Francisco Franco, interview with Henri Massis, 1938.. Quoted in Massis's book Chefs, Paris,Plon 1939.Also quoted in Richard Griffiths, An Intelligent Person's Guide to Fascism. London : Duckworth Publishing, 2000.
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Fascism, since that is the word that is used, fascism presents, wherever it manifests itself, characteristics which are varied to the extent that countries and national temperaments vary. It is essentially a defensive reaction of the organism, a manifestation of the desire to live, of the desire not to die, which at certain times seizes a whole people. So each people reacts in its own way, according to its conception of life. Our rising, here, has a Spanish meaning! What can it have in common with Hitlerism, which was, above all, a reaction against the state of things created by the defeat, and by the abdication and the despair that followed it?

— Francisco Franco on Fascism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Fascism, since that is the word that is used, fascism presents, wherever it manifests itself, characteristics which are varied to the extent that countries and national temperaments vary. It is essentially a defensive reaction of the organism, a manifestation of the desire to live, of the desire not to die, which at certain times seizes a whole people. So each people reacts in its own way, according to its conception of life. Our rising, here, has a Spanish meaning! What can it have in common with Hitlerism, which was, above all, a reaction against the state of things created by the defeat, and by the abdication and the despair that followed it?" in the context of "Francisco Franco, interview with Henri Massis, 1938.. Quoted in Massis's book Chefs, Paris,Plon 1939.Also quoted in Richard Griffiths, An Intelligent Person's Guide to Fascism. London : Duckworth Publishing, 2000." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Fascism" (F) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Francisco Franco

About Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975), commonly referred to as Francisco Franco, was a military generalísimo, leader of Spain (Caudillo de España) from October 1936 (whole country from April 1, 1939 on), and de-facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975.