Franco: A Biography

Description

Generalissimo Francisco Franco, the Caudillo of Spain, was the most tenacious and most successful of twentieth-century Europe's great dictators. He is remembered widely as the astute general under whose leadership the Nationalist cause was victorious in the Spanish Civil War and the Communist threat exterminated, and as the head of state who skillfully negotiated safe passage for Spain through World War II, played Hitler off against the Allies, modernized his country, and orchestrated the Spanish economic miracle of the 1960s. By the time of his death in 1975, he had steered a unified Spain to worldwide respectability and envy and deftly schooled the young prince Juan Carlos to be his successor. To many, Franco was Spain incarnate—a heroic figure to match his illustrious—a heroic figure to match his illustrious predecessors El Cid, Charles V, and Philip II. This idealized portrait—still widely accepted today—is now subjected to Paul Preston's penetrating scrutiny. He has written a magnificent, monumental biography that vividly recreates the man and sets before us, unclouded by the prejudices or simplifications of apologists or adversaries, a definitive portrayal of this complex, elusive figure. The controversy about Franco's achievements has raged since his death. Just how good a general was he? Would he have won the civil war without German and Italian help? Can he be blamed for the bombing of Guernica and other atrocities? Did he dupe Hitler during World War II? Were his self-sufficient economic policies directly responsible for ushering in Spain's economic boom? Did he deliberately seek to liberalize the regime in his later years, or was he perhaps losing his grip on the controls? Did Franco preside over another Spanish golden age or did he merely stall and stifle his country's natural growth? How, in the final reckoning, are his achievements to be judged? Preston addresses and resolves, often to startling effect, these pivotal questions, deploying an enormous quantity of new evidence and fresh insights culled from previously inaccessible sources and unexamined witnesses, colleagues, and enemies alike. Paul Preston's credentials as the biographer of France are incomparable. His many books on modern Spain have been acclaimed for their seriousness and their stylishness, and this gloriously engaging biography is, in many ways, the culmination of his work of an intellectual odyssey of twenty-five years' duration, spent in the company of the Caudillo. Paul Preston sits in judgment on this enigmatic dictator, and his verdict will be compelling to anyone interested in the history of modern Spain or, indeed, in the formation of modern Europe. Acknowledgments Contents Prologue: The Enigma of General Franco I The Making of a Hero: 1892-1922 II The Making of a General: 1922-1931 III In the Cold: Franco and the Second Republic, 1931—1933 IV In Command: Franco and the Second Republic, 1934-1936 V The Making of a Conspirator: Franco and the Popular Front, 1936 VI The Making of a Generalísimo: July-August 1936 VII The Making of a Caudillo: August-November 1936 VIII Franco and the Siege of Madrid: October 1936- February 1937 IX The Axis Connection: Guadalajara & Guernica March-April 1937 X The Making of a Dictator: Franco & the Unificación April 1937 XI Franco’s War of Annihilation: May 1937-January 1938 XII Total Victory: February 1938-April 1939 XIII Basking in Glory: The Axis Partnership, April-September 1939 XIV The Man Who Would Be Emperor: The Defeat of France, 1940 XV The Price of Empire: Franco and Hitler September-October 1940 XVI In the Wings: Franco & the Axis November 1940-February 1941 XVII Towards A New Crusade: February 1941-January 1942 XVIII Watching the Tide Turn: January-December 1942 XIX The Hero as Chameleon: January 1943-January 1944 XX ‘Franco’s Victory’: January 1944-May 1945 XXI The Hero Besieged: 1945-1946 XXII A Winning Hand: 1947-1950 XXIII The Sentinel of the West: 1950-1953 XXIV Years of Triumph and Crisis: 1953-1956 XXV Learning to Delegate: Homo Ludens 1956-1960 XXVI Intimations of Mortality: 1960-1963 XXVII Preparing For Immortality: 1964-1969 XXVIII The Long Goodbye: 1969-1975 Epilogue: ‘No enemies other than the enemies of Spain’ Notes Sources Index