Then Franco's troops invaded and began to systematically execute all mayors, town councilmen, union leaders, anybody who was denounced by anybody who owned a blue shirt (Spanish blood feuds can go back a long time) and oh yes, almost of anybody they captured who had a bruise on their right shoulder.
The penalty for having a political post in the Republican side -as mayor- was four years in prison. It is true that this sometimes meant death, because the lack of food and fuels in post-war Spain made life in jail very hard.
In Catalonia, the death toll of the red side during the two and a half years of revolutionary government was far higher that anything Franco could do at the end of the war.
When the red side collapsed, most of the leaders and inductors of massacres fled to France and Mexico, leaving in Spain their henchmen to carry the can, which were the ones on whom Franco retaliated.
It is true Franco retaliated on masons. Unlike countries like America, the UK and France, were freemasons formed some kind of patriotic society; in Spain their objectives were disruptive with the past and with the public interest at such a level that constituted a danger for the mere existence of the Nation.
Unfortunately, recent developments, as 3/11 (a copy of the
1980 Bologna massacre), seem to confirm such diagnosis.
"Then Franco's troops invaded and began to systematically execute all mayors, town councilmen, union leaders, anybody who was denounced by anybody who owned a blue shirt (Spanish blood feuds can go back a long time) and oh yes, almost of anybody they captured who had a bruise on their right shoulder." I'll give credit where it's due. This quote came from InaBunkerUnderSF. Not that I necessarily disagree.
"Unlike countries like America, the UK and France, were Freemasons formed some kind of patriotic society; in Spain their objectives were disruptive with the past and with the public interest at such a level that constituted a danger for the mere existence of the Nation."
Just so everyone understands, in a European context, political rants against "Freemasons" can be roughly translated as "Jew lovers." Typically they were listed together as "Jews and Freemasons," meaning, "Jews and Jew lovers." It's equivalent in today's world to people who carp endlessly against "neo-cons." All code words for antisemitism.
And concerns for "Freemasons" grew out of the French Revolution, long before "Jewish Bolshevism" was even conceived of.
The real difference between European & American Freemasons (and btw, I'm not one, so only speak from what I've read) was that in America, masons lead the Revolutionary War effort, beginning with George Washington. And yes, from the beginning,they were friendly to Jews, and received support from Jews.