“Como decíamos ayer…”. Spain in the inaugural speeches of the University of Salamanca during the postwar period (1939-1945)

Abstract

This article tries to analyze the role of the University of Salamanca in the Spanish Nationalism construction process after the Civil War ending. The inaugural speeches are used as a main historical source. Firstly, the historical context of the Salamanca Center is studied and then, the changes and continuities that affected the academic inaugural ceremonial during this period are described besides brief biographical notes on the different speakers are included. Finally, the issue analyzes every speech of them. As a conclusion: in that time of strong ideological control, the University did not go in an only way; the inaugural speeches show different positions in order to make a moderate criticism on certain aspects of the national reality. On the other hand, the predominant view on the Spanish Past takes part of the features of a typical conservative historic theory instead of Falangist ideas.