D
devoutchristian
Guest
“thou shalt not murder”
Are you claiming that state suppression of Communist speech is wrong in itself?
- Status
L
lerapt78
Guest
Just out of curiosity, what are some opinions on what the Spanish should have done when confronted with the communist uprising?
Clearly, many think Franco’s strategy of stomping hard on the uprising was wrong because of “Thou shall not kill”.
Would peaceful protest have worked?
Would turning the other cheek have made brothers out of the Reds?
Have the communists ever benevolently played nicey-nice with the civilian population in any of the countries they have assumed power? Any at all?
Does the Just War theory not apply to Spaniards who saw what was happening in Eastern Europe and who wanted to prevent the same occurrence in their own country? Should they have had blinders on, given the commies a fair chance, and only waited until the destructive system ravaged their land before trying to put a stop to it?
I’m being serious. It seems people protest Franco’s regime more out of a desire to condemn a fascist than out of any real understanding on what a fair solution would have been. If there had existed a better method of opposing communism which could have entailed a “softer” approach, it hasn’t been mentioned.
Clearly, many think Franco’s strategy of stomping hard on the uprising was wrong because of “Thou shall not kill”.
Would peaceful protest have worked?
Would turning the other cheek have made brothers out of the Reds?
Have the communists ever benevolently played nicey-nice with the civilian population in any of the countries they have assumed power? Any at all?
Does the Just War theory not apply to Spaniards who saw what was happening in Eastern Europe and who wanted to prevent the same occurrence in their own country? Should they have had blinders on, given the commies a fair chance, and only waited until the destructive system ravaged their land before trying to put a stop to it?
I’m being serious. It seems people protest Franco’s regime more out of a desire to condemn a fascist than out of any real understanding on what a fair solution would have been. If there had existed a better method of opposing communism which could have entailed a “softer” approach, it hasn’t been mentioned.
D
devoutchristian
Guest
Well obviously they should have been more tolerant. So what if the Communists wanted to murder priests and rape nuns, who were the Falangists to tell them how to live their lives?Just out of curiosity, what are some opinions on what the Spanish should have done when confronted with the communist uprising?
Clearly, many think Franco’s strategy of stomping hard on the uprising was wrong because of “Thou shall not kill”.
Would peaceful protest have worked?
Would turning the other cheek have made brothers out of the Reds?
Have the communists ever benevolently played nicey-nice with the civilian population in any of the countries they have assumed power? Any at all?
Does the Just War theory not apply to Spaniards who saw what was happening in Eastern Europe and who wanted to prevent the same occurrence in their own country? Should they have had blinders on, given the commies a fair chance, and only waited until the destructive system ravaged their land before trying to put a stop to it?
I’m being serious. It seems people protest Franco’s regime more out of a desire to condemn a fascist than out of any real understanding on what a fair solution would have been. If there had existed a better method of opposing communism which could have entailed a “softer” approach, it hasn’t been mentioned.
T
Thompson5
Guest
I never said that the Communists were good, but Franco’s repression wasn’t just anti-Communist. He didn’t only kill Communists, but those who were anti-Falanguist. Guernica anyone? the suppression of us national cultures like the Basques and the Catalans? of pure there was a civil war and blood was going to be shed, but it is what came afterwards that shows that Franco was just a Catholic version of the Cmmunist monsters. and before you say that I’m lying, I know this because my family livd through the Framco period in Spain, and I had some very beloved family members and friends wo were shot or “disappeared” just for speaking ill of the Caudillo. and this was post WW2 . we lived in fear.
T
Thompson5
Guest
And we weren’t Communists. They were bad, but Franco was not better. Many families, including my own, had to leave for the UK rather than live in Spain under his rule. so no, Franco is no Saint. He may have given Spain stability and got rid of the Reds, but at a great human cost. He was a dictator, same as Galtieri. Pinochet and all their lot.
Here’s another example of what he did
timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/spain-honours-franco-victims/196467.article
nytimes.com/2009/03/01/world/europe/01franco.html?_r=0
Here’s another example of what he did
timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/spain-honours-franco-victims/196467.article
nytimes.com/2009/03/01/world/europe/01franco.html?_r=0
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Thompson5
Guest
C
Cirdan_XII
Guest
This sort of thing was not exclusive to Spain.
