Spanish generals Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola lead a right-wing uprising, starting the Spanish Civil War. The main elements of his rule are said to be national conservatism, authoritarianism, anti-freemasonry, anti-Communism, a strong promotion of Roman Catholicism and support of the family. Franco’s forces fought the democratically elected Popular Front government – including Communists – government for three years before finally defeating them outside Madrid on April 1, 1939. Franco then assumed control of Spain. His regime rested on the support of a number of stalwart elements in Spanish society – the army, the Roman Catholic Church, rural landowners, and the Falange political party. During the Cold War, Franco was allied to the United States of America.
Most of those who feared the Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy thought that the Jews where behind it and the infiltration of Freemasonry. It is claimed that the prosecution of Freemasons in Spain began with Primo de Rivera´s dictatorship (from 1923 to 1930). [7] In September 1928, one of the two Grand Lodges in Spain was closed and approximately two-hundred masons, most notably the Grand Master of the Grand Orient, were imprisoned for allegedly plotting against the government. References to a “Judeo-Masonic plot” were a standard component of Franco’s speeches.
There was a time when the masons were both numerous and powerful in Spain. There were 151 masons among the 470 parliamentarians who made up the first legislature of the Second Republic in 1931. Little wonder that Franco described the Republic as a masonic operation. Six of the Second Republic’s prime ministers were masons, among them Manuel Azaña, along with 20 ministers and 14 undersecretaries. A further 21 masons served as generals in the army.
According to Francoists, the Republican Regime, which Franco overthrew, had a strong Masonic presence. [8] In reality Spanish Masons were present in all sectors of politics and the armed forces. [9] Franco produced at least 49 pseudonymous anti-Masonic magazine articles and an anti-Masonic book during his lifetime. According to Franco: “The whole secret of the campaigns unleashed against Spain can be explained in two words: masonry and communism… we have to extirpate these two evils from our land.” [10]
During the military coup of 1936, many Freemasons trapped in areas under Nationalist control were arrested and summarily killed. It was reported that Masons were shot, tortured and murdered by organized death squads in every town in Spain. After the victory of General Francisco Franco, Freemasonry was officially outlawed in Spain on 2 March 1940. In 1948, Franco identified Jews, along with Masons and Communists, as the great evil facing Spain. He never recognized the state of Israel. Being a mason was automatically punishable by a minimum jail term of 12 years. Masons of the 18º and above were deemed guilty of ‘Aggravated Circumstances’, and usually faced the death penalty. [10]
The suppression of Freemasons in Spain continued for 39 years until the dictator’s death in 1975. [12] Even though the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy is associated with anti-Semitism, it is worth noting that Franco did not target the Jewish community in Spain. Furthermore, he favored the Sephardi Jews during the war. [13]
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