SPAIN: No Passaran

Spain lay in the cross fire of war. About 140,000 German troops including three Panzer divisions were near Spain’s borders. Dictator Francisco Franco refused Adolf Hitler’s request for permission to send German troops through to Gibraltar, announced that Spain would defend herself against any attacks from either side. He mobilized an army of some 1,350,000, declared that in the event of any attack on Spain or its possessions, he would seek aid from the enemies of the attacker.

Franco and his generals owed their dismal success very largely to Germany and Italy. Their political philosophies and totalitarian methods coincided. But last week Axis sentiment was being subordinated to tough expediency. Internally, Spain was a caldron. Thousands were starving. Eighty food products were strictly rationed, including, nearly all staples. Railroads and roads were in bad repair. The country needed oil, grain, machinery, rolling stock—obtainable from the U.S.

Tens of thousands of Loyalists still rotted in jails and concentration camps. The Catholic Church, Republicans and many monarchists and generals opposed continued collaboration with the Axis. Basques and Catalans cried for autonomy.

Franco had the best of reasons for keeping Spain out of the war. If either the Axis or the Allies moved into Spain, the lid would blow off. It is not clear who would then come out on top, but it seems highly probable that Dictator Franco would land on his bottom.