Even in Britain during the 1930s, the government took children from poor parents and sent them to be adopted in overseas territorries such as Rhodesia and Australia, where many were treated as just one level up on slave labour. Of course one wrong does not justify another, but we should judge Franco in the perspective and morality of the day and not in that of ours.
G
Gib1704
Guest
Of course this is not exclusive to Spain - this issue has recently caused much scandal in Spain as it has recently come to light how, during the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, babies were taken from hospitals and taken from their parents and sold to rich couples. These actions were done by both Falanguist officials and corrupt Catholic nuns (unfortunately). Sadly there are sick people who do these things. Of course it has happened elsewhere- you correctly mentioned the British Empire during the late 1800s, early 1900s. In the same way that these people should be judged, so must Franco. I very much doubt that in the 1960s it was regarded as right to take children from their parents or tell them that their newborn babies had died, when they had actually been sold off to rich families. While you are right that both are wrong, IMO the argument that we should take into account the morality of the day (this case of the stolen children, or “ninos vendidos”) took place only 30-40 yrs ago) is weak, as the concept of human rights was already well developed by then, and blatantly ignored by some - in this case Franco (although, as you say, he is not the only one to have done this).
Nonetheless, what is wrong is that some here wish to paint him a the knight in shining armour who saved Spain. He had his good points (he brought stability to Spain), but his human rights record leaves much to be desired.
G
Gib1704
Guest
Here’s an article (in Spanish, translation below) about the stolen children. It started during the Franco era, and it involved Falanguists and corrupt Catholic nuns (sadly, those working in the name of God), and continued for several years during the restoration of democracy.
bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2011/01/110128_espana_ninos_robados_lr.shtml
[TRANSLATION]
Thousands of children in Spain were allegedly forcibly separated from their parents to be sold which became operational networks under Franco and continued for decades. Now, more than 260 alleged victims of child trafficking to justice require an investigation.
The National Association of People Affected by Irregular Adoptions (Add) An estimated 300,000 children were stolen. At first, most were children of supporters of the republican left that lost the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and gave way to the military regime of Francisco Franco.
However, Add ensures that child trafficking continued after the death of the de facto ruler in 1975.
Enrique Vila, victims advocate group that has asked the Attorney General to investigate the incident, said that there was a whole mob in participating collectors, doctors and brokers who sold to children in exchange for cash.
From ideology to business
The association contributed hundreds of tests ranging from falsified birth certificates, until DNA tests through nursing or undertakers testimonies and confessions of parents who bought their kids.
There are cases of mothers who opened the graves of their babies after 30 years bringing them flowers and found empty, the mothers were deliberately deceived
Antonio Barroso, president of Anadyr
The forced separation of children from their parents side, began after the war. So most of the victims were children from families of ideas against the Franco regime that were given to other “ideologically convenient.”
According to Vila, “that structure and those methods revealed a potential business.” “It all started for political reasons, but ultimately any child could be a victim,” he said.
Antonio Barroso, the founder of Anadyr, believed to have been one of them. Before dying, the large man he thought was his biological father confessed that he had bought for “more money than it costs an apartment”, which gave physicians cash.
DNA tests confirmed that Barroso and his parents had no biological relationship. He tried unsuccessfully to take their case to court and then decided to found the association. Ensures that surprised the amount of people who were in the same situation.
Empty Tombs
Now, he and 260 other alleged victims, struggle to know the truth.
They suspect it was a massive network in which participating physicians, captors and intermediaries.
“We want the prosecutor opened a national investigation,” he told the headquarters of the Attorney General’s Office in Madrid. It brought together many members of Anadyr, who carried placards and banners with messages calling for justice to be done.
Barroso said that “there are cases of mothers who opened the graves of their babies after 30 years bringing them flowers and found empty, the mothers were deliberately misled.”
“Then there are other cases like mine, where birth certificates were falsified,” he added.
Suspicious contradictions
One of the emblems of Anadyr says “We have a right to know our biological family.” It’s what they claim Alberto and his mother, Soledad Hernandez.
In the eighties, gave birth Soledad birth to twins and doctors told him that one of them had died. However, like other mothers complain, she never taught the baby’s body.
