Meeting at Hendaye

Imagine two very important leaders, like the principal and a visiting mayor, meeting for a super secret chat! That's what happened on October 23, 1940, at a train station in a town called Hendaye. One leader was named Francisco Franco, and the other was Adolf Hitler.

They met to talk about Spain joining a big war that was happening in the world. It was a very important meeting, but it was also a little bit like a surprise party that didn't quite work out!

Franco wanted a lot of things from Hitler if Spain was going to join the war. He asked for parts of other countries, like Morocco and Algeria, and also a famous rock called Gibraltar. He also needed lots of food and weapons because Spain had just finished a big fight called the Spanish Civil War.

Hitler didn't really want to give away those things, and he also didn't want to make other countries angry. So, it was like asking for too many toys at once!

After talking for seven whole hours, which is a very long time, they didn't really agree on much. It was like trying to decide on a game to play, and nobody could pick the same one. Franco said he would join the war later, whenever he wanted, and Hitler just promised some vague 'territories in Africa.' It was a bit like saying 'maybe later' to a promise.

In the end, the meeting didn't lead to Spain joining the war right away.

After the meeting, Hitler was so frustrated that he told another leader, Benito Mussolini, that he would rather have three of his own teeth pulled out than talk to Franco again! That's a funny way to say he really didn't like the meeting. Even though they didn't agree on joining the war, Spain and Germany stayed friends and traded things for a long time.

This meeting shows how tricky it can be when leaders try to make big decisions together.