On October 23, 1940, Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco met at the Hendaye railway station on the French-Spanish border to discuss Spain's potential entry into World War II on the Axis side. The meeting was a diplomatic failure, as Franco demanded extensive territorial concessions in North Africa and economic aid that Hitler was unwilling to grant. Despite the failure, Franco maintained a policy of non-belligerence, sending the Blue Division to fight on the Eastern Front while officially remaining neutral.

The Hendaye meeting was the subject of political poetry and satire, with writers on both sides of the conflict commenting on the meeting between the two dictators. The meeting also inspired a number of poems by Spanish exiles, who saw Franco's refusal to join the Axis as a sign of his pragmatism, even as they condemned his regime. The poetry of this period often reflected the tension between Franco's authoritarianism and his desire to maintain Spanish independence.