Speech to the Youth of Spain

Fascism in its various iterations swept through continental Europe like a tidal wave in the 1920s and 30s. While Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy tend to steal the show in historical examinations of the topic, Spain was also one of its most fruitful strongholds. Ramiro Ledesma Ramos, born in Spain at the beginning of the 20th century, made a name for himself as one of the most fervent pioneers of Fascism in his country, combining what he saw as the best elements of Mussolini’s and Hitler’s philosophies in order to create the ideal synthesis for Spain. Instrumental in the formation of the Falange, the leading Spanish Fascist political organization, Ledesma personally designed the yoke and arrows symbol that would remain in use after the organization's assimilation by the Francoist government. It is often said that the war of ideas finds its seeds in the young, and Speech to the Youth of Spain implored the next generation to raise Spain up to be a great European power once more. In this appeal to the young men and women of Spain, the author draws upon the lessons learned from his country’s ideologically aligned neighbors, as well as from its own rich history. Caught in enemy territory at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Ramiro Ledesma Ramos was arrested and ultimately executed by the Republicans, but his ideas would go on to shape the subsequent decades of Spanish history. Antelope Hill is privileged to publish the work of this preeminent political philosopher, translated into English for the first time.