Some documents say that my brother was buried, others were cremated. Some say he died from respiratory problems, others who were malnourished
Alberto, a member of Anadyr
His son Alberto says that official documents do not match. “Some documents say that my brother was buried, others were cremated. Some say he died from respiratory problems, others who were malnourished,” he explains.
The contradictions fed his suspicions that his twin brother might still be alive. “All my life I thought there was someone out there, people often say that I have seen in places you have not gone. This case can carry that to any conclusion,” he adds.
The lawyer Enrique Vila acknowledges that not all deaths in suspicious situations have to be theft and notes that “some mothers cling to that possibility as a form of hope.”
However emphasizes that there are facts that suggest that some do’s are, as the statement of a funeral home worker who admitted having transported 20 empty coffins. “This is just a man,” says Vila, adding: "Imagine how many there can have been in the whole of Spain. This has to be a huge investigation. "
bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2011/01/110128_espana_ninos_robados_lr.shtml
[TRANSLATION]
Thousands of children in Spain were allegedly forcibly separated from their parents to be sold which became operational networks under Franco and continued for decades. Now, more than 260 alleged victims of child trafficking to justice require an investigation.
The National Association of People Affected by Irregular Adoptions (Add) An estimated 300,000 children were stolen. At first, most were children of supporters of the republican left that lost the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and gave way to the military regime of Francisco Franco.
However, Add ensures that child trafficking continued after the death of the de facto ruler in 1975.
Enrique Vila, victims advocate group that has asked the Attorney General to investigate the incident, said that there was a whole mob in participating collectors, doctors and brokers who sold to children in exchange for cash.
From ideology to business
The association contributed hundreds of tests ranging from falsified birth certificates, until DNA tests through nursing or undertakers testimonies and confessions of parents who bought their kids.
There are cases of mothers who opened the graves of their babies after 30 years bringing them flowers and found empty, the mothers were deliberately deceived
Antonio Barroso, president of Anadyr
The forced separation of children from their parents side, began after the war. So most of the victims were children from families of ideas against the Franco regime that were given to other “ideologically convenient.”
According to Vila, “that structure and those methods revealed a potential business.” “It all started for political reasons, but ultimately any child could be a victim,” he said.
Antonio Barroso, the founder of Anadyr, believed to have been one of them. Before dying, the large man he thought was his biological father confessed that he had bought for “more money than it costs an apartment”, which gave physicians cash.
DNA tests confirmed that Barroso and his parents had no biological relationship. He tried unsuccessfully to take their case to court and then decided to found the association. Ensures that surprised the amount of people who were in the same situation.
Empty Tombs
Now, he and 260 other alleged victims, struggle to know the truth.
They suspect it was a massive network in which participating physicians, captors and intermediaries.
“We want the prosecutor opened a national investigation,” he told the headquarters of the Attorney General’s Office in Madrid. It brought together many members of Anadyr, who carried placards and banners with messages calling for justice to be done.
Barroso said that “there are cases of mothers who opened the graves of their babies after 30 years bringing them flowers and found empty, the mothers were deliberately misled.”
“Then there are other cases like mine, where birth certificates were falsified,” he added.
Suspicious contradictions
One of the emblems of Anadyr says “We have a right to know our biological family.” It’s what they claim Alberto and his mother, Soledad Hernandez.
In the eighties, gave birth Soledad birth to twins and doctors told him that one of them had died. However, like other mothers complain, she never taught the baby’s body.
Some documents say that my brother was buried, others were cremated. Some say he died from respiratory problems, others who were malnourished
Alberto, a member of Anadyr
His son Alberto says that official documents do not match. “Some documents say that my brother was buried, others were cremated. Some say he died from respiratory problems, others who were malnourished,” he explains.
The contradictions fed his suspicions that his twin brother might still be alive. “All my life I thought there was someone out there, people often say that I have seen in places you have not gone. This case can carry that to any conclusion,” he adds.
The lawyer Enrique Vila acknowledges that not all deaths in suspicious situations have to be theft and notes that “some mothers cling to that possibility as a form of hope.”
However emphasizes that there are facts that suggest that some do’s are, as the statement of a funeral home worker who admitted having transported 20 empty coffins. “This is just a man,” says Vila, adding: "Imagine how many there can have been in the whole of Spain. This has to be a huge investigation. "
L
lerapt78
Guest
I thank the replies to my post, but my question wasn’t really answered.
