Juan Tusquets Terrats (March 31, 1901 – 1998) was a Catalan priest, author of the best selling book ''Orígenes de la revolución española''. Turned into a fierce

antisemite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and even fiercer antimasonic hate speaker during the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

, he became one of the main disseminators of the "''contubernio judeomasónico''" conspiracy theory in that period.

Life and opinions

He was born into a wealthy banking family in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. His father was a descendant of Jewish bankers, a

Catalan nationalist Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

, and a friend of

Francesc Cambó Francesc Cambó i Batlle (; 2 September 1876 – 30 April 1947) was a conservative Spanish politician from Catalonia, founder and leader of the autonomist party ''Lliga Regionalista''. He was a minister in several Spanish governments. He supported ...

. Tusquets was ordained in 1926 and noted for his piety and culture. As a teacher in the seminary of Barcelona he was commissioned to write a book on

Madame Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...

theosophism Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

. He developed 'an obsessive interest in secret societies'. By the time of the

his obsession had developed into a fierce

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and an even greater hatred of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He turned against

Catalanism Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

and falsely accused the Catalan leader Francesc Macia of being a Freemason. Working with another priest, Joaquim Guiu Bonastre, he built up a network of "informants" - Freemasons who told him about lodge meetings. He contributed articles to the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

newspaper ''El Correo Catalán''. Tusquets used ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

'' - which drew on French, German and Russian myths in a fantastical concoction that put forward the idea that a secret Jewish government, the Elders of Zion, was plotting the destruction of Christianity - as 'documentary' evidence for his essential thesis that the Jews were set on the destruction of

Christian civilization Christianity has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Throughout its long history, the Church has been a major source of social services like schooling and medical care; an inspiration for art, cultur ...

. Their instruments would be Freemasons and Communists who would use revolution, and pornographic propaganda, and unlimited liberalism. In Spain he denounced the Second Republic and accused the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

president

Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...

of being a Communist, a Jew and a Freemason. Spain and the Catholic Church could be saved only through the destruction of Jews, Freemasons and Communists. In his book ''Origenes'' he argued that ''Judaic masonry'' (''la masoneria judaica'') ran the Republic as a dictatorship and he further used the many articles he wrote for ''El Correo Catalan'' and a series of 14 books ''las Sectas'' to attack Freemasonry,

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. The second volume of ''las Sectas'' included a complete translation of ''The Protocols'' and a section asserting the Jewish assault on Spain could be seen in the Republic's attitude to religion, the movement for agrarian reform and the redistribution of the great estates. In 1933, Tusquets was invited by the international Anti-masonic Association to visit a newly established concentration camp -

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. He commented ''they did it to show what we had to do in Spain''. He claimed later to have been shocked by what he saw - 'at the time however the flow and intensity of his anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic publications did not abate.' ''Unearthing Franco's Legacy: mass graves and the recovery of historical memory in Spain''; edited by Carlos Jerez-Farrán and Samuel Amago. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010 ; p. 51 Tusquets would come to have influence within the Spanish Right - and specifically over

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

- who enthusiastically devoured his anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic diatribes.

Ramón Serrano Suñer Ramón Serrano Suñer (12 September 1901 – 1 September 2003), was a Spanish politician during the first stages of the Francoist dictatorship, between 1938 and 1942, when he held the posts of President of the FET y de las JONS caucus (1936) ...

, Franco's brother-in-law and right-hand man 1937-41 would later praise Tusquet's contribution to "the creation of the atmosphere which led to the national uprising". Tusquets was on the periphery of the military plot against the Republic further through his links with Catalan Carlists. When Tusquets finally became a collaborator of Franco in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, his files on alleged Freemasons would provide an important part of the organisational infrastructure of the repression.

Books

* ''Masones y Pacifistas'', Burgos, 1939. * ''Los sin Dios en Rusia'' * ''Ediciones antisectarias, vol. VI'' * ''Ramón Lull, pedagogo de la Cristiandad'', Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas, Instituto San José de Calasanz, 1954. * ''Apports hispaniques à la philosophie chrétienne de l'Occident'', with Joaquin Carreras Artau * ''Orígenes de la revolución española'', Editorial Vilamala, Barcelona, 1932

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tusquets Terrats, Juan 1901 births 1998 deaths Anti-Masonry in Spain Antisemitism in Spain Late modern Christian antisemitism Clergy from Barcelona Protocols of the Elders of Zion Roman Catholic conspiracy theorists Spanish anti-communists Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Spanish conspiracy theorists