Francisco Franco

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Spain Begins Heartrending Mass Exhumations

Government seeks to identify 128 Franco victims buried anonymously at mausoleum

(Newser) - Initial forensic work was to begin Monday to try to exhume the bodies of 128 victims of late dictator Francisco Franco’s forces who are among tens of thousands of people buried anonymously in wooden boxes underground in a mausoleum. The team of some 15 forensic experts, archeologists, scientific police,...

Franco's Heirs Ordered to Give Up 19th-Century Palace

Judge rules it was given to Franco in his capacity as head of state

(Newser) - Francisco Franco's heirs have been ordered by a Spanish court to give up the summer palace that has been in the family's control for the last 82 years. The ownership of Pazo de Meirás was called into question in February 2018, when the dictator's descendants listed...

Rage From Franco's Family as His Remains Are Moved

Government says dictator's legacy should not be celebrated

(Newser) - Spain began a move both symbolic and literal on Thursday against the largest figure in its modern history. The government started exhuming the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco from a state mausoleum built in part by the labor of his political prisoners, reports the BBC . Franco will be reinterred...

Spain's Most Contentious Remains Will Be Moved

Supreme Court clears way for exhumation of Francisco Franco

(Newser) - A mausoleum that holds the remains of 34,000 Spaniards who lost their lives in the 1936-1939 civil war will soon be without its most famous remains: The country's Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for the exhumation of the late dictator Francisco Franco from the Valley of...

Spain, Vatican Are in Agreement on Dictator's Remains

Say they'll prevent Gen. Francisco Franco from being reburied under Madrid cathedral

(Newser) - The Spanish government said Tuesday that the Vatican has agreed to jointly find ways to prevent the remains of late Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco from being reburied under a central Madrid cathedral. Relatives of Franco want to reinter his embalmed body in a family crypt under Almudena Cathedral if...

Dads' Names Demoted in Spain

Father's surname won't get automatic priority

(Newser) - A planned change to Spain’s baby-naming laws means dads’ monikers will no longer automatically take precedence, the Guardian reports. In Spain, people typically have two last names, with the father’s traditionally appearing first—and automatically taking the first slot if the parents can’t agree on an order....

Spain Drops Probe Into Franco Crimes

But plan to dig up mass graves may still go ahead

(Newser) - One of Spain's leading judges terminated an inquiry into atrocities committed during the 1936-1939 civil war and the ensuing dictatorship, ending the country's first criminal investigation into Francisco Franco's regime. The judge dropped the case after government prosecutors questioned his jurisdiction over what the suit called crimes against humanity. But...

Spanish Judge Begins Probe of Franco Crimes

Magistrate also orders poet Federico García Lorca's body exhumed

(Newser) - A Spanish judge today ordered the grave of poet and playwright Federico García Lorca dug up, and declared 114,000 political killings in the 1930s and later under former dictator General Francisco Franco crimes against humanity, the Guardian reports. The move—part of the first official inquiry into Franco-era...

Spain's PM Tells Church to Get Out of Election

Zapatero meets with Vatican rep over campaign to oust him

(Newser) - Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is meeting today with a Vatican representative to protest the Catholic Church's call for voters to oust his Socialist party in the March 9 general election. Zapatero was infuriated by bishops' publication of "moral guidance," calling on parishioners to vote out...

A Historical Video Game Shocks Spain
A Historical Video Game Shocks Spain
Nov 23, 2007 12:24 PM CST

A Historical Video Game Shocks Spain

Civil War game lets players fight against— or for—the fascists

(Newser) - The New York Times reports on a new video game on sale in Spain that bills itself as the first based on the 1936-39 civil war. Players of Shadows of War can take command the Republican army and reverse the course of history, preventing Franco's 40-year dictatorship—or they can...

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