Secret papers of Franco frontman rescued from the trash in Madrid

The archives belonging to Luis G¨®mez Sanz, a lawyer born in 1913 in the western city of Salamanca, were discovered on July 20 by Jos¨¦ Mar¨ªa Ur¨ªa Fern¨¢ndez with the socially progressive Anastasio de Gracia Foundation (Agfitel).

¡°I was out walking when I came across a container filled with papers,¡± he says. ¡°The caretaker of the building told me they were from an apartment that was being refurbished. There were other papers, but they had already been taken by junk men.¡±

When Ur¨ªa Fern¨¢ndez began to sift through the material, he could hardly believe his eyes. ¡°There are around 20,000 documents and 74 books,¡± he says, adding that they are to be handed over to researchers.

About 20,000 historic documents and 74 books were found in the trash

Among the literature is a 1749 edition of Dialogues from Spanish humanist and philosopher Juan Luis Vives.

G¨®mez Sanz was both a state attorney and prosecutor as well as secretary to the board of directors for Spain¡¯s national heritage during the prime-ministership of Luis Carrero Blanco in 1973, according to Agfitel.

As noted in Spain¡¯s ABC daily newspaper on the first anniversary of his death, G¨®mez Sanz was just 58 when he died on July 23, 1972. The news item alluded to masses in Madrid, Bizkaia [Biscay] and Gipuzkoa ¡°for the eternal rest of his soul.¡±

The journalist and writer Mariano S¨¢nchez Soler, who focused some of his work on the oligarchy during Franco¡¯s dictatorship, says that G¨®mez Sanz had close ties with Franco¡¯s personal secretary, Jos¨¦ Mar¨ªa Sanchiz Sancho.

Sanchiz Sancho was married to Enriqueta Bordiu, the aunt of the Marquis of Villaverde, who was married to Franco¡¯s daughter. According to S¨¢nchez Soler, Sanchiz Sancho and G¨®mez Sanz created front companies that would ostensibly own properties purchased by the Franco family, such as the Valdefuentes estate in Arroyomolinos, Madrid. ¡°G¨®mez Sanz was close to the dictator¡¯s family at an important time,¡± he says.

¡°He was a legal fixer, a figure of great importance to the ruling families during Franco years,¡± says the historian Mar¨ªa Jos¨¦ Turri¨®n. ¡°His influence is evident in all the corruption going on around Franco, but he stayed in the background,¡± she says. ¡°Not much is known about him because there is scarcely any documentation on him in the Royal Palace or with the Franco Foundation.¡±

The Agfitel Foundation has divided the material into five sections. The first ¡®Office Clients,¡¯ includes documents on companies revealing how they were established and went on to thrive as well as characters such as the Nazi Christoph Fiessler, a notable spy who took refuge in Spain after the Second World War.

G¨®mez Sanz was a legal fixer of great importance to the ruling families during the Franco years

In a letter dated June 6, 1957, Fiessler writes to his ¡°dear friend¡± because he won¡¯t be able to turn up to a court hearing, and apologizes for sending other people in his place. The documents also include a request from the Viennese Prince Pablo Metternich y Silva to Franco for Spanish nationality in 1947.

Then there is a section dubbed ¡®Recommendations¡¯ which includes documentation relating to the many favors asked of G¨®mez Sanz due to his close ties to Franco¡¯s oligarchs, such as the pulling of strings for a candidate sitting solicitor exams, or fast-tracking paperwork for companies like Dodge automobiles. Another request was from a woman in the western Spanish town of Caceres who wanted the lawyer to sort out a teaching post she hadn¡¯t got despite paying 25,000 pesetas.

There is also a section labeled ¡®State Business¡¯ and another called ¡®Judicial Procedures¡¯. A fifth, labeled ¡®Particular¡¯ contains two pictures of G¨®mez Sanz¡¯s parents¡¯ wedding, taken by the prestigious photographer Venancio Gombau as well as evidence of G¨®mez Sanz¡¯s wife Mar¨ªa Aurelia M¨²gica¡¯s revision for exams leading to a teacher¡¯s position, dated 1928. M¨²gica¡¯s death on May 20, 1997 was also reported by ABC. Finally, there are documents relating to G¨®mez Sanz¡¯s bid to refashion his library using the model of the library of the Spanish King Felipe II at El Escorial.

English version by Heather Galloway.