Spania, at the beginning of the 1900s, was mourning the loss of its once vast empire. It harbored resentment for losing its superpower status to America. Francisco Franco, born during this period in 1892, initially wanted to join the navy like his father. However, after the Spanish-American War of 1898 left the Spanish navy in ruins, Franco entered the army at the age of 14. Following three years of education at one of the country's most prestigious military academies, he joined the army as a second lieutenant. During these years, the government sought to regain its former glory by becoming involved in Morocco. For a Spanish military officer aspiring to make a career, Morocco was the only viable option.
Franco eagerly accepted the position offered to him in Morocco. By the time he turned 20, he had earned accolades such as the Le Cruz Militare, one of the country's highest military honors, due to his achievements in the four years he spent in Morocco. Despite being fatally wounded in the abdomen during a conflict, he recovered quickly and returned to active duty. The ambitious and resilient Franco later returned to his country as a Colonel in charge of a garrison. He swiftly ascended the ranks of the military hierarchy. When he took over as the head of the military academy in Zaragoza, he was just 36 years old.
At that time, Spain was ruled by General Miguel Derimod Liberia, who had seized power through a military coup. Liberia governed Spain with an iron fist, declaring martial law by dismantling the constitution. However, his rule was short-lived, and he was overthrown in 1930 when he lost public support. With his resignation, the king abdicated the throne in 1931, and Spain transitioned to a republic for the second time in its history.
Although Franco remained deeply loyal to the monarchy, he chose to stay in the shadows during this turbulent period, unwilling to jeopardize his military career. Nevertheless, to keep him away from other high-ranking pro-monarchy officers, he was assigned to various duties outside Madrid. In 1933, the republic faced a crisis. Tensions between republicans and the left-wing escalated, leading the country into elections, and a right-wing government came to power. When mine workers rebelled against the harsh working conditions imposed by the right-wing government in 1934, Francisco Franco was tasked with suppressing the uprising. His soldiers showed no mercy to the demonstrators. This incident paved the way for Franco to become the Chief of the General Staff.
In 1936, the left-wing managed to wrest power from the right-wing. General Franco was exiled to the Canary Islands. In July of the same year, a nationalist uprising erupted in Spain, and Franco flew to Morocco. During these days, the mainland Spanish army also attempted a coup against the nationalists, but when they failed, the Spanish Civil War broke out. In 1936, Franco took command of the nationalist army, and shortly thereafter declared himself the head of state. When the Spanish Civil War officially ended in April 1939, a new order was established in Spain under Franco's dictatorship.
The Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 with a handful of pro-monarchy nationalist generals staging a coup against the republic, divided Spain into republicans and pro-monarchy right-wing factions. Led by General Franco, the nationalist war lasted for three years. 350 thousand people lost their lives, and the nationalists emerged as the victors. This was also an international ideological showdown. Both sides received external support. Thousands of foreign volunteers fought on both sides. Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco, while Stalin provided tanks, aircraft, and aid to the republican side. Intellectual figures like George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway fought on the republican side. While Franco's crimes against humanity may have overshadowed those of the republicans, it is known that the republicans also executed between 4,000 to 10,000 people during the civil war. In summary, Franco worked just as he had declared to his enemies, "For every man you kill of mine, I will kill 10 of yours."
After winning the civil war, Franco continued with his purges. Thousands of people were executed without trial on charges of being communists. The outbreak of World War II provided Franco with a good opportunity, and he aligned himself with Hitler. Initially, during the war, Hitler's Condor Legion attacked the republicans in the city of Basque, meaning Franco allowed another country to carry out terrorism in his own country. Although Franco and Hitler met in 1940 to discuss the support Spain would provide to Nazi Germany, Franco's assistance to Hitler never reached significant levels. By 1943, when the old fox of Germany began to falter, Franco declared his neutrality, which proved to be successful. However, the Allies imposed sanctions on Spain, causing significant economic damage to the country.
This situation did not last long, and the Cold War changed the fortunes of the country. With its geographical importance heightened during the Cold War, Spain's chains were loosened. Franco signed commercial and military agreements with the United States. In 1955, Spain was admitted to the United Nations. Both Franco and the free West detested communists. As a result, starting from the 1960s, Spaniards began to improve their economic situation, leading to what is known as the Spanish Miracle. The tourism revolution that began in the 1960s played a significant role in the country's recovery. By the 1970s, Francisco Franco was on a downhill slope. While he continued to hold the positions of head of state and army commander, he appointed Blanco as the prime minister. Blanco, a staunch admirer of the General, was brought in by Franco, who believed that Spain would not fall into foreign hands after him. However, Blanco was killed in a bombing attack carried out by ETA in Madrid. When Franco passed away on November 20, 1975, his 36-year rule came to an end. With his death, Spain could once again engage with the rest of the world.
It took the Spanish government 30 years after his death, in 2005, to finally remove the last statue of General Francisco Franco from the capital, Madrid. Some consider Franco, who was a staunch Catholic, as a knight of Christianity. Many Spaniards hold Franco close to their hearts as a defender of traditional values and religion.
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