'Selective History' By Many Writers?

Watching The Truth About Franco on PBS, I was startled by the leftist bias in this subject which I know pretty well having taught the topic to a significant standard, at 'A' Level.

I thought that I had misheard when one presenter introduced Hitler and Donald Trump in the same breath. I replayed that section - and sure enough, there it was. Good grief!

The Nationalists were blamed entirely throughout the series for The Spanish Civil War with barely a nod towards: the atrocities by the Republicanos; their massacres; the stealing of land; failed socialist policies; the butchery of priests and nuns; the sellout to the USSR; transfers of Spanish gold reserves to communist Moscow - never returned in full. (I am not even sure whether they were ever returned in part!) Funny how the marxists and anarchists were 'the good guys', innit?

Franco was even blamed for the poor economic state of Spain after the war was over. They had just been through a civil war, for pity's sake! Interesting that rationing ended in Spain before it did in Britain. Spain was outside the Marshall Plan and was utterly unable to keep up with other european nations.

Precious little credit given for Franco grabbing weaponry from the Axis but then refusing to join Hitler's cause and keeping Spain neutral. Franco also stopped the Nazis landing in Spain to attack Gibraltar. 

Hitler met Franco just the once, at Hendaye. Hitler stated that he would 'rather have teeth pulled without anaesthetic' than speak to Franco again! The worst thing Franco did in this meeting was to agree to sell wolfram (tungsten) to Germany.

Yes. The makers mentioned every negative of Franco; his minions; his ruthlessness. This was, of course, the right thing to do but ...

When I taught this, however, I told BOTH sides of the story! IMHO, the actions of the republicans made this awful conflict of unmitigated butchery, inevitable. Both Nazis and Stalin used Spain as a testing ground for weaponry and tactical development?

It is very similar to more recent conflicts in the Balkans where the Serbians had to be classed as 'the bad guys' but atrocities from Kosovars and Bosnians are conveniently airbrushed out of History!

Yes. Franco was dreadful - but the alternative would surely have given Stalinists a foothold in Southern Europe. Odd that so little was made of that point, innit? 

So often, life and politics are about lesser evils.

One mega point seemingly never grasped was that falangists and fascists were not the same thing at all.

Let us not forget that Hitler and Mussolini were not paragons of virtues in the eyes of Franco. These were national socialist organisations, whereas Franco was actually an ultra-conservative.

Furthermore, Franco was best understood from the position of considering his ultra-catholicism but this was something which was dismissed on a whim and the unsubstantiated opinion that 'he wasn't religious'. ???

One thing more - I personally experienced living in Franco's Spain. I do know whereof I speak.

PBS - poor history. All said, Franco truly was a dreadful man but ...