SPAIN: Franco’s Jails

With a midnight knock at the door, Francisco Franco’s security police struck in cities and towns. In San Sebastian and Madrid, Barcelona and Granada, hurriedly dressed men were hustled into squad cars and packed off to jail.

Franco’s controlled press still had not told the Spanish people about the arrests last week; the news filtered through censorship from the anti-Franco underground. Among the group of at least 54 rounded up since mid-November were university professors and lawyers, students and skilled workers. Most were in their 305. Some came from Spain’s top families. The common “crime”: all were socialists opposed to Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.