Röster från andra sidan. Om svensk-katolska ställningstaganden under spanska inbördeskriget

Abstract

In 1936, a military rebellion led by general Franco took place in Spain. The resulting conflict, the Spanish civil war, was to last for three years. In international research, narratives from the defeated Republican side have dominated. In many aspects the Spanish conflict served as a grand rehearsal of the second World War. Furthermore, a long period of dictatorship followed in Spain. However, to contemporary observers none of these scenarios were necessarily quite clear. Sympathies for the other side, the rebels, may have existed as well. The purpose of this article is to shed light on Swedish Anti-Republican opinions.

The Catholic Church was a main target for Republican measures. Governmental support of the clergy was withdrawn and priests were heavily persecuted. In this text it is argued that the small Catholic Church of Sweden, consisting of scarcely 5000 members at the time, supported their co-believers in Spain. Opinions expressed in two Swedish Catholic journals show a profound hostility towards the Republican regime. However, unlike some Swedish far right circles, Catholic sympathies for the rebels were seldom very enthusiastic. This may have been due to Fascist Italy and Germany supporting Franco. Furthermore, Swedish Catholics probably did not want to differ too much from mainstream pro-Republican opinions in Sweden.

This study shows how anti-clerical policies affected the way in which the civil war was interpreted among Swedish Catholics. Whether other religious groups shared these fears is a matter for further investigations.