History of Europe

The cult of personality under Franco

One of the distinctive features of the Franco regime was the cult of personality that was dispensed to the figure of Francisco Franco. It is a defining element of all totalitarian political regimes; the irrational exaltation of the leader, the desire to control all facets of individuals' lives and the manipulation of information to favor the political and ideological interests of the rulers are part of the nature of totalitarianism.
This policy is It was based on the use of an important advertising apparatus -newspapers, radios, documentaries (NODO),...- and on coercion. As an instrument of information manipulation, NODO, a mandatory viewing news documentary in all film sessions in Spain, served to spread an idyllic vision of society at the time and to exalt the figure of Franco, presented as a military hero and as an exceptional political leader.
These informative documentaries are, therefore, a good example of the manipulation of information and the cult of personality typical of Francoism, but they have also become an important historical source to bring us closer to that stage of our history. Below you can see a sample of the NODE.