What should Franco have done differently? What sort of approach could he have used that would not have involved killing of the enemy, or a strict purging after victory?
As I’ve mentioned, I’m pretty pro-Franco, while acknowledging that his rule was not perfect. But it would help me to have a better understanding of how the more severe anti-Franco opinions have validity if I were shown an example of how a different leader managed to smash communism in a way that earned him the reputation of being an honorable opponent, rather than a “monster”.
With such a parallel, one could reasonably say "Look, this guy, like Franco, wanted to protect his country from communism too. But *unlike *Franco, he did so in this matter, which was much more humane, etc. etc. . . . . " With that comparison, I could understand where and how Franco “went rogue”, as opposed to having used the necessary force to subdue the communist threat.
What should Franco have done differently? What sort of approach could he have used that would not have involved killing of the enemy, or a strict purging after victory?
As I’ve mentioned, I’m pretty pro-Franco, while acknowledging that his rule was not perfect. But it would help me to have a better understanding of how the more severe anti-Franco opinions have validity if I were shown an example of how a different leader managed to smash communism in a way that earned him the reputation of being an honorable opponent, rather than a “monster”.
With such a parallel, one could reasonably say "Look, this guy, like Franco, wanted to protect his country from communism too. But *unlike *Franco, he did so in this matter, which was much more humane, etc. etc. . . . . " With that comparison, I could understand where and how Franco “went rogue”, as opposed to having used the necessary force to subdue the communist threat.
L
lerapt78
Guest
Thanks for the link, Gib1704. I am going to look into this a bit more when time permits. This is indeed interesting, and something I haven’t heard of before. And certainly terrible if true.
I did want to emphasize the bolding, though. What I glean is that these are suspicions and allegations only at this time, and some people are demanding an investigation. Imagine how many people reading this article will now claim that Franco stole babies, just upon these allegations alone.
It will be interesting to see the results. It seems there are a lot of newfound investigations into occurrences from the Franco regime being called for, for some reason. For the reasons I mentioned in a previous post, there’s something odd about this.
L
lerapt78
Guest
May I ask, why did your family have to leave? Was this a personal decision of theirs?
I’m curious - was there a reason they left for England, rather than Cuba or South America as many Spaniards did?
T
Thompson5
Guest
Thank you for your comment.
We weren’t republicans or communistas, we left for England because we preferred staying in Europe rather than going to South America, which was having problems of its own at the time too. We left because of the post-war repressions taking place - neighbours and family friends went missing just for speaking ill of Franco, and we felt it was time to leave as things were getting difficult in Spain.
God bless you!
G
Gib1704
Guest
You’re welcome, it is indeed an interesting topic which has recently surfaced
In Spain, a number of people have already been arrested in connection with this, although, obviously, most of them have died by now. Of course its still early stages, and we can’t point the finger at Franco just yet (if anything, it was not just him - the allegations highlight that this started during his regime and continued for a while under the post-Franco era). It is known that during and after, the Civil War, children were sometimes taken from Republican families to be given to other families. Of course, investigations are still taking place, though I doubt that an operation of such a scale - which involved doctors, officials and corrupt Catholic clergy, would have gone unnoticed by at least some of the Government officials of the time. It is known that babies were stolen, but, like I said, investigations are still being undertaken. I agree, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
G
Gib1704
Guest
Thank you very much for your reply, lerapt78. I understand that there was a Civil War going on that involved bloodshed on both sides, which was inevitable. However what could have been done differently is the post-Civil War repressions that Franco implemented. Not only against Communists, but ordinary Joes like you and me. Once he had militarily defeated the Repubicans and was in power, he could have used political means, rather than repression and violent means, to keep the Communists out. Here’s an article (archived from the Guardian), which mentions the post-war repression, which continued up until 1952.
rogerhollander.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/franco-repression-ruled-as-a-crime-against-humanity/
A Spanish judge yesterday ordered the grave of poet and playwright Federico García Lorca dug up as, for the first time, the repression unleashed by the dictator General Francisco Franco was formally declared a crime against humanity.
