The Left Wing Showed Its True Colours Then

For those who think that the Spanish Civil War was a 'fascist' war against democracy, here's what prompted it. That's why Warren Carroll called it The Last Crusade.

In 1931, in Spain, left-wing radicals burned 100 churches, in June of the same year the Primate of Spain had to flee the country. In Asturias, in February 1934, 170 churches were burned from February to July 1934. In October of the same year, 58 churches were burned and murdered 34 priests. From 1936 to 1939, left-wing radicals supported by the International Brigades killed 12 bishops, 283 nuns previously raped, 5,255 priests, 2,492 monks, 249 novitiates. 28,500 churches, chapels and monasteries were profiled 17,000 were destroyed. For example, the cathedral library in Cuenca was burned down on November 6, 1936, during mass executions in Madrid, communist militias killed 240 people. The mother of two Jesuits was strangled with a cross. In El Saucejo, the communists crucified priest Jose de la Cora on an inverted cross, as reported by The New York Times. One of the myths about this is that it was grassroots and unplanned by the authorities, which is completely untrue. During the civil war, red terror claimed at least 61,000 victims (not counting other reparations on the Republic side), and even some sources give 85,000 victims. And it lasted until the last days of the war.

The main perpetrators of the murders were primarily anarchists and communists. Later, special death commandos were formed, powered by NKVD members who carried out executions. They murdered priests, religious and nuns, landowners, prisoners of war and politicians. Among the clergy, the number of victims reached almost 7,000 (including 11 bishops), plus 2,000. victims of other denominations. In Toledo, 283 out of 600 clergy were murdered, in Barbastro - 123 out of 140, in Lleida - 270 out of 410. There were also casualties among ordinary civilians - the case of Roma murder for having a rosary is known. Even the quite leftist historian Hugh Thomas commented briefly on this: 'Never in the history of Europe, or even the world, has there been such hatred of religion.'

It was very bad luck to be a soldier of the National Army and get captured in the first days of the war - prisoners were usually murdered right away. This was the case in cities where the coup failed and the conspirators were most often shot without trial - in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga, around 6,000 to 8,000 were murdered. The Falangists were murdered from the first day of the war - around 800 were murdered in Madrid and the surrounding area, and often it was enough to report that someone had once been on a right-wing march. The first spontaneous massacres were followed by planned purge of prisoners. This was the case in Cartagena, where captured conspirators were locked up on ships, and then shot at sea - 220 people were killed. In Madrid, from autumn 1936, commandos operated to capture and murder ''fascists'' in the death tunnels of Usera. A similar fate happened to the 'passengers' of two death trains murdered by anarchists - over 200 people were killed. Everyone knows the case of the murder of the poet Federico Lorca, but hardly anyone knows that Republicans also murdered ''another Lorca'' - José María Hinojosa Lasarte - during a purge in Madrid prison in August 1936, then also many prominent politicians were killed.

The best-known example of the massacre ordered from above was the Paracuellos massacre, when the republican authorities ''cleared '' prisons and murdered political prisoners in the fall of 1936, killing, among others Falange leader Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Prisoners were pulled out at night and shot in the Jarama Valley, buried in mass graves. 8,000 to 12,000 were murdered then. 

Often, if the 'fascists' themselves could not be killed, Republicans would murder their families. This was the case with the sons of Colonel Moscardo, the commanding officer of Alcazar's defense.

How were they murdered? It's best to give an example:

"(...) the Navalmorales priest told the policemen who came to arrest him:" I want to suffer for Christ. "" If you want - they replied - you will die like Christ. "They stripped his clothes and flogged mercilessly. Then they tied to their backs. of their victim a wooden beam, gave him vinegar and crowned it with a crown of thorns. "Speak blasphemy and we will forgive you," said the militia commander. "I forgive you and bless you," said the priest. Some wanted to crucify him, but in the end they simply shot him so that he was turned toward those who were tormenting him so that he would bless them."

In Ciudad Real, the priest's genitals were cut off and put in his mouth. Priests were ordered to dig their own graves, in which they were buried alive, nuns were thrown through windows or into mine shafts. I also read about a professor whose eyes were plucked and his tongue cut off because she was constantly calling the name of Christ.

One of the policemen reported on the behaviour of priests escorted for execution: "(...) What a bloody fool! No one could close their murders! They sang and praised Christ the King all the way. One of them fell dead when we hit him with the butt of a rifle, it's the honest truth. But the more we beat, the louder they sang and shouted "Viva Cristo Rey!" "The militia often pulled the remains of saints and clergy out of the coffins and danced with them, or arranged in copulatory positions. In one of the churches in Madrid they arranged a football match when they kicked the skull of one of the buried saints. The entire cathedral library was burned in Cuency - over 10,000 unique books and volumes. in 1938, killing and injuring 300. Prisoners - if they were not foreigners - no one was worried and their shootings executed custom on the spot. There were secret crematoriums in prisons that burned corpses. The number of prisoners is estimated at a minimum of 150,000.

sources:

Jerzy R.Nowak Fight against the Church yesterday and today (Walka z Kościołem wczoraj dziś po polsku) wyd.Fundacja Nasza Przyszłość 1999

Hugh Thomas The Spanish Civil War wyd.New York 1961

Jędrzej Giertych Heroic Spain (Hiszpania Bohaterska) wyd.Warszawa 1937 rok