History UsefulNotes / FranciscoFranco

[[quoteright:276:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/francisco_franco_8534.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:276:"Wait...I'm ''still'' dead?"]]

After obtaining power, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. The Blueshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. Unfortunately, any international scrutiny over these actions faded when [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] began. This shift in international politics, combined with Franco's opposition to Spanish communists during the civil war and his neutrality in World War II, led to something of an EnemyMine situation with the western world. NATO and the United States quietly supported his regime and looked to other way in regards to his crimes, and Franco in turn moderated some of his stances and policies over the years in order to maintain their support.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days.
** They were parodying NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show'' in particular. At the time, ''Today'' was only (only!) two hours long with the entire show airing live in the Eastern and Central time zones, while the Mountain and Pacific zones aired the second hour live as their *first* hour with the original first hour aired from tape in the second hour (Confused yet?), with live news breaks throughout. On the day Franco did die, the West Coast news breaks had to explain he was "still dead" as the main program taped in New York hours earlier discussed his pending death.

* French satirical newspaper ''Charlie-Hebdo'' mocked Franco's long agony with [[https://www.abebooks.fr/CHARLIE-HEBDO-N%C2%B0192-FRANCO-MIEUX-CIMETIERE/2089676213/bd a cover]] saying "Franco gets better -- he walked to the cemetary", illustrated by a drawing of a walking coffin.

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors died in a rather convenient plane crash. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself, further cementing his power.

Historians generally don't consider Franco's regime to be truly fascist, citing the lack of a revolutionary goal to change society that was shared among the likes of Franco's German and Italian counterparts. In fact, you could roughly consider 3 "factions" within Franco's spain; the carlists, absolute monarchist extremists, the falangists, proto-fascists infused with catholicism, and Franco's military dictatorship. While they all fought together in the civil war, instead of empowering one of the 2 sides he fought with, he chose to maintain the status-quo and lead his military dictatorship. As such, he would be considered a authoritarian dictator rather than a fascist. Franco went from enemy to ally because of the cold war, against the communists.

Unlike his counterparts, he died relatively peacefully in 1975. In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite. As of 2021, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

Historians generally don't consider Franco's regime to be truly fascist, citing the lack of a revolutionary goal to change society that was shared among the likes of Franco's German and Italian counterparts. In fact, you could roughly consider 3 "factions" within Franco's spain; the carlists, absolute monarchist extremists, the Falangists, proto-fascists infused with catholicism, and Franco's military dictatorship. While they all fought together in the civil war, instead of empowering one of the 2 sides he fought with, he chose to maintain the status-quo and lead his military dictatorship. As such, he would be considered a authoritarian dictator rather than a fascist. Franco went from enemy to ally because of the cold war, against the communists.

While Mussolini is widely regarded as something of a joke and Hitler the touchstone for evil, Franco falls somewhere in between. Championing the Falangism, a brand of quasi-Fascism[[note]]while definitely far-right, traditionalist, militaristic, and authoritarian, historians generally don't consider Franco's regime to be truly fascist, citing the lack of a revolutionary goal to change society that was shared among the likes of Franco's German and Italian counterparts; that said, it's easier for most laypeople to emphasize his nature and brutality as a leader with the Big F than with "quasi-fascist far-right dictator"[[/note]] which had the spicy garnish of Catholicism, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. Blueshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. However, this was kindly overlooked by the rest of the western world when the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] began. After that, Franco went from [[EnemyMine enemy of freedom to valiant crusader]] against the evils of Communism. Over roughly the next 35 years, Franco would moderate his tone somewhat, and begin to become more of a standard military dictator more tolerable to NATO and the United States. After all, it was a bit difficult to claim the moral high ground when you were allies with the last remnant of fascism in Europe, especially with the spectre of World War II still hanging about.

Unlike his counterparts, he died relatively peacefully in 1975. In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite. As of 2020, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

Probably not related to [[Film/NowYouSeeMe Dave]] or [[Creator/JamesFranco James]].

* TheRemnant: Outlived Mussolini, Hitler, and fellow Iberian fascist leader UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar en route to become the last fascist leader in Europe. He eventually died of natural causes.

* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', an AlternateHistoryNaziVictory mod for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronIV'', Franco appears as a co-leader (along with Salazar) of the Iberian Union, the united nation of Spain and Portugal that was formed in response to the Nazi aggression.

