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Churchill and Spain
The Survival of the Franco Regime, 1940–1945

Richard Wigg
Richard Wigg was a foreign correspondent for The Times for 27 years, and spent time in Europe, Latin America and Asia, including several years reporting from Madrid.

“A fascinating study of Churchill and of the dire impact of personal relationships on high politics.” TLS

“An important addition to Churchill studies.” Sir Martin Gilbert

Churchill and Spain examines why Franco’s regime was alone among Europe’s “Big Three” Fascist dictatorships in being able to survive beyond the end of the Second World War, and to what extent Churchill’s lenient wartime policies enabled Franco to remain in control of Spain. Richard Wigg draws upon Foreign Office documents, many hitherto embargoed under the 50-year rule or only became available under the Freedom of Information Act, to take a fresh look at the political and economic relations between Britain and Spain during the war. He re-examines the wartime papers of Prime Minister Churchill and Samuel Hoare, Britain’s special envoy to Madrid, for the light shed on Britain’s handling of an unfriendly neutral.

The author details how the tolerance shown towards Spain’s wartime trading in wolfram allowed the rebuilding of the country’s gold reserves, which proved crucial in enabling Franco’s Spain to endure post-war international isolation. It also addresses the reputation of Samuel Hoare, a fascinating yet often discarded figure in twentieth-century British political history. He was the most vulnerable among the Chamberlainite appeasers during the era of European dictators, yet in the Spanish case for over four years he exercised consummate diplomatic skills and judgment, providing critical thinking about Franco’s repressive regime that on the one hand allowed criticism of the Falange and its leader but on the other, kept Spain neutral. He “made amends” for his pre-1939 record, and grew in stature and statesmanship.

This book, originally published to great acclaim in 2005, and published now for the first time as a paperback, is essential reading for scholars and students of European twentieth-century history, as well as all those interested in Churchill’s international role in the Second World War.

Published in association with the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies

	List of Contents to follow

 

Publication Details

	ISBN:		978-1-84519-283-9 p/b
	Page Extent / Format:		256 pp. / 229 x 152 mm
	Release Date:		July 2008
	Illustrated:		No
	Hardback Price:		£19.50 / $37.50