Franco's Spain and the Jewish Rescue Effort During World War
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DUKE UNIVERSITY Durham, North Carolina Archival Document: “German embassy in Spain” Franco’s Spain and the Jewish Rescue Effort During World War Two Gena Olan April 2013 Under the supervision of Dr. Malachi Hacohen, Department of History and Jewish Studies Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation with Distinction Program in International Comparative Studies & History Trinity College of Arts and Sciences 1 To my family, who has always supported me in everything I do 2 Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 Mireille’s Vignette ..................................................................................................................... 8 Historiography ......................................................................................................................... 22 Central Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 24 Overview of Thesis ................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter One: The Ambiguous Legacy ........................................................................................ 28 Historical Background of Sephardim in Spain: The Expulsion of 1492 and the Diaspora ...... 28 Jewish Emancipation .............................................................................................................. 35 Chapter Two: “Like a Light Through Glass” .............................................................................. 38 Spanish Relations with the Sephardim in the Twentieth Century ........................................... 38 Significance of Spanish Nationality ......................................................................................... 44 The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the Guernica ........................................................... 45 World War Two (1939-1945) .................................................................................................. 50 Spanish Bureaucratic Structure ............................................................................................... 56 Discussion of Spanish Diplomats ............................................................................................. 62 Chapter Three: Diplomacy at the Border, Bernardo Rolland of France ..................................... 65 Background Information ........................................................................................................... 65 Sephardic Refugees from France ............................................................................................. 67 Border Control ......................................................................................................................... 73 Spanish Diplomats in France .................................................................................................. 78 Theories of Bureaucracy Applied on the Border ...................................................................... 90 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter Four: Diplomacy at a Distance: Sebastián Romero de Radigales of Greece .................. 93 Bureaucracy Operations ............................................................................................................ 93 Greece, Pre- and Post-World War Two .................................................................................... 94 World War Two ........................................................................................................................ 97 German Policy in Greece .......................................................................................................... 98 Franco’s Vacillation .................................................................................................................. 99 Spanish Consul in Greece ...................................................................................................... 102 Sebastián Romero de Radigales’ Legacy ............................................................................... 109 3 Chapter Five: Diplomacy at a Distance, Continued: Julio Palencia of Bulgaria ........................ 115 Bulgaria During World War Two .......................................................................................... 115 Spanish Consul in Bulgaria .................................................................................................... 118 Lack of Spanish Commitment ................................................................................................ 123 Granting Visas ........................................................................................................................ 125 Adoption ................................................................................................................................. 127 Julio Palencia’s Fate ............................................................................................................... 128 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 130 Conclusion: “Whosoever saves a single life saves an entire universe” ..................................... 131 Recognizing Spanish Diplomatic Heroism ............................................................................. 131 Rescued and Rescuers ............................................................................................................ 132 Spain and Israel’s Relations Post World War Two ............................................................... 139 Modern Day Reconciliation? ................................................................................................. 143 Recognition ............................................................................................................................ 147 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 150 Timelines ..................................................................................................................................... 152 Chapter 3 France Timeline .............................................................................................. 152-153 Chapter 4 Greece Timeline ............................................................................................. 154-155 Chapter 5 Bulgaria Timeline .................................................................................................. 156 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................ 157-160 4 Figures Figure 1: Tobacco tin .................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 2: Mireille’s family’s escape route to Spain ...................................................................... 11 Figure 3: Map showing Sephardic Diaspora ................................................................................. 33 Figure 4: Guernica (1937) ............................................................................................................. 48 Figure 5: Hitler and Franco meet on the French side of the border .............................................. 50 Figure 6: Distance from Spain to France, 625.5 miles ................................................................. 65 Figure 8: Map of Pyrenees Mountains on the border of Spain and France .................................. 68 Figure 9: Map showing borders of Vichy and Occupied France .................................................. 69 Figure 10: Miranda de Ebro Concentration Camp in Spain ......................................................... 71 Figure 11: Bernardo Rolland de Miota: Consul General of Spain in Paris ................................. 80 Figure 12: Jewish Statutes passed in France ................................................................................ 83 Figure 13: Map of Drancy ............................................................................................................ 85 Figure 14: Distance from Spain to Greece, 1,917 miles ............................................................... 94 Figure 15: Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp ......................................................................... 111 Figure 16: Sebastián Romero de Radigales Honored on Israeli Postage Stamp ......................... 114 Figure 17: Distance from Spain to Bulgaria, 2033.7 miles ......................................................... 115 Figure 18: Spanish Diplomat Julio Palencia ............................................................................... 119 Figure 19: Yad Vashem Statistics ............................................................................................... 149 5 Abstract Although a little known fact, Spanish diplomats helped save many of their own Sephardic (Spanish) Jews during