Onésimo Redondo
Encyclopedia
Onésimo Redondo Ortega was a Spanish
Falangist
politician, founder of Juntas Castellanas de Actuación Hispánica (Castilian Groups of Hispanic Action), a political group that merged with Ramiro Ledesma's Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista
(Unions of the National-Syndicalist Offensive) and José Antonio Primo de Rivera's Falange Española
.
He was born in Quintanilla de Abajo, Valladolid (today renamed after Redondo as Quintanilla de Onésimo). He studied Law
at the University of Salamanca
and was Spanish
teacher at the University of Mannheim
(1927-1928), where he knew the Nazism
. He began to work in Valladolid
for the Castilian
union of sugar beet
harvesters and joined the Catholic Action
during his youth.
When the Second Republic was proclaimed (1931), he was distanced from Catholic Action because he thought he was very close to bourgeois liberalism
, and founded a little newspaper, Libertad, where he wrote vehement flickers against Marxism
, the Jewish (he published an annotated translation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
) and bourgeois Capitalism
, and admired European fascisms
. He founded Juntas Castellanas de Actuación Hispánica in August 1931 and in November it merged with Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS). They refused to participate in elections as they believed in the direct action against the power.
In 1932, he collaborated with the frustrated coup d'état
of General Sanjurjo and had to flee to Portugal
. He returned to Valladolid in April 1933. On March 24, 1934 JONS and Falange Española merged. He was arrested on March 19, 1936 and he was moved to the prison of Ávila on June. He was liberated by the Nationalist after the beginning of the Civil War
. He organized the Falange's militias in Valladolid and went to the Guadarrama
mountains, where he died in combat on July 24. Francoist propaganda extolled him insistently as a war hero.
His widow, Mercedes Sanz Bachiller, founded Auxilio de Invierno (Winter Aid), after Auxilio Social (Social Aid), that was the welfare agency of Falange, further fully integrated in the Francoist State organization.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Falangist
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
politician, founder of Juntas Castellanas de Actuación Hispánica (Castilian Groups of Hispanic Action), a political group that merged with Ramiro Ledesma's Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista
Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista
Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista was a national syndicalist movement in 1930s Spain, eventually incorporated into the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.-History:...
(Unions of the National-Syndicalist Offensive) and José Antonio Primo de Rivera's Falange Española
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
.
He was born in Quintanilla de Abajo, Valladolid (today renamed after Redondo as Quintanilla de Onésimo). He studied Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
and was Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
teacher at the University of Mannheim
University of Mannheim
The University of Mannheim is one of the younger German universities. It offers Bachelor, Master, and PhD degrees.The University is mainly located in Mannheim’s palace the largest baroque palace in Germany. The whole city center of Mannheim is aligned symmetrically to the palace.About 800 scholars...
(1927-1928), where he knew the Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. He began to work in Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
for the Castilian
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
union of sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
harvesters and joined the Catholic Action
Catholic Action
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society.They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France, and...
during his youth.
When the Second Republic was proclaimed (1931), he was distanced from Catholic Action because he thought he was very close to bourgeois liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, and founded a little newspaper, Libertad, where he wrote vehement flickers against Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, the Jewish (he published an annotated translation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
) and bourgeois Capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, and admired European fascisms
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. He founded Juntas Castellanas de Actuación Hispánica in August 1931 and in November it merged with Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS). They refused to participate in elections as they believed in the direct action against the power.
In 1932, he collaborated with the frustrated coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of General Sanjurjo and had to flee to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He returned to Valladolid in April 1933. On March 24, 1934 JONS and Falange Española merged. He was arrested on March 19, 1936 and he was moved to the prison of Ávila on June. He was liberated by the Nationalist after the beginning of the Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. He organized the Falange's militias in Valladolid and went to the Guadarrama
Guadarrama
Guadarrama is a town in the Community of Madrid in Spain.Pop: 13032 , approx. 60000 .Co-ordinates . not true...
mountains, where he died in combat on July 24. Francoist propaganda extolled him insistently as a war hero.
His widow, Mercedes Sanz Bachiller, founded Auxilio de Invierno (Winter Aid), after Auxilio Social (Social Aid), that was the welfare agency of Falange, further fully integrated in the Francoist State organization.
Writings
- Protocolos de los Sabios de Sión, Valladolid: Libertad, 1932
- Onésimo Redondo, caudillo de Castilla, Valladolid: Libertad, 1937, (newspaper articles and political speeches)
- El Estado Nacional, Valladolid: Libertad, 1938
- Obras Completas: edición cronológica (2 vols.), Madrid: Publicaciones Españolas, 1954-1955
- Textos políticos. Madrid: Doncel, 1975.