In a controversial reversal of Spain’s traditional refusal to seek out those responsible for the killings of Lorca and more than 100,000 other people, Judge Baltasar Garzón also asked investigators to provide him with information on Franco’s chief henchmen and generals. Franco and his chief collaborators, Garzón said, had been responsible for “mass killings, torture and the systematic, general and illegal detentions of political opponents”.
Death squads, military courts and other tribunals sent 114,000 people to their deaths during and after a three-year civil war in the 1930s that traumatised Spain for generations, according to the judge.
Several thousand lie in unmarked mass graves, despite the attempts of volunteers over the past eight years to disinter corpses and hand them over to relatives for reburial. The judge ordered the digging up of 19 such graves, including one on a hillside overlooking the southern city of Granada where Lorca is thought to have been shot in 1936. Lorca’s family do not want the poet exhumed, but recently promised not to oppose a petition from relatives of two men shot and buried alongside him for the grave to be dug up.
“I’m very pleased. I’ve been waiting 10 years for this,” said the granddaughter of one of them, Nieves Galindo.
Garzón requested formal proof that 35 generals and Francoist ministers are no longer alive. He also ordered the interior ministry to provide a list of those in charge of the pro-Francoist Falange movement up until 1951. It is doubtful, however, that any are still alive.
The judge explicitly said that his investigations included repression carried out until 1952, 17 years after Franco had won the civil war and established his dictatorship. Many Spaniards still find the period hard to talk about and some fear Garzón’s investigation will reopen old wounds.
The right has been critical of the judge and of a recent “historical memory” law to help Franco’s victims passed by the Socialist government of the prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
An unwritten “pact of forgetting” underpinned Spain’s rapid transition to democracy after Franco’s death in 1975.
Garzón’s critics claim that all civil war and Francoist repression is covered by a 1977 amnesty law and by rules which mean that most crimes lapse after 20 years. Garzón declared yesterday, however, that where a victim’s body had not been found a crime of kidnapping was still being committed and had not lapsed.
The attorney general’s office, which has opposed the judge’s investigation, is expected to appeal against the decision. It argues that international human rights laws do not apply to the civil war as Spain was not signed up to them at the time.
Garzón has previously investigated repression by military regimes in Latin America in the 1970s. In 1998 he ordered the arrest of General Augusto Pinochet of Chile while he was in London but failed to get him extradited to face trial in Spain.
Spanish courts have been criticised for investigating crimes committed by other dictatorships without ever looking at those carried out under Franco.
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Gib1704
Guest
Here’s another interesting article about the stealing of babies in Spain:
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049647/BBC-documentary-exposes-50-year-scandal-baby-trafficking-Catholic-church-Spain.html
Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals.
The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties.
Hundreds of families who had babies taken from Spanish hospitals are now battling for an official government investigation into the scandal.
Several mothers say they were told their first-born children had died during or soon after they gave birth.
But the women, often young and unmarried, were told they could not see the body of the infant or attend their burial.
In reality, the babies were sold to childless couples whose devout beliefs and financial security meant that they were seen as more appropriate parents.
Official documents were forged so the adoptive parents’ names were on the infants’ birth certificates.
In many cases it is believed they were unaware that the child they received had been stolen, as they were usually told the birth mother had given them up.
Journalist Katya Adler, who has investigated the scandal, says: ‘The situation is incredibly sad for thousands of people.
‘There are men and women across Spain whose lives have been turned upside-down by discovering the people they thought were their parents actually bought them for cash. There are also many mothers who have maintained for years that their babies did not die – and were labelled “hysterical” – but are now discovering that their child has probably been alive and brought up by somebody else all this time.’
Experts believe the cases may account for up to 15 per cent of the total adoptions that took place in Spain between 1960 and 1989.
It began as a system for taking children away from families deemed politically dangerous to the regime of General Franco, which began in 1939. The system continued after the dictator’s death in 1975 as the Catholic church continued to retain a powerful influence on public life, particularly in social services.
It was not until 1987 that the Spanish government, instead of hospitals, began to regulate adoptions.
The scandal came to light after two men, Antonio Barroso and Juan Luis Moreno, discovered they had been stolen as babies.
Mr Moreno’s ‘father’ confessed on his deathbed to having bought him as a baby from a priest in Zaragoza in northern Spain. He told his son he had been accompanied on the trip by Mr Barroso’s parents, who bought Antonio at the same time for 200,000 pesetas – a huge sum at the time.
