A Falange intelectual: a Falange excepcional

Burgos, Spain, 1938, during the Civil War (1936-1939). The chief of the military, in rebellion against the constitutional republican order, Francisco Franco, formed his first Government and appointed Serrano Suñer as Minister of Internal Affairs and charged with unifying the press and propaganda services. To lead the propaganda cabinet, Serrano Suñer called on Dionisio Ridruejo, the 25 years old friend he had met the year before. This article looks upon the role of Ridruejo and his companions in the “Burgos Group”, including them also in the “1936 Generation” demonstrating the importance of their ideological intervention in the Press of the Movement and their role and responsibility for the invention of a cultural life during the first Franquism. It also points out their evolution from pure falangist intellectuals to liberal positions always in accordance with their most personal convictions.