"Paul Preston, 79, admits that he increasingly dislikes talking about Francisco Franco, a figure he has studied for so many years and yet cannot find any appealing angle to. Yet the historian one of the foremost experts on Spain before the Civil War, on the war itself, and on the decades that followed reluctantly acknowledges that his voice remains essential for understanding that era."
"Certainly, in the English-speaking world, at least before the publication of my biography, he still enjoyed good press. Here [in the U.K.] there was an anti-communist political establishment that always had a great deal of sympathy for Franco. For a long time, there has been talk about the extent to which Franco triumphed thanks to the help of Hitler and Mussolini. And there is no doubt about that."
Biographical scholarship on Francisco Franco has been continually updated as new historiography revealed darker aspects of his regime. Perceptions shifted from earlier sympathetic portrayals in parts of the English-speaking world to broader recognition of his crimes and foreign dependence. British non-intervention and an anti-communist political establishment provided indirect support while Nazi and Fascist aid was decisive. Left-leaning researchers documented abuses and worked to dismantle enduring myths, particularly the notion of Franco as a brilliant military strategist. Continued research and public exposure remain necessary to confront the toxic legacy and clarify international complicity.
Read at english.elpais.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]