The Servicio Exterior de FalangeLater, after the establishment of FET y de las JONS, it was called the Delegación Nacional del Servicio Exterior de Falange (DNSEF; National Delegation of the Phalanx Foreign Service). Naranjo Orovio 1988, p. 9. (English: Phalanx Foreign Service), sometimes known simply as the Falange Exterior,Bowen 2000, p. 68. was an organisation of the FET y de las JONS, the ruling political party of Francoist Spain. It was in charge of coordinating the actions of the various Falange delegations that existed outside Spanish territory.
Founded at the dawn of the Civil War, after the outbreak of the conflict the organization was reorganized according to the needs of the time, serving as liaison for the Falange sections abroad. During those years it developed an active propaganda work abroad. During World War II, it played a relevant role, especially among Spanish populations in South America and the Philippines. The Servicio Exterior was also involved in other types of operations, such as the kidnapping of children evacuated abroad by the Republic.Sierra 2009, pp. 69–71.
History
Origins and early years Some authors place the creation of the Servicio Exterior de Falange as early as August 1935, while others establish that it was in October 1936, with the mission of grouping together the Falange delegations already existing abroad. Wayne H. Bowen points out that it was not formally organized until the beginning of 1937, and that until then the functions of coordination of the existing organizations abroad were exercised since the summer of 1936 by the Jefatura Nacional de Prensa y Propaganda (National Press and Propaganda Headquarters), headed by Luis Casaús Ardura. It was not until February 1937 that the national leader of the Falange, Manuel Hedilla, appointed a head to take charge of the Falange organization abroad: Felipe Ximénez de Sandoval. In its first moments of existence, the Servicio Exterior de Falange maintained many similarities with the Auslandsorganisation (AO) of the German Nazi Party, but also with the Fasci all'Estero of the National Fascist Party.
After the Decree of Unification, in the summer of 1937 the Servicio Exterior was framed as an organism of the new party of Franco's regime, FET y de las JONS. It was renamed the Delegación Nacional del Servicio Exterior de Falange (DNSEF). Several delegations of the party were organized in various countries abroad, and in time these ended up becoming an instrument of the Francoist state abroad. José del Castaño Cardona, a career diplomat, would soon replace Ximénez de Sandoval as head of the organization in August 1937. The Falange Exterior already played an important role by then, as it coordinated and controlled the different Falange organizations that existed abroad. Some of the functions it performed were of a military nature, such as surveillance operations, covert repression, aggression, espionage and counter-espionage. Thus, all activities carried out by the Falange abroad were to be carried out through its Servicio Exterior. However, all Falangists leaving Spain on official missions were forbidden to wear their uniforms, as well as to come into contact with members of political organizations in other countries. Initially, the DNSEF acted in parallel to Franco's diplomacy, until 18 May 1938, when the Burgos government issued a report establishing that all Falange delegations abroad would be subordinated to Franco's diplomatic representatives.
Towards the end of the civil war the Servicio Exterior had managed to establish numerous sections abroad, mainly in South American countries. The main South American delegation of FET y de las JONS was in Uruguay, with about 1,000 members, compared to about 4,000 members in the rest of South America. In Argentina there were about sixty delegations of FET y de las JONS around 1939. Historian Stanley G. Payne has pointed out that the influence of these delegations led to the creation of independent Latin American parties inspired by Falangism, such as the Bolivian Socialist Falange or the Chilean National Falange. In contrast, by 1939 some Falange delegations had run into opposition from local authorities. This was the case of the governments of Cuba and Mexico, countries not very receptive to Franco's regime, which in fact ended up expelling several Falangist agents.
However, it was the Servicio Exterior de Falange who played the leading role in the regime's propaganda activities in Latin America.
The end of the civil war brought changes in the DNSEF: in May 1939 José del Castaño was replaced by Rafael Sánchez Mazas, and del Castaño became Inspector General of Falange Exterior, a post he would hold until the end of 1940. Another of the consequences of the end of the war was that the Servicio Exterior ceased to appear as an organization that defended the Francoist side, and came to be considered merely as the foreign organization of the single party of the Francoist Dictatorship, a regime that was also closely linked to the fascist powers. This circumstance would end up generating problems for the Falange Exterior.