‘That was the price of an apartment back then,’ Mr Barroso said. ‘My parents paid it in instalments over the course of ten years because they did not have enough money.’
Bought for cash: Journalist Katya Adler with Juan Luis Moreno, who was sold as a baby
Bought for cash: Journalist Katya Adler with Juan Luis Moreno, who was sold as a baby
DNA tests have proved that the couple who brought up Mr Barroso were not his biological parents and the nun who sold him has admitted to doing so.
When the pair made their case public, it prompted mothers all over the country to come forward with their own experiences of being told their babies had died, but never believing it. One such woman was Manoli Pagador, who has begun searching for her son.
A BBC documentary, This World: Spain’s Stolen Babies, follows her efforts to discover if he is Randy Ryder, a stolen baby who was brought up in Texas and is now aged 40.
In some cases, babies’ graves have been exhumed, revealing bones that belong to adults or animals. Some of the graves contained nothing at all.
The BBC documentary features an interview with an 89-year-old woman named Ines Perez, who admitted that a priest encouraged her to fake a pregnancy so she could be given a baby girl due to be born at Madrid’s San Ramon clinic in 1969. ‘The priest gave me padding to wear on my stomach,’ she says.
It is claimed that the San Ramon clinic was one of the major centres for the practice.
Many mothers who gave birth there claim that when they asked to see their child after being told it had died, they were shown a baby’s corpse that appeared to be freezing cold.
The BBC programme shows photographs taken in the Eighties of a dead baby kept in a freezer, allegedly to show grieving mothers.
Despite hundreds of families of babies who disappeared in Spanish hospitals calling on the government to open an investigation into the scandal, no nationally co-ordinated probe has taken place.
As a result of amnesty laws passed after Franco’s death, crimes that took place during his regime are usually not examined. Instead, regional prosecutors across the country are investigating each story on a case-by-case basis, with 900 currently under review.
But Ms Adler says: ‘There is very little political will to get to the bottom of the situation.’
There are believed to be thousands more cases that will never come to light because the stolen children fear their adoptive parents will be seen as criminals.
Many of the families of stolen babies have taken DNA tests in the hope of eventually being matched with their children. Some matches have already been made but, without a nationally co-ordinated database, reuniting lost relatives will be a very difficult process.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049647/BBC-documentary-exposes-50-year-scandal-baby-trafficking-Catholic-church-Spain.html
Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals.
The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties.
Hundreds of families who had babies taken from Spanish hospitals are now battling for an official government investigation into the scandal.
Several mothers say they were told their first-born children had died during or soon after they gave birth.
But the women, often young and unmarried, were told they could not see the body of the infant or attend their burial.
In reality, the babies were sold to childless couples whose devout beliefs and financial security meant that they were seen as more appropriate parents.
Official documents were forged so the adoptive parents’ names were on the infants’ birth certificates.
In many cases it is believed they were unaware that the child they received had been stolen, as they were usually told the birth mother had given them up.
Journalist Katya Adler, who has investigated the scandal, says: ‘The situation is incredibly sad for thousands of people.
‘There are men and women across Spain whose lives have been turned upside-down by discovering the people they thought were their parents actually bought them for cash. There are also many mothers who have maintained for years that their babies did not die – and were labelled “hysterical” – but are now discovering that their child has probably been alive and brought up by somebody else all this time.’
Experts believe the cases may account for up to 15 per cent of the total adoptions that took place in Spain between 1960 and 1989.
It began as a system for taking children away from families deemed politically dangerous to the regime of General Franco, which began in 1939. The system continued after the dictator’s death in 1975 as the Catholic church continued to retain a powerful influence on public life, particularly in social services.
It was not until 1987 that the Spanish government, instead of hospitals, began to regulate adoptions.
The scandal came to light after two men, Antonio Barroso and Juan Luis Moreno, discovered they had been stolen as babies.
Mr Moreno’s ‘father’ confessed on his deathbed to having bought him as a baby from a priest in Zaragoza in northern Spain. He told his son he had been accompanied on the trip by Mr Barroso’s parents, who bought Antonio at the same time for 200,000 pesetas – a huge sum at the time.
