In honor of the crusader martyrs

In the period immediately after Franco's death, known as the "Spanish Transition", Spanish society showed enough maturity to recognize that the social tension at the time could easily transform into the already seen armed conflict and that the security of the country was not guaranteed. At that time, Spain was not a member of either NATO or the European Community, and in a way it was left to its own devices. For the sake of peace, a tacit agreement was reached, according to which neither side intruded on the painful past of the other. This allowed the country to turn to the future and return to the club of modern democratic societies from which it had been excluded for four decades. Old wounds have been swept under the carpet.

That is why, more than four decades after the death of the dictator, the divisions in Spanish society are again visible. Many hope that the exhumation of Franco from the "Valley of the Fallen", which should be carried out by the end of the year, could finally put an end to one of the most painful pages of Spain's modern history. Numerous Spanish organizations are advocating that the graves of Ustasha leaders Ante Pavelić and Vjekoslav "Max" Luburić, who after fleeing Yugoslavia found refuge in Franco's Spain, be moved as part of the aforementioned measure.

TWO SPAINS: The divisions in Spain were particularly pronounced after the unprecedented victory of the right-wing bloc in the local elections held in Andalusia on December 2 this year, when the extreme right-wing Vox party with 10,9 percent of the vote became a necessary link for the formation of a right-oriented local government. With 8,4 million inhabitants, Andalusia is Spain's most populous autonomous province and until these elections was a traditional socialist stronghold. According to the latest research, Vox could enter the Spanish parliament in the next elections, which would be a precedent after the democratization of the country.

Although the division between progressive and conservative Spain has its roots in the 19th century, today's ideological differences are a direct consequence of the divisions that arose immediately before and during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The dissatisfaction of the Spanish conservative sector, especially present in the military, religious and certain youth circles fascinated by the coming fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany, took its full form on July 18, 1936. Then a group of Spanish army generals, led by General Francisco Franco, tried to carry out a coup d'état with synchronized actions in order to "prevent Spain from falling into the hands of the Marxists". The coup failed and the conflict turned into a civil war.

Franco's allies, first and foremost Hitler and Mussolini, were given the opportunity to test their army on the Spanish training ground, providing valuable assistance to the rebels. The majority of European countries, including the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, silently observed the Spanish conflict, hiding behind the Pact of Non-Interference, which gave the war the status of an "internal issue of Spain".

During the Second World War, while it still seemed that Hitler could win, Franco sent over forty thousand Spaniards to the Soviet front as part of the Blue Division to support the German army. The victory of the Allies was followed by the complete international isolation of Spain, and Franco's move was interpreted more as his contribution to the fight against communism, and less as support for Hitler.

Today, one of Madrid's streets bears the name of the Fallen Fighters of the Blue Division and is one of the many Francoist symbols that survive, with which Spanish democracy has failed to deal.

The most famous among those symbols is the "Valley of the Fallen", where Franco has been resting since November 23, 1975. There is no evidence that it was Frank's wish to be buried there. That decision was made by the government of Spain at the time, and it was ratified by King Juan Carlos I.

MONUMENT TO FRANCOISM: Monumental, spooky and cold-looking, this pharaonic project fifty kilometers from Madrid does not leave any visitor indifferent, regardless of their ideological affiliation. Cut 250 meters into a hill dominated by a 150-meter-high and 46-meter-wide cross, the "Valley of the Fallen" is a mausoleum consisting of a Benedictine monastery and a mass grave built by order of the dictator Francisco Franco. This megalomaniacal project, of which the dictator was proud and whose construction lasted eighteen years, was started in 1940, immediately after the end of the Spanish Civil War, and officially opened on April 1, 1959, on the twentieth anniversary of the victory of Franco's putschists. The original idea was to serve as a monument and tomb "for those who died for the fatherland in the honorable crusade".

