Erecting Executioners as Educators: Franco's Spain at UNESCO

This article explores the cultural action strategies of the Franco dictatorship abroad. This analysis was based on one specific case: when Franco's Spain joined UNESCO in the 1950s. After the outbreak of the Cold War, which enabled the dictatorship to emerge from its diplomatic isolation, the regime still had to contend with the prestige of exiled intellectuals, considered to be the true embodiment of Spanish national culture, despite failed Republican attempts to obtain official recognition. It is from this perspective that we will analyze the activities of the Francoist delegation to UNESCO, headed by Joan Estelrich. Instead of focusing on National Catholic academic production, this delegation sought to highlight the work of the Institute of Political Studies (IEP), largely based on the reappropriation and manipulation of the Second Republic's intellectual heritage.