Guernica: The bridge remained intact; 80% of the buildings had been destroyed. ibid.
It was not until July 1938 that the decisive battle took place … A river in south-west Catalonia … one of the most brutal of the entire war. ibid.
His reign of terror was only just beginning. ibid.
‘He says the most mindbogglingly stupid things you can imagine; and yet at the same time he’s quite cunning.’ The Truth About Franco: Spain’s Forgotten Dictator II: The New Regime, Paul Preston
April 1939: Three years of bloody civil war have claimed half a million lives and turned Spain into a different country. ibid.
Spain split into winners and losers … ‘We’re talking about total famine.’ ibid. historian
In return for that assistance, Franco was now supplying Germany with raw materials and food. ibid.
According to a secret protocol Franco only offered a vague prospect of Spain entering the War. ibid.
The Spanish troops left for Russia. The Blue Division took part on the attack on Leningrad. ibid.
In Spain the foundations of a new state Franco style were becoming clear: no constitution, just laws. ibid.
It reinforced the rights of entrepreneurs. Wages were dictated by the state. And striking was seen as a serious offence. ibid.
Many people exchanged their last possession for food just to survive. Traders became rich. ibid.
Retroactively, Franco had everyone punished who had as he put it disturbed the social peace. ibid.
Spain suffered from Franco’s dark legacy and still does today. The Truth About Franco: Spain’s Forgotten Dictator III: Zero Hour
130,126. More and more German Nazis had fled to Spain. And Franco had received them with open arms. ibid.
Guerrilla units were especially active in Spain’s mountainous regions but they also fought in some major cities like Barcelona. ibid.
Part of the population stood behind Franco and the opposition was brutally silenced. ibid.
It’s estimated that by the end of the Second World War Franco’s regime had executed 200,000 people. Often the victims were shot without trial. ibid.
Social inequality was part of everyday life. Nepotism and corruption ensured that the upper class retained its privileges. ibid.
After four years of [UN] isolation, Spain was brought in out of the cold. ibid.
Large scale child abduction: the disquieting end of a totalitarian system with the blessing of the Catholic church. ibid.
Dwight D Eisenhower even paid a visit to Franco’s dictatorship. ibid.
He then used every available means to retain power. The Truth About Franco: Spain’s Forgotten Dictator IV: The Leaden Age
The dictator ruled like a monarch. ibid.
Franco was convinced that the people stood behind him. Thanks to foreign aid, living conditions in Spain had improved. Surely that had to ensure loyalty? ibid.
In Spain Opus Dei were especially powerful. ibid.
Tourism especially brought in foreign exchange. ibid.
The old despot felt untouchable. ibid.
‘He never considered stepping down or making significant changes.’ ibid. Werner Herzog
Hospital de la Paz 14 November 1975: Franco suffered the first of several heart attacks. ibid.
Nicolae Ceausescu: once revered throughout Romania and the West, he stole power by cunning and ruled by oppression. Ceausescu’s tainted genius and his wife Elena’s influence were finally extinguished by a hasty execution. History’s Most Hated s1e2: Ceausescu
Ceausescu’s criminal activities often took him to jail. ibid.
‘He was a Machiavellian genius.’ ibid. historian
Ceausescu was proclaimed First Secretary of the Communist Party and the country’s leader. ibid.
‘It is the first visit of a president of the United States to Romania.’ ibid. Nixon
Ceausescu was a cheat. He was a passionate game hunter and a terrible shot … He had begun to live in an unreal world where he couldn’t bear to lose at anything. ibid.
Ceausescu’s bouts of paranoia meant that he increasingly relied on his wife … Her influence was a malign one. ibid.
It is the dawn of the 13th century over Asia. A fierce storm reaches deep within the heart of the continent. Growing to a tempest, it spills over into China devastating one of the most ancient cultures on Earth. Then, gathering momentum, its violent fury vents westward laying waste Afghanistan and Persia. Riding this bitter winds are unstoppable hoards mercilessly carving out an empire that will know no equal in all of human history. History’s Most Hated s1e3: Genghis Khan: Terror & Conquest
Known by many terms: madman and genius, bloodthirsty warrior and brilliant politician, architect of nation and destroyer of civilisations, he was all of these. His name: Genghis Khan. ibid.
He was born somewhere in the Steppes in about the year 1165. ibid.
In the heart of Berlin children play innocently over what was once Adolf Hitler’s death tomb. It was here in the Fuhrer-bunker on April 30th 1945 that Hitler made the final preparation for his suicide. Outside in a devastating final assault on the heart of the Third Reich, the Russian army closed in on the Fuhrer. Hitler’s death brought to an end his dream of a thousand-year Reich: it lasted only twelve years but changed the world. History’s Most Hated s1e4: Hitler & Stalin
They were both mass murderers. Hitler was responsible for nearly ten million deaths in the Holocaust … Stalin murdered more than twenty million of his own people. ibid.
Both Hitler and Stalin suffered from inferiority complexes. ibid.
Adolf sold his paintings on the streets. It is interesting that he only painted landscapes, never people. Two years in a row, Hitler applied to and was rejected from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts … The Academy told him he had no aptitude for painting. ibid.
The same cruelty and sadism of Stalin’s political life dominated his family life, especially his relations with his second wife Nadia. ibid.
Hitler’s relationships with women were equally troubled. ibid.
For a brief period of time Napoleon seemed to be all things to all people. Perhaps the greatest military commander ever. Was also a pre-eminent head of state. History’s Most Hated s1e5: Napoleon Bonaparte
Now 15 years old Napoleon next moved to Paris in 1784. He continued his education here at one of France’s foremost military academies, the prestigious Ecole Militarie. Almost from the beginning people commented on his enormous ambition. ibid.
He met an astonishing woman who would change his life for ever: Josephine … Back in Paris, Josephine was having numerous affairs. ibid.
He seized control of the government in a bloodless coup on November 9th 1799, becoming the First Consul of France. ibid.
At his coronation Napoleon took the crown himself. ibid.
Of the 600,000 men he had come with [to Russia], 500,000 died, deserted or were captured. Back in Europe he met with more disaster. ibid.
In Paris, Louis was stunned to hear that Bonaparte had returned. ibid.
Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, ruler of a vast land steeped in tradition. Tradition he was determined to shatter as quickly as possible … He married a commoner and made her his empress … But there was a dark side to this Tsar. The complexities and contradictions of Peter’s character and the sheer scope and adventure of his life have fascinated generation after generation for nearly 300 years. History’s Most Hated s1e6: Peter the Great
An army that would eventually allow the adult Peter to wage aggressive wars of expansion. ibid.
‘Building St Petersburg meant more casualties, more deaths, more dead than any battle.’ ibid. historian