The decree that Franco signed before the start of the construction of the mausoleum states, among other things: "The significance of our crusade... cannot be perpetuated by simple monuments that adorn the cities... It is necessary that the stones we raise have the size of ancient monuments... so that future generations will show respect to the heroes with admiration and to the martyrs of the crusade..."

The project, worth in today's equivalent of around 250 million euros, was started at a time when devastated Spain was painfully feeling the consequences of a violent civil war in which about half a million people lost their lives and while hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country were struggling for basic existence in poverty, and Europe and the world flocked to war. Twenty thousand workers participated in its construction, most of whom were political and war prisoners.

The founder of the Spanish fascist party, the Spanish Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903–1936), who was killed at the very beginning of the war and who today is celebrated by pro-fascist movements and parties as a great martyr, found a place in the "Valley of the Fallen" among the greats of that time's ideology. His and Frank's graves occupy a central place in the basilica, and there is never a shortage of fresh flowers on them.

ABUSE OF THE DEAD: Immediately before the opening of the "Valley of the Fallen", the original idea to serve as a tomb only for those who died on the Franco side was enriched by the decision in the Catholic spirit of "forgiveness" to store the bones of those who died in defense of the Republic in the same place. With this gesture, the regime tried to send a message of national reconciliation. There are not a few historians in Spain who claim that the government at the time decided to take this step due to the refusal of a large number of families of the fallen Francoists to have the already buried bodies of their loved ones exhumed and transferred to the "Valley of the Fallen". Having nowhere to go, and due to an unexpected surplus of space, the authorities decided to bury the dead republicans there, without seeking the consent of their families.

According to official data, 33.847 people who died in the war were buried in this largest mass grave in Spain, of which 12.410 are still unidentified.

In today's democratic Spain, the "Valley of the Fallen" has retained approximately the same form and meaning that it had from the very beginning: it represents a kind of monument to Francoism and is a place of pilgrimage for supporters of extreme right-wing ideologies. Spain is the only member state of the European Union that in this way gives legitimacy and pays respect to a dictatorial regime, taking from taxpayers 1,8 million euros for the annual maintenance of the mausoleum.

The progressive part of the public drew attention to this democratic anomaly in different periods in a quieter or louder way, encountering greater understanding in the periods of socialist governments. Among the most vocal are certainly the families of the dead republicans who were forcibly buried in the "Valley of the Fallen", who believe that the remains of their loved ones should not be part of the Francoist project. The United Nations has repeatedly called for this issue to be resolved.

RECALLING WITH THE PAST: However, only the socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapater (2004–2011) took the first concrete step by convening an independent expert commission to make a recommendation on the future of the "Valley of the Fallen". After five months of work and just before the end of Zapater's mandate, the expert commission issued a recommendation in November 2011 according to which, among other things, the remains of Francisco Franco should be exhumed and transferred "to a place that the family considers or to a place that is considered honorable and appropriate", while the remains of José Antonio Prima de Rivera should be moved from the central part of the basilica and buried together with his other comrades within the mausoleum. The report insists on the need to change the entire symbolism of the "Valley of the Fallen" in order to make it a monument dedicated to all the victims of the Spanish Civil War, devoid of any ideological and political determination.

In this sense, the relocation of Frank from the "Valley of the Fallen" represents sine qua non, considering that he is the only person buried there who did not lose his life in the Spanish Civil War.

No less important aspect of the government of José Luis Zapater is the adoption of the Law on Historical Memory (2007), which created the basis for solving this issue, and with which it tried to compensate to some extent the victims of the persecution of the Francoist regime. The removal of public Francoist symbols, names of streets, squares, etc., was started, and at the same time budget funds were approved for finding the remains of republicans who died in the war and were buried in mass graves throughout Spain. It is assumed that there are over two thousand mass graves in Spain, more than half of which are still unopened, making Spain the country with the largest number of mass graves in Europe.

