Spain's Post-WWII Isolation: UN Condemnation and Cold War Shift

And though Hitler, in the Hendaye interview (September 1940), rejected the Franco benefits, the foreign minister Serrano facilitated Nazi activities in Spain and the German export of strategic materials. In 1941, he was sent to the Russian front, called the Blue Division. Then, before the Allied victories, he took free retirement and returned to the policy of neutrality, but collaborated with Germany until the end of the war. At the end of this, the Allies decided to close the borders to isolate Spain. Spain was not admitted to the newly created United Nations, and in 1946, a resolution called for the withdrawal of ambassadors in Madrid, which reflects the text, and Spain was excluded from the Marshall Plan. The government responded with mass demonstrations of commitment to the dictator and blamed the international political boycott on a global conspiracy led by the Soviet Union. This situation, however, would be short-lived, since the beginning of the Cold War would make the European and American powers see an ally against the Soviet bloc in Spain.

Condemnation of the United Nations

1. Type of Text:

It is a historic primary source, a text of circumstantial political content led by the General Assembly of the United Nations to all members of the same, but its mandate is not binding, since it contains only recommendations. This was produced a year and a half after the end of the Second World War and condemned the Franco regime, calling it fascist and accusing it of being born with the support of Hitler and Mussolini and having supported them during the war.

2. Main Idea:

The UN General Assembly recommended excluding Franco's Spain from all organizations depending on it and urged all member countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Madrid.

3. Historical Context:

At the outbreak of World War II, Franco's Spain declared neutrality but sided with the Axis powers. In June 1940, before the German victories, Spain declared itself non-belligerent, hoping to benefit from the German victories at the expense of the distribution of British and French colonial empires.