Wendy WilliamsA HOARD of valuable stolen documents owned by Spain’s former president Niceto Alcala-Zamora has finally been found.
The papers which vanished in 1937 provide fascinating insight into the years leading up to the Civil War.
The first President of the Second Republic had diligently kept a diary during his time in power detailing the meetings of the republican opposition, his time in jail and the arrival of the Second Republic after the fall of the King.
But at the beginning of the Civil War, the 1,200 documents were taken from a safety deposit box at the Crédit Lyonnais bank in Madrid when it was raided by Republican militiamen.
The documents then vanished until 1941 when they mysteriously turned up in Valencia in the possession of the Soria family who kept them under wraps for a further 67 years.
The police only came across the papers in 2008 when the family tried to sell them to several high-profile historians.
Following a prolonged court battle, the family was deemed the owners but eventually had to hand the papers over to settle a debt with the tax office.
Now, the collection – estimated to be worth 80,000 euros – is to finally go on show at the Archivo Histórico Nacional, in Madrid.
