After the summer of 37, those with eyes in their heads realized that the government could not win the war unless there were some profound change in the international setup.

And in deciding to fight on, Negreen and the others may have been partly influenced by the expectation that the World War, which

actually broke out in 1939, was coming in 1938.

George Orwell, looking back on the Spanish War.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Episode 299, the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish philosopher and essayist Miguel de Unamuno and Hugo is said to have quipped

that in Spain, even the atheists are Catholic.

Spain is famous as a nation devoutly Catholic.

One might even say zealously Catholic. It is the nation that

gave the world the Spanish Inquisition. It may be true that no one expects the Spanish Inquisition,

but everyone has heard of it. The fact that in the early 20th century, Spain was actually one of

the least religious countries in Europe, was less

well known. And that's the reason why, in the early days after the failed military coup of

July 1936, the news coming out of Spain was such a shock. In the regions of the country still under the control of the Republican

government, armed militias were killing people. Wealthy landowners and industrialists,

shopkeepers, right-wing political figures, and most shockingly, Catholic priests, members of religious

orders, and devout laity.

These actions were controversial then and remained controversial in our time.

To people on the political left, the Catholic Church had aligned itself with the rebel generals

and was an instrument of oppression.

It is argued that priests and lay people alike who were targeted were those known to have

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