‘That was the price of an apartment back then,’ Mr Barroso said. ‘My parents paid it in instalments over the course of ten years because they did not have enough money.’
Bought for cash: Journalist Katya Adler with Juan Luis Moreno, who was sold as a baby
Bought for cash: Journalist Katya Adler with Juan Luis Moreno, who was sold as a baby
DNA tests have proved that the couple who brought up Mr Barroso were not his biological parents and the nun who sold him has admitted to doing so.
When the pair made their case public, it prompted mothers all over the country to come forward with their own experiences of being told their babies had died, but never believing it. One such woman was Manoli Pagador, who has begun searching for her son.
A BBC documentary, This World: Spain’s Stolen Babies, follows her efforts to discover if he is Randy Ryder, a stolen baby who was brought up in Texas and is now aged 40.
In some cases, babies’ graves have been exhumed, revealing bones that belong to adults or animals. Some of the graves contained nothing at all.
The BBC documentary features an interview with an 89-year-old woman named Ines Perez, who admitted that a priest encouraged her to fake a pregnancy so she could be given a baby girl due to be born at Madrid’s San Ramon clinic in 1969. ‘The priest gave me padding to wear on my stomach,’ she says.
It is claimed that the San Ramon clinic was one of the major centres for the practice.
Many mothers who gave birth there claim that when they asked to see their child after being told it had died, they were shown a baby’s corpse that appeared to be freezing cold.
The BBC programme shows photographs taken in the Eighties of a dead baby kept in a freezer, allegedly to show grieving mothers.
Despite hundreds of families of babies who disappeared in Spanish hospitals calling on the government to open an investigation into the scandal, no nationally co-ordinated probe has taken place.
As a result of amnesty laws passed after Franco’s death, crimes that took place during his regime are usually not examined. Instead, regional prosecutors across the country are investigating each story on a case-by-case basis, with 900 currently under review.
But Ms Adler says: ‘There is very little political will to get to the bottom of the situation.’
There are believed to be thousands more cases that will never come to light because the stolen children fear their adoptive parents will be seen as criminals.
Many of the families of stolen babies have taken DNA tests in the hope of eventually being matched with their children. Some matches have already been made but, without a nationally co-ordinated database, reuniting lost relatives will be a very difficult process.
G
Gib1704
Guest
I wonder why?
Perhaps there are politicians and officials, both from during and after the Franco regime, who have been involved (though most of those from the Franco regime, if they were involved, would be dead by now).
M
MHT32
Guest
Regardless of him being a fascist, I still think not. Considering he caused so much turmoil in Spain and was a dictator up until the 70s I dont think he lived a holy enough life. He isnt the only leader to try to bring the faith into the military. Almost every French king from the 1600s to the 1700s tried to do so and none of them were worth canonizing. I think its good he defended the faith, but that doesnt automatically make him saint-like.
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Cirdan_XII
Guest
Against all this we have right now an attempt by the political left to blackwash Franco’s memory. Leftist newspapers are bleating louder than usual about how evil Franco was and how innocent the Republican side was. The recent Zapatero government has taken this to extremes, going after Church assets. Many churches in Spain have a memorial plaque somewhere that remembers members of the clergy and the holy orders killed by Republican forces. Zapatero put pressure on many churches to remove these plaques. This seems to me to be a one sided re-telling of history seeing the leftist media was at the same time churning out documentary after documentary about the evils of Franco, but suppressing the other side of the story. It all came to a head when they even decided to seize Franco’s monument at Valle de los Caidos which is actually a working benedictine monastery with a choir school attached, and a memorial to all the war dead at which prayer vigils are held all year round. Franco just happens to be buried there, but in contrast to leftist propaganda, that was never his wish or reason for building it. The left of course misinterpret this and call it a shrine to Franco and those who visit it to pray for the dead they call extremists. They decided to desecrate the church and turn it into a leftist museum telling only their side of the story, and despite protests from the monks, they went in and destroyed and removed several statues of the stations of the cross and other works of art from the church, breaking some up with pneumatic drills.
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CesarAugustus
Guest
The Soviet Union (part of the Allies) did commit genocide, the Holodomor, where 7 million people aprox. died of starvation, under the Ukranian SSR.
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