7. He Praised the Axis Powers in His Speeches
Francisco Franco walked a delicate line during World War II as Spain tried to remain out of the conflict. He would speak of his loyalty to the fascist cause and to Germany and Italy when he spoke with the Axis powers. But in conversations with the Allies he would speak of his non-belligerence and his desire to mediate the peace or surrender between the two coalitions.
Francisco Franco’s stance at the beginning of the war was frustrating to both sides. The Axis powers wanted Spain to publicly support them and decrease their demands for entering the war. The Allies worried about Spain entering on the side of the Axis powers because they could not afford to lose Gibraltar.
It was not long however, before Francisco Franco’s speeches and conversations made it clear where his allegiance was. In speaking on the record to a German official named Stohrer, he stated that he completed identified with Hitler’s methods of governance.
In a speech he gave to the National Council of the FET he stated that “not even the American continent can dream of intervening in Europe without exposing itself to a catastrophe.” He went on to claim that the issues of the war were misrepresented and that the Allies had “lost it.” The Allies took the speech as a threat and began making plans for Spain entering the war on the side of the Axis Powers. The Axis powers were furious that Franco would give such a speech because it gave the Allies warning of Spain’s potential entrance into the war.
To be certain after this speech and some of the ones that followed it was clear that Spain would never be on the side of the Allies in the war. Some even doubted whether or not Spain was truly neutral, especially after Franco stated that “the blood of our youth will be united with that of our Axis comrades, as a living expression of solidarity.”