The death of Franco

The death of Franco

General Francisco Franco died in November 1975, ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain.

The general had been in power since 1939 after winning the country’s bloody civil war, and his death followed a long illness.

He was mourned by conservative Spaniards but those on the left celebrated, calling him a fascist who had once been an ally of Hitler and Mussolini.

In 2015, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Jose Antonio Martinez Soler, a young journalist about the ending of an era.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: General Francisco Franco lies in state in Madrid, 1975. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

The Arrest in London of Augusto Pinochet

The Arrest in London of Augusto Pinochet

The former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, was arrested in London in October 1998. Spanish lawyers wanted him extradited to Spain to face charges of torturing and murdering political opponents in Chile. He claimed immunity as a former head of state. He was held under house arrest in the UK for over a year. Lucy Williamson spoke to public relations expert Patrick Robertson about his efforts to get the General back home to Chile.Photo: General Pinochet in 1999. Credit: PA

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Desmond Tutu Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

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When Belgium Banned Coca-Cola

When Belgium Banned Coca-Cola

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The Pergau Dam Affair

The Pergau Dam Affair

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Brazil's Hidden War in the Amazon

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In the early 1970's, at the peak of political repression and persecution in Brazil, a collection of left-wing students and liberal professionals decided to move to a remote region in the Amazon to fight the military dictatorship. Two survivors from the so-called Araguaia Guerrilla War spoke to Thomas Pappon about how they endured life and war in the jungle.Photo: Two guerrilla fighters after being captured in 1974 (Archive PCdoB)

17 Okt 20189min

The 1973 Oil Crisis

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In October 1973 Arab nations slashed oil production in protest at American support for Israel during it's war against Egypt and Syria. Oil prices sky rocketed. Alex Last heard from former deputy secretary general of OPEC, Dr Fadhil Chalabi, about the struggle for the control of oil in the early 1970s.Photo: Cars queuing at a petrol station in London, during a petrol shortage, November 1973. (Credit: Aubrey Hart/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

16 Okt 20188min

Fighting Mount Etna

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The Italian authorities tried to divert the stream of molten lava pouring down the slopes of the Etna volcano on the island of Sicily in 1983. Susan Hulme has been speaking to volcanologist, Dr John Murray, who was there watching their efforts to save homes and businesses from destruction.Photo: Mount Etna erupting in 2017. Credit:Reuters/Antonio Parrinello

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Archbishop Oscar Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero

The murdered Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, is being made a saint of the Roman Catholic church. He was killed in 1980 by a right-wing death squad as he said mass at the altar. His death pushed El Salvador into its bloody civil war. Mike Lanchin spoke to local journalist, Milagro Granados, who was there at the moment of his assassination.Photo: Archbishop Romero, pictured in July 1979 (Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

12 Okt 20189min

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