Francisco Franco deaded in November 20, 1975. Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (December 4, 1892 – November 20, 1975), commonly known as Francisco Franco pronounced: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko], Vietnamese phonetic version is Phở Francisco Franco y Bahamonde or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde is a political, military activist and a fascist boss of Spain.
His fascist regime is considered one of the most divisive stages in modern Spanish history. Leftists regarded Franco as a dictator, while Franco’s supporters praised his great merit in keeping Spain neutral during World War II, eliminating the influence of communism. In the country, maintaining the nation’s traditional values as well as building and developing Spain became an economic power in Europe.
Story of Francisco Franco political, military activist, fascist boss of Spain
Spain: The obsession is named dictator Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco led Spain for 39 years, from 1936 until his death in late 1975. 42 years have passed, Spain is still divided when it comes to Francisco Franco, with Various streams of opinions. Many people praised his work for the country, worshiped him, but there were people who had to live with the obsession of the dictator Francisco Franco and likened him to Adolf Hitler.
Francisco Franco was born in 1892 in a bourgeois family. He participated in the battle since he was 18 years old, advancing very quickly on his career path and becoming the youngest general in Spanish history at the age of 33. In 1933, Francisco Franco became the Chief of the General Staff of the Spanish Army.
In 1936, he organized a coup and conducted civil war against the Second Republic government. The 3-year Civil War devastated Spain. This is an extremely bloody period in Spanish history with more than half a million people dead. In 1939, Francisco Franco won and established dictatorship, becoming Caudilo – “supreme leader”.
«Supreme Leader» Franco
In 1947, Franco organized a referendum on state institutions and signed a decree to restore the monarchy, the Spanish claim as a kingdom. Franco became king regent. In fact, he held the position of head of state. After World War II, Spain was quite separate from the world, both politically and economically, until 1955. But in the 1960s, Spain achieved unprecedented economic growth. is in history and is called «Spanish Miracle». Modern industrialized country. The tourism industry thrives.
In 1969, Franco decided to choose Juan Carlos as his successor. Juan Carlos is the son of the Duke of Don Juan of Barcelona – descendant of King Alfons XIII, who was ousted in April 1931. After General Franco died in 1975, Juan Carlos became the king of Spain.
After Franco died, his tomb was placed in the memorial zone «Valley of those who died for Spain». This memorial was originally the idea of General Franco to honor those of his side and fell during the civil war of 1936-1939.
In the face of General Franco’s work on the country’s economic development, until now, on November 20 every year, on the anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death, many people visited his grave, expressing his regret and admiration. It is even a place of “pilgrimage” of the Spanish people who are extremely friendly.
A 19-year-old man, Hugo, told French TV channel reporter France 24: “This is the minimum we can do to show gratitude to the supreme leader, for the country of Spain. which he has left us. Now … everyone looks … Spain has fallen. When General Franco led the country, I was not born. But according to what I know, what the people of the time told me, General Franco’s time was the best time in Spanish history. »
Many Spaniards still regret the Franco regime. Photograph of a Franciscan memorial to General Franco in Madrid, November 22, 2015.
Phantom of Franco
However, Franco’s 40-year dictatorship is also marked by acts of humiliation and violence. Tens of thousands of opposition people were killed in concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards have to flee the country, many have gone to France to hide. For them, it was the “40 years of regression, recession” of Spain.
In 1977, after Spain converted to democracy, the government passed a law of total amnesty for those convicted of civil war and those in dictatorship. The Act has caused a lot of controversy. However, no successor government has the courage to amend the amnesty bill of 1977. The dictatorship has never been tried before.
In 2007, the Socialist party of Zapatero adopted a law of national reconciliation, recognizing victims and excavating mass graves. But many critics of national reconciliation laws are not strong and ineffective.
Debate about relocating Franco’s body
On 11/05, the Spanish Parliament, under the pressure of left-wing and mid-party parties, supported the removal of Franco’s body from «Valley of those who died for Spain» and asked the conservative government to enforce the decision passed by the National Assembly, restore the area on the memorial to all victims of the civil war that ravaged Spain in the period 1936-1939.
President of the People’s Party Mariano Rajoy strongly opposes because of the decision to remove Franco’s body that will revive painful memories when the civil war ended 80 years ago. Without government permission, Franco’s body will not be relocated. In addition, the conservatives also said that without the approval of the Church, the state could not violate the tombs.
Explain why many people want to move Franco’s corpse 40 years after the dictator’s death, the RFI correspondent from Madrid said: «First of all, it must be stated that the supreme leader Franco’s body is placed in a marble tomb, in a crypt area 100 meters deep underground. At that time, Franco’s tomb was a work of praise and Franco himself built it long before his death.
Moreover, it is not only a tomb area but also a monumental building on a whole hill. But more than half of the Spanish people – left-wing people – have never endured the thought of Caudillo resting in such a majestic place, because this means he has legitimate rights and follows a in some way, it allows to erase all of Franco’s sins. The Socialist congressmen thus demanded excavation and removal of the former dictator’s corpse from such a place of such significance and overzealism. »
Relocating the body of a character who once had a special place in history is not easy! Many people believe that this requirement is difficult to meet because it will face opposition from conservatives, who inherit the spirit of Franco and do not want to revive the past.
In addition, because of the «Valley of those who have died for Spain» under the management of the Church, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the Church to unearth the tomb of Franco. In addition, moving the body of Franco’s body is a difficult problem.
