: Was reinstated at the same post in FET. Unlike in case of Carlism no effort was made to maintain original, independent structures; a so-called Falange Española Auténtica, active in the late 1937-1939, were loose tiny groups of third-rate dissidents. Within FET the second half of 1937 was the period of fierce competition for posts and assets between the Falangists and the Carlists. Some 500 conflicts were officially recorded in
31675-652: Was retained. In January 1937 Franco confirmed that the country would be able to elect any regime, though he also made references to “corporative state”; in private he confessed to an Italian envoy that he would found a political association, be its leader and endeavor to unite the parties. Some of these speaking to him noted he started to emphasize that current provisional status had to be replaced with some permanent solution. In February he also ventured to offer some thoughts on “ideologia nacional”; having ignored all other groupings he suggested it should possibly be founded on Falangism and Traditionalism , though he also rejected
31856-406: Was seen by his Moroccan troops as a spiritual event – they believed Franco to be blessed with baraka or protected by God. He was recommended for promotion to major and to receive Spain's highest honour for gallantry, the coveted Cruz Laureada de San Fernando . Both proposals were denied, with the 23-year-old Franco's young age being given as the reason for denial. Franco appealed the decision to
32037-454: Was sent to the Canary Islands to serve as the islands' military commander, an appointment perceived by him as a destierro (banishment). Meanwhile, a conspiracy led by General Mola was taking shape. Interested in the parliamentary immunity granted by a seat at the Cortes, Franco intended to stand as candidate of the Right Bloc alongside José Antonio Primo de Rivera for the by-election in
32218-408: Was short and was bullied for his small size. His grades were average; though his good memory meant he seldom struggled academically, his small stature was a hindrance in physical tests. He graduated in July 1910 as a second lieutenant, standing 251st out of 312 cadets in his class, though this might have had less to do with his grades than with his small size and young age. Stanley Payne observes that by
32399-531: Was the Confederación Español de Derechas Autónomas ("CEDA"), but president Alcalá-Zamora declined to invite the leader of the CEDA, Gil Robles, to form a government. Instead, he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. Despite receiving the most votes, CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly a year. After a year of intense pressure, CEDA, the largest party in
32580-407: Was the matter of days, its details – not revealed to the Carlists – yet to be finalized. Their mild reservations were brushed away and they were assured there was nothing to be anxious about. Not entirely convinced, they met few days later to edit a preamble, to be proposed to Franco; the intention was to counter revolutionary Falangism. On April 12 Hedilla told his men that accord with the Carlists
32761-473: Was without a post and under surveillance. In December 1931, a new reformist, liberal, and democratic constitution was declared. It included strong provisions enforcing a broad secularisation of the Catholic country, which included the abolishing of Catholic schools and charities, which many moderate committed Catholics opposed. At this point, once the constituent assembly had fulfilled its mandate of approving
#748251