Valley of the Fallen Spanish Civil War Memorial

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After the Spanish Civil War was won by the Nationalists, General Francisco Franco had a memorial built. It is called “Valle de los Caídos”, or “Valley of the Fallen” and is a Catholic basilica. Due to how it was constructed, its design, what it stands for, and its status (until recently) as the resting place of Franco’s remains, it has been very controversial. It is indeed a sight to behold.
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My question is, what is your opinion of this?
 
Just when the wounds were about to heal with the passing of the last of the Civil War generation, the ultra-leftist Government has deliberately stirred up the old hatreds by disinterring Franco’s body from the Valley of the Fallen. It is an act of deliberate provocation designed to raise the temperature.
 
What’s so controversial about its design? I understand there were thousands of Catholic priests and religious killed in the Red Terror. Hundreds of whom have been beatified. If this is a memorial to them, it seems appropriately constructed.
 
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Most US people nowadays, outside of those with either recent Spanish heritage (from Spain, not from Mexico/ Central America/ South America) or some big interest in recent Spanish/ European history, do not have good knowledge of the Spanish Civil War. People might possibly be aware of it via a few literary and art works including Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and Picasso’s “Guernica”, as well as the classic “Saturday Night Live” Chevy Chase running gag about “Franco is still dead”. The SNL joke was itself a parody of a US national news anchorman who led the news with Franco’s impending death for 5 days despite most Americans at that point not knowing or caring who he even was. The anchorman was replaced soon after that.

Therefore, I don’t think most US citizens are going to care one way or the other how this monument looks or whether Franco is interred in it or not.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Picasso’s “Guernica”,
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Most people who do know about the Spanish Civil War are nonetheless unaware of the fact that “Guernica” was painted before the event it supposedly depicts, and hastily renamed as a way of harnessing art in the service of propaganda.
 
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Maximian said:
Just when the wounds were about to heal with the passing of the last of the Civil War generation, the ultra-leftist Government has deliberately stirred up the old hatreds by disinterring Franco’s body from the Valley of the Fallen. It is an act of deliberate provocation designed to raise the temperature.
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Correct, and shamefully many of the Spanish hierarchy remained silent and allowed this to happen despite family objections.
 
Maximian said:
Probably true. But this site has a worldwide following.
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Correct, but this is a US-based forum with a heavily US readership, so I gave my opinion from that perspective and as one of the US readers.

This is one of those issues that’s probably much more interesting to folks in Europe.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I understand there were thousands of Catholic priests and religious killed in the Red Terror. Hundreds of whom have been beatified. If this is a memorial to them, it seems appropriately constructed.
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The Civil War in Spain is still invoked by many who seek to suppress Catholicism there. The narrative is often orchestrated by secularists in the press and parties of the left notably PSOE, however I have yet to see any of the photographs (which can still be found on the Web) of the disinterred corpses of religious (priests and nuns etc) set up for display in grotesque poses in the open air by the Left before the war ended. The Church suffered terribly in the war (I often visit a chapel that was burned down by them, but the faithful managed to save some artifacts and then rebuild the chapel afterwards, when I am in the country)
 
Tis_Bearself said:
issues that’s probably much more interesting to folks in Europe.
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It’s an issue which, like the Cristero wars in Mexico, and their aftermath, should be of concern to all Catholics on whichever side of the Atlantic
 
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Maximian said:
It’s an issue which, like the Cristero wars in Mexico, and their aftermath, should be of concern to all Catholics on whichever side of the Atlantic
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The slaughter of Catholic clergy and religious in both wars is important to me as a Catholic.

The design of the war memorial and whether Franco is in it or not, not so much.
 
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