There are times when life becomes painfully ironic. Such as teaching about fascism in Spain during the 1930s and 40s a day after Italy elects their first neo-fascist prime minister. As I go through the explanations of Spain's particular brand of fascism, it becomes clear that my students' comprehension is partial.
Most students understand the concepts of racial superiority espoused by Adolf Hitler. Due to seven centuries of Arab occupation in Spain, concepts of racial purity were more difficult to promote. Therefore, Francisco Franco focused on Spanish nationalism and Catholic values. What seems to get lost, though, is that fascism was also a war on the poor. By casting themselves as anti-communists, fascist movements appealed to aristocrats and the upper class. Demands for fair wages and better working conditions were seen as economically destabilizing. Calls for public, secular education or literacy programs were equally suspect.
I did not see the extent to which fascism targeted the poor until visiting an archive in Salamanca, Spain. Besides samples of anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic artefacts, such as paraphernalia from the Masons, the archives display documents of those persecuted for endangering Franco's Spain. Most were illiterate farm workers. Many signed their name with an X. The best educated person I could find was a nursing assistant who had completed primary school.
So, let’s be clear about fascism. Not only does it promote eugenics, but it wants to make sure that the working classes remain poor and powerless.
I’m Frances Jaeger, and that is my perspective.
