I think that the way to see the Basques today in its origin, exceptionality, mysticism, mystery e.t.c. it comes from the hand of the German Nazis. When half of France is occupied by the Nazis a large number of German soldiers who were not from the SS occupy the area and lead a pleasant life between the French Basque country and Spanish, they are distracted, they go to eat, walks, sports, e.t.c. they have the necessary time to look at the Basque population and see in them a fact differentiated from the rest of the French or Spaniards, maybe because of the language, they are moments of leisure where they discover that the swastika is also used in some decorative motifs of the Basque country, The Nazis put the Basques on the map and in the view of the world with their ideas most often wrong. The publicity is great, when one is half on vacation is very happy and evidently in the north of Spain eats well as in many other places, but that publication lasts until our days, but good in the end that is another subject. Returning to the subject, perhaps the Nazis had the idea of occupying the north of Spain until they reach Galicia, are moments in which there is a siesta of the Nazis with the Basque territories on both sides, but the Russians attack and the Nazis withdraw of the Basque area because they have to gather all their troops to counteract the Russians. It is a moment in which Basque nationalists, already spoiled by leisure Nazism, want to take advantage of the opportunity and send letters to Germany asking to be protected in the new order that would be established in Europe, Basque nationalism believed that Nazism would finally win, in finish. These letters asking for protection and exalting the similarities between the German and Basque people exist and are full of annotations on the margins made by the Germans even in mockery. For the Nazis it was a moment of leisure for the Basque Country but they had no interest beyond, what they could win or what they would have that interest with the Basques.
I think that in that Nazi leisure advertising of the moment and perhaps because of their ideas of occupying the north of Spain, for what they were interested in staying in a friendly way in the Basque part of Spain without raising too many suspicions before Franco is where such an exaggerated vision resides of exceptionality with the Basques.
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