During the center-right government of Mariano Rajoy (2011–2018), the case of the "Valley of the Fallen" ends up in a drawer waiting for other times. Previously approved funds for the implementation of the Law on Historical Memory have been abolished, and the Government has decided that "for the sake of stability in society, it will not touch the painful wounds of the past".

THE FRANCO FAMILY STRIKES BACK: After an unexpected turn of events and a vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy in June 2018, a minority government led by Pedro Sánchez was formed by the Socialist Party with the support of the extreme left party PODEMOS and nationalist parties. The issue of the "Valley of the Fallen" was among the priority topics of the new government. On September 13, the Spanish Parliament approved a decree amending the Law on Historical Memory with 172 votes in favor and 164 abstentions (as well as two votes from the People's Party, which they later said was a mistake). the last formality was completed in order to move the remains of Francisco Franco from the "Valley of the Fallen", with the argument that only the remains of those killed in Spanish Civil War and that it will be a place of remembrance and tribute to the victims of the conflict.

Observing the dynamic and at times confusing unfolding of events that followed the adopted decree, the question arises as to whether the Government correctly assessed the possible consequences, or whether it wanted to win easy points with its voters in a quick and popular way.

The seven grandchildren of Franco did not remain indebted to Pedro Sánchez and his government. They resolutely opposed the announced measures of the Government and offered an alternative acceptable to them - that the grandfather be buried in the central Madrid Almudeni Cathedral, right next to the royal palace from the balcony of which he gave inflammatory speeches, and where the Franco family has two free burial places. Such a legally (un)substantiated alternative for the Government would be disastrous, to say the least, if it is taken into account that the center of Madrid would thus become a gathering place for those nostalgic for the dictatorship and various pro-fascist sectors, which until now met at a tolerable fifty kilometers from the city center .

Trying to find salvation in the area of ​​divided competences, Spanish Vice President Carmen Calvo urgently met with Secretary of State Pietro Parolini in the Vatican to persuade the Holy See to veto the initiative of the Franco family. The Vatican's answer was clear only in that it would not oppose the exhumation of Franko, while it did not want to take a position on the place of further rest of Francisco Franko. After that, the government again resorted to the Law on Historical Memory, which prohibits any kind of public highlighting and celebration of Francoism, in order to prevent the transfer of the generals' remains to the Almudena Cathedral. Although this provision of the Law on Historical Memory has so far only been used to remove Francoist symbols from squares, streets and other public places, lawyers believe that it could be used to solve this issue as well.

"THE VALLEY IS NOT TOUCHED": According to the Sigma Dos - El Mundo public opinion poll, 40,9 percent of Spaniards consider it necessary to move Franco's grave from the "Valley of the Fallen", against 38,5 percent who oppose the measure. Among the surveyed citizens, 20,6 percent do not have any attitude towards this issue. It is interesting, however, the data according to the same survey, based on which only 34,4 percent of Spaniards think that now is a good time to carry out the exhumation, against 54,3 percent of respondents who think that it is not the time for such a thing.

Opponents of the dictatorship are not rare either, who, however, believe that history should be accepted in its authentic state with bright and dark sides, and are not great advocates of changing the current status of the "Valley of the Fallen".

After the Government's announcement in July that the remains of Francisco Franco would be moved and the decision was finally formally made in September of this year, radical right-wing sectors organized gatherings in front of the "Valley of the Fallen" under the slogan "The Valley is not touched." Led by Franco's great-grandson Louis Alfonso de Bourbon, whom supporters in certain monarchist circles consider the legitimate heir to the French throne under the name Louis XX, fascist slogans were shouted with an outstretched right hand and under the Spanish constitutional flag (Franco variant) which the police confiscated from the crowd.

From today's perspective, it is clear that the period of the Spanish transition and the specific socio-political circumstances of that time required a tacit agreement between the Francoists and the progressive forces, which made Spain a European reserve of fascist symbols. The question is, however, whether such a thing is compatible with today's value system of consolidated European democracies.