World War II After the end of the conflict, the headquarters of the organization, previously located in Salamanca, Burgos and San Sebastián, was installed in 1940 at 42 Alcalá Street –formerly the headquarters of the Círculo de Bellas Artes–, in Madrid. Shortly after the beginning of the Second World War, in September 1939 Ricardo Giménez-Arnau was chosen to head the Servicio Exterior, replacing Sánchez Mazas. During the first years of the war, under the protection of the German victories in Europe and the influence of the fascist powers, Falange tried to take advantage of that context to strengthen its action abroad.
By 1940 the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Serrano Suñer, gave a new impetus to the organization. One consequence of this new policy was an increase in the budget of the foreign organization, and the consequent intensification of its activities. In addition, he brought back Ximénez de Sandoval –now his chief of staff–, and in August 1941 he put him back in charge of the Falange Exterior. Serrano Suñer encouraged through the Falange Exterior the promotion of "Hispanism" in the countries of Latin America, and especially a more bellicose and anti-American Hispanism. The organization became an instrument of the Franco regime to spread its ideology throughout Latin American countries.
The Falange Exterior also developed an important activity in the Axis countries, despite the war situation. It was very active in Germany, Morocco, Portugal and Italy. Latin America was a region of special activity for the Falange. The regime sought to recover the former privileged relationship that Spain had in this area, as well as to reinforce its image abroad, and to strengthen its political position before the "New Order" that the Axis Powers were organizing in Europe. However, the reaction of many Latin American countries to Fascist influence –and also the increasing lack of resources– seriously affected the activity of the Falange Exterior. Thus, to the detriment of political activity, they ended up opting to use cultural coverage as a platform from which to continue radiating ideological approaches. This, however, did not minimize the rejection in America. The threat of the fascist powers also began to be taken into account by the U.S. State Department, which considered Franco's foreign policy in South America as an instrument of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. Thus, at the VIII Pan-American Conference, Secretary of State Cordell Hull insisted on the need to take measures to prevent the infiltration of the Axis Powers in the American continent. Although Falangist activities in Latin America were not related to Nazi Germany, it is certain that the Pan-Hispanic doctrine of the Falange was welcomed by the Latin American ruling elites, and constituted a challenge to North American hegemony in the area.
The distrust of the Spanish-American governments went a step further when at the end of 1941 the authorities of several countries outlawed the local branches of the Nazi Party and the Falange.
The possibility of Spanish intervention in the conflict also became a matter of concern for the United States, which investigated the activities of the Falange in Latin America, especially in Puerto Rico, where pro-Falange and pro-Franco sentiments were high, even among the ruling classes. Some Falangists promoted the idea of supporting the struggle of the former Spanish colonies against American domination. However, the reality of post-war Spain was that the Francoist state was not in an economic position to carry out an extensive propaganda campaign; this was compounded by the determined opposition of the liberal elites and leftist movements. In addition to the activities in South America, this situation also occurred in other territories. For example, before the outbreak of the world war, support for Franco and the Falange was high among the Spanish community in the Philippines. Through the "Philippine Falange", the Servicio Exterior de Falange even collaborated with the Japanese forces in their fight against the U.S. military forces during the conquest of the Philippines in 1942.
Decline and final years Serrano Suñer fell into disgrace and in September 1942 he was removed from all his posts, being replaced by Francisco Gómez-Jordana. This meant a change in the policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in contrast to Serrano's previous pro-Nazi stance. Ximénez de Sandoval had also seen his diplomatic career cut short in March 1942, after an incident.Apparently the incident would have been a fight between Falangists and royalists in which Ximénez de Sandoval himself would have intervened. During the rest of the war, Fernando María Castiella (1942–1943) and Antonio Riestra del Moral (1943–1945) were in charge of the Servicio Exterior. Very weakened compared to its situation at the beginning of the war, the Servicio Exterior continued to develop its actions abroad, although each time in a more difficult context, and with a greater lack of funds. The subversive activities of the Falange in Spanish America were one of the reasons that led the Americans –there were also other reasons, especially the so-called Laurel incident– to impose an oil embargo on Franco's Spain in 1944. In March of that year, U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle went so far as to accuse the Falange of being behind a number of incidents and events that had taken place in Latin America, such as the sinarchist movement in Mexico or the United Officers Group in Argentina.
After the end of World War II, the activities of the Servicio Exterior were greatly reduced and it was finally disbanded on 10 December 1945.
Repatriation and abduction of children