Diplomats in the fray The struggle to establish the legacy of Spanish foreign policy during the Second World War

Abstract

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The chapter provides a comparative analysis of how Spanish and foreign diplomats and representatives present in Madrid during the war shaped – and to a large extent reified – the way post-war generations understood wartime Spanish foreign policy. It uses a wide range of sources but focuses on the memoirs, both published and unpublished, of Samuel Hoare, Carlton Hayes, and Willard Beaulac. Studied in this comparative perspective, the chapter, which offers fresh insight into the events, policies, and personalities of the time, is an invitation for all scholars interested in the field to revisit early sources with a more critical gaze to further our understanding of the legacy of Francoism and of Spanish foreign policy during the war.