“The growing clamor for “historical justice” comes after the recent approval of a law that would grant Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.”
The law recognizing as Spanish citizens the descendants of the Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 is not recent, was Franco who did it during the Holocaust opening the doors of Spain and saving the lives of more than 60,000 Jews.
During the entire war, especially after 1942, the Spanish borders were more or less kept open for Jewish refugees from Vichy France and Nazi-occupied territories in Europe. Franco’s diplomats extended their diplomatic protection over Sephardic Jews in Hungary, Slovakia and the Balkans. Spain was a safe haven for all Jewish refugees and antisemitism was not official policy under the Franco.
FRANCISCO FRANCO, BENEFACTOR OF THE JEWS:
However general history may judge him, in Jewish history, Franco shall certainly occupy a special place... Jews should honor and bless the memory of this great benefactor of the Jewish people...who neither sought nor reaped any benefit from what he did.
—From a four page obituary in The American Sephardi Journal of the Sephardic Studies Program of Yeshiva University, volume IX, 1978.
James Michener in Iberia, 1968, page 547: “...Generalissimo Franco is highly regarded by Jews; during the worst days of World War II, when pressures from Hitler were at their heaviest, Franco refused to issue anti-Jewish edicts and instead provided a sanctuary, never violated, for Jews who managed to make it to Spain. Many thousands of Jews owe their lives to Franco, and this is not forgotten.”
In Resolutions of the War Emergency Conference of the World Jewish Congress, Atlantic City, New Jersey, November 26-30, 1944, page 15: “The War Emergency Conference extends its gratitude to the Holy See and to the Governments of Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain... for the protection they offered under difficult conditions to the persecuted Jews of Hungary...”
In the Congressional Record of January 24, 1950, Rep. Abraham Multer quotes a spokesman for the Joint Distribution Committee: “During the height of Hitler’s blood baths, upwards of 60,000 Jews had been saved by the generosity of Spanish authorities.”
Newsweek, March 2, 1970: “...a respected U.S. rabbi has come forward with surprising evidence that tens of thousands of Jews were saved from Nazi ovens by the personal intervention of an unlikely protector. “I have absolute proof that Franco saved more than 60,000 Jews during World War II,” says Rabbi Chaim Lipscitz of Brooklyn’s Torah Vodaath and Mesitva rabbinical seminary.
Isabel and Ferdinand liberated and saved Spain from their Muslim conquerors. Franco saved Spain from the communists and the Nazis. He walked a fine line in World War II. His actions relative to Nazi Germany were pragmatic as were the Swiss. Franco’s actions relative to the Jews was heroic. He deserves a place in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations
but that will never happen.
Franco groomed Juan Carlos (a Bourbon of Royal heritage) to be his heir to power and King of Spain. When Franco died this happened. Juan Carlos never indicated his true hope for Spain all those years he was under Franco’s tutelege. Franco raised like a son.
Once Juan Carlos assumed the throne and had near dictatorial power over Spain he quickly gave democracy to Spain for it first time in history. This resulted in a Coup de Tat by the Military. They had the guns, and the power to do anything they wanted. Juan Carlos had nothing except the support of the people. Spain was on the precipice of a second civil war.
King Juan Carlos gave a nationally televised address denouncing the coup and urging the maintenance of law and the continuance of the democratically elected government. The coup soon collapsed. After holding the Parliament and cabinet hostage for 18 hours the hostage-takers surrendered the next morning without having harmed anyone.
The Generals leading the Coup were old men at this time. They remembered the horror of the Spanish Civil War when they were young men in arms those years ago. They loved Spain and Franco those many years ago. Fortunately they stilled loved Spain. Though they had the Army, the weapons and everything to impose their will, they stood down.
They loved Spain and would not subject her to the horrors they endured and also inflected those many years ago.
When Juan Carlos addressed the Nation on Television that night, he knew he could be a dead man before the sun rose the next day. He loved Spain and those Generals that opposed him also did. No one died, and Spain remained free.
Franco saved Spain from the Communists and is a hero. After the civil war in Spain democracy was totally impossible due to instability in Europe and the looming World War II. Franco did not understand that Spain needed saving from him at the end of World War II.
Juan Carlos saved Spain from Franco and Generals that opposed freedom in Spain. Juan Carlos is a great man and a hero. This will never be noted in history with the exception of a few Spanish scholars.
ps
If you ever visit Spain and do not Speak Spanish you will find it a wonderful and delightful place.
If you visit Spain and can Speak Spanish you will find a culture and people that will amaze you. Rent a car and go where the Middle Class Spanish take there holidays. Talk to the old men and women. The young are much like the young in our country.
Madrid and Barcelona are good to visit because of their history and museums. But, they are big cities with all the problems of our big cities. The small villages and small towns of Spain are wonderful. When we go to Spain we rent a car and leave the City and find places to stay and visit. It is nice, very nice.
We should look to Spain for its history. There are many things to be admired and also many to be abhorred as also in our history. If we do not we will be condemned to repeat Spain’s and our own horrible errors.
bkmk