Authoritarianism and punitive eugenics: Racial hygiene and national Catholicism during francoism, 1936-1945

Abstract

This paper examines some of the main elements that shaped eugenic discourse and practices during the first decades of the Franco regime. It primarily addresses the ideological basis of racial hygiene stemming from Francoist medicine and psychiatry, examining its relationship with the concept of Spanishness (Hispanidad). It shows that Francoist eugenics had punitive and coercive aspects and outlines the role it played in the brutal repression unleashed against the regime’s political enemies, constructing its anti-Spanish identity. The paper also explores how the Catholic Church accepted eugenics as long as it was not linked to neo-Malthusianism and did not propagate sterilization, contraception, and abortion. In this respect, the paper examines the Catholic Church’s position on the premarital certificate and counseling.