Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Hitler and Franco...monorchids
A new book by historian José Maria Zavala claims that former dictator Francisco Franco of Spain was a monorchid, meaning he had only one testicle. Zavala bases his assertion on an account by physician Ana Puigvert, whose grandfather Antonio Puigvert, treated Franco as a patient and passed on the detail to his granddaughter. The author supposes that the former general, who ruled Spain for nearly 40 years, lost the testicle in World War I, when he was injured in June 1916 during the battle at El Biutz in North Africa.
Oddly enough, the year 1916 was when an even more notorious 20th century dictator lost a testicle at the Battle of the Somme: Adolph Hitler. The Nazi leader’s condition was long rumored, and even inspired a song among British soldiers during World War II, but not confirmed until documentation came to light in 2008.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Spanish Dictator Franco 'Only Had One Testicle' (by Fiona Govan, Telegraph UK)
Spain's Franco 'Had One Testicle' (BBC News)
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