The proposal to transfer the former dictator’s corpse to the cemetery on the outskirts of Madrid – where many of his family members, including his wife, were buried – faced with the opposition of the Franco Foundation – which has the right to administer Legacy of General Franco.
Fund Francico Franco was founded with a clear mission: rewrite history. Jaime Alonso, vice president of Fund Francico Franco explained: «Our desire is to have everything published in Spain, and we hope that all the world works are written about. Spanish civil war, about Francisco Franco, about his regime is gathered here (…) 40 years have passed since his death, people only do one thing, that is piercing the calendar history, distorting events.
People find ways to smear things that are already very clear. People likened him to Adolf Hitler and wanted the international court to treat him for violating human rights. All are embarrassing lies. I can assure you that the regime does not torture anyone … »
General Francisco Franco (white shirt, right) chose Juan Carlos as his successor, July 1969.
The obsession of the victims
While there are still many people who worship Franco, continue to commemorate and promote Franco’s role in history and desire to restore the image of a national hero, more and more Spanish people want to work. The reason is, especially those who have been victims of the Franco dictatorship. Many marches and demonstrations took place in Madrid.
They fight for those who tortured them, some still alive, to be tried by a court. Descendants of those who are missing want to seek the truth. They want to know where the body of a relative, grandparent, parent, uncle is located or what their fate is now. Some people want to know about their own family and that family history.
According to official figures from the United Nations, Spain is the second country in the world, second only to Cambodia, about the number of people missing. About 150,000 Spaniards went missing in those dark years of the country.
Hundreds of thousands of others have been tortured, tens of thousands of children have been torn away from their parents’ arms, often leftist or communist families and assigned to “pious Catholic families” to raise .
Mr. Chato, a victim of the Franco dictatorship, lives in Madrid. In the early 1970s, when his students were arrested four times for being Communist members. The police used to torture him, he still remembers, some people are still alive, and live a few streets away from his house. Every time he passed Puerta Del sol, he remembered the brutal tortures he had suffered during those years. Nightmares !
He told France 24 TV reporter: “Did you see the rooms on the second floor? That’s where we were tortured. A lot of memories come to me. After torturing, they locked us in the basement behind these bars. I remember when I wanted to hear outside sounds because it meant life was still going on, that not everything was scary and hurting people. »
After years of fighting for justice, he was even more in pain when he suffered because the years had passed, but people like him were still considered criminals, not victims of dictatorship. notorious Franco.
It seems that the search for the truth in the months of «dark» or «splendor» of Spain is still a long way! 40 years after his death, the ghost of Franco is still there and constantly divides the country.
Before becoming the Führer
In his youth, Franco was an ideal lad. He volunteered to fight since he was 18 years old. This is a brave job, however, the fishy smell of blood and the cold of guns is what made Franco a different person. On the career path, he – a sly man with an extremely calm appearance – moves very fast.
From 1923 to 1927, he was the commander of the legionary army in Morocco. At the age of 33, he held almost all military authority in his hands. In 1933, he became the Chief of the General Staff of the Spanish Army. After the victory of the People’s Front, Franco left the post, and conducted a coup in 1936. He performed civil war against the republicans.
Supreme leader
Domestic
In 1939 he became head of state and commander in chief of the army, known as the “supreme leader” (Caudilo, read Cao-la).
As a dictator, Franco established a nation based on the forces of the army, the Church and landlords. This state combined unionism and nationalism in the early twentieth century and focused on traditional values.
From 1947, he restored the monarchy, becoming a regent on the reality of Spain. In 1969, General Franco chose Juan Carlos as his successor. After his death in 1975, Juan Carlos I was crowned King of Spain.
It is estimated that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed under Franco regime. His regime also killed many Spanish artists, intellectuals and politicians, or exiled them away. Most of them are from Catalonia.
Foreign Affair
He signed a treaty against the Communist Third International organization in 1939.
Although during the Second World War (1939-1945), he declared Spain a neutral country, but sent a division to join the Nazi army to attack the Soviet Union.
In 1956, Spain’s rule in Morocco (North Africa) ended. By 1968, the turn of Guinea’s Spanish declared independence, becoming a country with the name Equatorial Guinea.
During the Cold War, the United States formed an alliance with Spain, because Franco made a clear anti-communist policy. US President Richard Nixon had sliced toast with him, and, after Franco died, Nixon said: “General Franco is a friend and loyal ally of the United States of America.”
After the second world war, Spain was politically and economically separate from the outside world until 1955. In the 1960s did Spain achieve economic growth yet? have seen and called Spanish Miracle, helping to convert this country into a modern industrialized nation.
From 1959 to 1974, Spain was the country with the fastest economic growth rate in the world if excluding Japan. Political and economic liberalization policies in the last years of Franco’s rule were made to make the tourism industry extremely developed, the living standards of the Spanish people were significantly improved.
After death
Although the death of Franco the transition to democracy for democracy was successful, but for nearly 30 years without a radical assessment of the Franco era.
Therefore, it was not until the night of March 17, 2005, that Franco’s seven-meter high statue at Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, was removed in Madrid. During the night and the following day, the police had to intervene in dealing with some opponents against this action.
Representatives of the opposition, Partido Popular Party of former Prime Minister José María Aznar criticized this policy. They think that with the removal of “historic symbols on the street” only “reopening wounds”.
Leave a reply