Spanish Neofascist Archive

Archive of 325+ items related to Spanish far-right political parties and their youth sections, ca. 1976-1996. This personal archive follows the rise of the extreme right during La Transición, the period of political turmoil following the death of Franco in 1975, into the contested, unstable new democracy of the 1980s, with all its crises including an attempted military coup, paramilitary terrorism by groups on the right and left, and finally the right's radicalization and alignment with other European neofascist movements during the 1990s in response to rising unemployment, immigration, and the European CommunityEuropean Union treaties. The photographs record large demonstrations, graffiti, community organizing, parades, and smaller group protests in addition the more mundane activities of meetings and annual congresses, with a special emphasis on youth activities. Likewise, the documents reflect both the often-mild public face of the far-right, with its coded expressions of honor, family, and patriotism, and the radical racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and nationalism that entered the party platforms. Comprised of approx. 175+ photographs, most color, 55 in large format, 17.5 x 23.5 cm., the rest approx. 10 x 15 cm., some with captions verso identifying places and dates; 150+ documents includes serials, pamphlets, small flyers, broadsides, posters, correspondence, miscellaneous items, and 20 pieces of foreign ephemera (France, Italy, Germany, UK, US). Photographs near fine or very good, a few merely good; documents range from fair to near fine, most good to very good, some older items with edge-wear, closed tears, or toning. Most items not located in OCLC. Housed in archival binder and box. $2750 * * * From Franco's death until 1981, Spanish rightist parties struggled for continuity with the previous regime (Franco's party: Falange Española de las J.O.N.S.) and the national-syndicalist system. Their mottos repeated familiar nationalist themes: e.g. “For God, the Fatherland, and Justice,” and claimed to advocate for a “third way.” One of the most important of these parties, the Fuerza Nueva (“fascist nostalgists”), had a particularly strong base in Catalonia, in the cities of Valencia and Barcelona, where it fought to maintain the unity of the region with campaigns for bilingualism and antiseparatism. The electoral success of the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party in 1982 ushered in an era of resistance for the far right, who began to align themselves with more radical fascist ideas under new party names including Frente Nacional (FN), Alianza Nacional 18 Julio, Círculo Español de Amigos de Europa (CEDADE), and Juntas Españolas (and Jóvenes de Juntas Españolas). A number of the serials, broadsides and flyers in this archive attest to influence of other European countries’far-right philosophes: Fuerza Nueva and Juntas Españolas were inspired by the ideas of Julius Evola, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Léon Degrelle, and Otto Skorzeny among others. And despite the often white-washed public literature distributed by these groups, the youth and paramilitary sections of these parties were violent, with numerous murders and instances of vigilantism attributed to the Fuerza Nueva during the 1980s. Some of the photos in the archive relate to the assassination of Ricardo Saenz de Ynestrillas (his son led the Alianza por la Unidad Nacional until he was imprisoned for attempted murder). By the late 1980s and early 1990s anxiety increased in Spanish right-wing circles with continued economic uncertainties and the extension of the European Community with invitations to Turkey and former USSR Eastern bloc countries to join the zone. The archival materials from this period, which include more than 20 pieces from foreign organizations in Italy, Germany, England and the USA, show a newly emboldened right making explicit visual and rhetorical references to fascist and Nazi propaganda. Altogether an extraordinary view inside European extremist subculture.