The Franco Regime, 1936-1975

Description

Modern Spanish history is dominated by the figure of Francisco Franco, who presided over the longest authoritarian regime of this century. Between 1936 and the end of the regime in 1975, Franco's Spain passed through several distinct phases of political, institutional, and economic development, moving from the original semi-fascist regime of 1936-1945 to become the Catholic corporatist “organic democracy” under the monarchy from 1945 to 1957. During its last major phase the regime became a politically demobilized form of bureaucratic authoritarianism that became the most economically successful “development dictatorship” in the world. Noted historian Stanley G. Payne gives us here the definitive history of the Franco regime—the political conflict from which it emerged, its development during the Civil War, and its fundamental transformation of contemporary Spanish society. He also affords valuable insights into the “calculated ambiguity” of Franco's personal style. Aside from the crucial conservation of personal power, Payne argues, Franco never defined a formal ideology and throughout his regime used what he wanted from the ideas of others. On the other hand, he possessed a fundamental set of beliefs that changed very little during his lifetime. He believed in nationalism, central unity, Catholicism, strong authoritarian government without political parties, and a program of modern economic development determined by political and nationalistic priorities, with social reform a secondary by-product of economic growth. He was authoritarian and eclectic at the same time, a figure as formidable in its complexity as in its power. His importance to Spanish history lies not in his mere endurance in power for so long, but rather in the enormous changes that took place in Spain during his rule, some of them directly encouraged or even engineered by his regime, and others ultimately flying in the face of all that it stood for. Although primarily writing a political history, Payne also discusses international relations and devotes two chapters to the main features of foreign social and economic policy. Stanley G. Payne is Hilldale-Jaime Vicens Vives Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of a number of books on modern Spanish history, including 'Spanish Catholicism' (1984), 'Fascism: Comparison and Definition' (1980) and 'A History of Spain and Portugal' (1973), all published by the University of Wisconsin Press, as well as 'Basque Nationalism' (1975), 'The Spanish Revolution' (1970), 'Politics and the Military in Modern Spain' (1967), and 'Falange: A History of Spanish Fascism' (1961). All have been translated into Spanish. The Franco Regime 1936-1975 Contents Illustrations Maps Preface Chronology Part I: Origins 1. The Politics of Modern Spain 2. An Authoritarian Alternative: The Primo de Rivera Dictatorship 3. The Second Republic 4. The Nationalist Opposition 5. Franco and the Military Part II: The Civil War, 1936-1939 6. The Rebellion of the Eighteenth of July 7. Establishment of the Franco Dictatorship 8. The Nationalist War Effort 9. Franco's Wartime Government 10. Civil War as Crusade 11. The Repression Part III: The Dictadura, 1939-1959 12. Semi-Fascism: The New State of 1939 13. The “German Phase,” 1940-1942 14. From Nonbelligerance to Neutrality, 1942-1945 15. Ostracism and Realignment, 1945-1950 16. Social and Economic Policy in the 1940s 17. Complacent Dictator 18. The Regime at Mid-Passage, 1950-1959 Part IV: Developmentalism and Decay, 1959-1975 19. The Desarrollo 20. Continuity and Reform during the 1960s 21. Twilight of the Regime, 1969-1973 22. The Death of Franco 23. The Franco Regime in Perspective Selected Bibliography Index Illustrations General Miguel Primo de Rivera while dictator in 1928 Manuel Azaña Díaz, prime minister and president of the Second Republic José Calvo Sotelo, head of the rightist Bloque Nacional under the Republic Ramiro Ledesma Ramos, co-founder of the JONS José Antonio Primo de Rivera, first Jefe Nacional of the Falange Franco and his daughter Carmencita during the Civil War Franco and Yagúe in Seville, August 1936 Republican troops during the first months of the Civil War Heavily loaded troop ship carrying Franco's units across the straits from Morocco in September 1936 Members of the International Brigades Nationalist artillery on the Somosierra front north of Madrid, 1937 The town of Guernica after the bombing, 1937 Nationalist infantry from one of the elite Tercio units on the assault in Aragon, 1938 A detachment of the Condor Legion on parade during the Civil War Manuel Hedilla Larrey, leader of the Falange early in the Civil War Franco saluting a crowd from the balcony of the Salamanca city hall, 1937 Franco on an inspection tour during the Civil War Nationalist troops entering the Valencia region at wars end, 1939 Franco addressing a large political audience in Madrid soon after the Civil War Ramón Serrano Súñer while Minister of the Interior, 1940 Franco and Hitler at Hendaye, October 23, 1940 Serrano Súñer, Franco, and Mussolini at Bordighera, February 12, 1941 U.S. Ambassador Weddell and German Ambassador Eberhard von Stohrer, December 6, 1940 Falangists lead a mass demonstration in the center of Madrid on June 24, 1941 Enlistment of volunteers for the Blue Division in Madrid, June 1941 Franco, followed by Arrese, entering a meeting of the FET's National Council, December 8, 1942 Captain Luis Carrero Blanco, Subsecretary of the Presidency in 1941 General Antonio Aranda Soldiers of the Spanish Blue Division on the Russian front General José Enrique Varela during the Civil War Blas Pérez González, Minister of the Interior, 1942-57 General Gómez Jordana, twice Foreign Minister, with Esteban Bilbao, the first president of the Cortes, in 1940 Alberto Martín Artajo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1945-57 Public demonstration supporting the regime in the Plaza de Oriente, December 1946 Franco and the Papal Nuncio, Msgr. Antoniutti Franco and his wife, Doña Carmen, with the Primate Cardinal Enrique Pla y Deniel at the Royal Palace in Madrid, 1958 Eva Perón with Franco and his wife at the Royal Palace in Madrid, June 1947 José Antonio Girón de Velasco, Minister of Labor, 1943 Franco during a pause in one of his hunting excursions General Agustin Munoz Grandes as commander of the Blue Division in Russia, 1942 Joaquin Ruiz Giménez, Minister of Education, 1951-56 José Luis de Arrese, Minister Secretary General of the Movement, 1941-45, 1956-57 Carrero Blanco addressing the Cortes, July 15, 1957 President Eisenhower parts from Franco with a Spanish abrazo, December 1959 Lt. General Camilo Alonso Vega (Minister of the Interior) and Carrero Blanco during a cabinet meeting at Franco's summer home, August 18, 1967 Franco presiding over a meeting of his cabinet ministers at the Palacio de Pedralbes in Barcelona, 1963 Carrero Blanco and members of the Youth Organization from Guinea Prince Juan Carlos de Borbón signing the Law of Succession, July 1969 Franco and his recognized successor, Don Juan Carlos de Borbón, Prince of Spain, October 30, 1972 Stricken with thrombophlebitis, Franco enters the Clínica Nacional Francisco Franco on July 9, 1974 Franco's last cabinet at his summer home, August 22, 1975 The last public demonstration on behalf of Franco, October 1975 Maps Provincial divisions of modern Spain Route of the Army of Africa Nationalist advances in the Madrid area, November 1936— March 1937 Expansion of the Nationalist zone, 1936-39 Spanish possessions in Northwest Africa