While Mussolini is widely regarded as something of a joke and Hitler the touchstone for evil, Franco falls somewhere in between. Championing the Falange, a brand of quasi-Fascism[[note]]while definitely far-right, traditionalist, militaristic, and authoritarian, historians generally don't consider Franco's regime to be truly fascist, citing the lack of a revolutionary goal to change society that was shared among the likes of Franco's German and Italian counterparts; that said, it's easier for most laypeople to emphasize his nature and brutality as a leader with the Big F than with "quasi-fascist far-right dictator"[[/note]] which had the spicy garnish of Catholicism, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. Blackshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. However, this was kindly overlooked by the rest of the western world when the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] began. After that, Franco went from [[EnemyMine enemy of freedom to valiant crusader]] against the evils of Communism. Over roughly the next 35 years, Franco would moderate his tone somewhat, and begin to become more of a standard military dictator more tolerable to NATO and the United States. After all, it was a bit difficult to claim the moral high ground when you were allies with the last remnant of fascism in Europe, especially with the spectre of World War II still hanging about.

* TheRemnant: Outlived Mussolini and Hitler en route to become the last fascist leader in Europe, and eventually died of natural causes.

* Portrayed by Pep Miràs on the third episode of Spanish science fiction series ''Series/ElMinisterioDelTiempo'', as the mission is related to his meeting with Hitler in Hendaye.

* TheNapoleon: In his portrayal on ''Series/ElMinisterioDelTiempo'': tiny, fat, with a high-pitched voice, but cruel.

* AssholeVictim: In ''Film/TheLastCirus'' he tries to comfort the main character Javier while he's being treated like a dog by one of his colonels, but since Javier's whole life has been plagued by the Civil War, the least he can do when he's in front of the man who's the true main culprit of his misery is savagely biting his hand.

* AssholeVictim: He tries to comfort the main character Javier while he's being treated like a dog by one of his colonels, but since Javier's whole life has been plagued by the Civil War, the least he can do when he's in front of the man who's the true main culprit of his misery is savagely biting his hand.

Unlike his counterparts, he died relatively peacefully in 1975. As of 2020, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite. He is still dead.

While Mussolini is widely regarded as something of a joke and Hitler the touchstone for evil, Franco falls somewhere in between. Championing the Falange, a brand of quasi-Fascism[[note]]while definitely far-right, traditionalist, militaristic, and authoritarian, historians generally don't consider Franco's regime to be truly fascist, citing the lack of a revolutionary goal to change society that was shared among the likes of Franco's German and Italian counterparts[[/note]] which had the spicy garnish of Catholicism, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. Blackshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. However, this was kindly overlooked by the rest of the western world when the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] began. After that, Franco went from [[EnemyMine enemy of freedom to valiant crusader]] against the evils of Communism. Over roughly the next 35 years, Franco would moderate his tone somewhat, and begin to become more of a standard military dictator more tolerable to NATO and the United States. After all, it was a bit difficult to claim the moral high ground when you were allies with the last remnant of fascism in Europe, especially with the spectre of World War II still hanging about.

While Mussolini is widely regarded as something of a joke and Hitler the touchstone for evil, Franco falls somewhere in between. Championing the Falange, a brand of Fascism which had the spicy garnish of Catholicism, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. Blackshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. However, this was kindly overlooked by the rest of the western world when the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] began. After that, Franco went from [[EnemyMine enemy of freedom to valiant crusader]] against the evils of Communism. Over roughly the next 35 years, Franco would moderate his tone somewhat, and begin to become more of a standard military dictator more tolerable to NATO and the United States. After all, it was a bit difficult to claim the moral high ground when you were allies with the last remnant of fascism in Europe, especially with the spectre of World War II still hanging about.

Unlike his counterparts, he died relatively peacefully in 1975. As of 2019, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite.

Unlike his counterparts, he died relatively peacefully in 1975. As of 2018, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

* TheNapoleon: In his portrayal on ''Series/ElMinisterioDelTiempo'': tiny, fat, with a high-pitch voice, but cruel.

** They were parodying NBC's own ''Series/Today Show'' in particular. At the time, ''Today'' was only (only!) two hours long with the entire show airing live in the Eastern and Central time zones, while the Mountain and Pacific zones aired the second hour live as their *first* hour with the original first hour aired from tape in the second hour (Confused yet?), with live news breaks throughout. On the day Franco did die, the West Coast news breaks had to explain he was "still dead" as the main program taped in New York hours earlier discussed his pending death.