Meeting at Hendaye
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Meeting at Hendaye | |
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Host country | Vichy France |
Date | 23 October 1940 |
Venue(s) | Hendaye station |
Cities | Hendaye |
Participants |
The Meeting of Hendaye, or Interview of Hendaye, took place between Francisco Franco and Adolf Hitler (then respectively Caudillo of Spain and Führer of Germany)[1] on 23 October 1940 at the railway station in Hendaye, France, near the Spanish–French border. The meeting was also attended by the respective foreign ministers, Ramón Serrano Suñer of Francoist Spain and Joachim von Ribbentrop of Nazi Germany.
The object of the meeting was to attempt to resolve disagreements over the conditions for Spain to join the
The only concrete result was the signing of a secret agreement under which Franco was committed to entering the war at a date of his own choosing, and Hitler gave only vague guarantees that Spain would receive "territories in Africa". A few days later in Germany, Hitler famously told Benito Mussolini, "I prefer to have three or four of my own teeth pulled out than to speak to that man again!" It is subject to historical debate whether Franco overplayed his hand by demanding too much from Hitler for Spanish entry into the war, or if he deliberately demanded too much to avoid joining the war.[2]
Francoist Spain maintained close political and economic ties to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy throughout the period of the Holocaust.[3] Francisco Franco had taken power in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) with military aid from Germany and Italy.[4] He was personally sympathetic to aspects of Nazi ideology including anti-communism and anti-Semitism.[5]
See also
- Spain during World War II
- Spanish occupation of the Tangier International Zone(14 June 1940)
- Military history of Gibraltar during World War II
- Operation Felix
- Visit of Heinrich Himmler to Spain in 1940
References
- ^ "Hitler and Franco at Hendaye, the Whole Story"". Actually Notes. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ Eder, Richard. "Germany's ambivalent ally". Boston.com.
- ^ Preston Paul (2020), A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption and Social Division in Modern Spain, New York, Liveright Publishing Corporation. P.341
- ISBN 978-0-06-014278-0
- ^ Paul Preston (2023), Architects of Terror, Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Anti-Semitism in Franco's Spain, HarperCollins
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0465025152.
- Jane Boyar and Burt Boyar, Hitler stopped by Franco, Marbella House, 2001 (review in Conservative Monitor, August 2001). ISBN 978-0971039209.
- ISBN 978-0300122824.