The Forgotten Atrocities of the Spanish Civil War: Religious Persecution and the Red Terror

The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) is often remembered as a clash of ideologies, a prelude to World War II, and a battleground between authoritarianism and revolution. But beneath the surface of the military conflict, a brutal and often overlooked chapter unfolded: the systematic persecution of the Catholic Church by radical leftist factions.

A War on Faith

Amid the chaos of the war, communist and anarchist militias unleashed a wave of targeted violence against clergy and religious institutions. In what became known as part of the Red Terror, thousands of priests, monks, and nuns were murdered. Their only crime: representing a Church seen by radicals as an enemy of progress and a symbol of the old order.

The attacks were not only deadly—they were deeply symbolic and theatrical. Nuns were dug up from their graves, their bodies placed on public display to be ridiculed and desecrated. Priests were tortured, with some having their hands cut off—an act meant to desecrate the very rituals and sacraments of Catholicism. Hundreds of churches, monasteries, and seminaries were burned, many of them containing irreplaceable works of religious art and architecture.

Beyond Politics

The anti-clerical violence was driven by revolutionary ideology, anti-authoritarian rage, and decades of resentment toward the Church's historic influence. While some voices opposed the violence, the absence of centralized control allowed extremist groups to carry out atrocities unchecked.

Some historians argue these acts were a response to longstanding social and political grievances, but the scale and savagery of the attacks shocked observers around the world—including many who supported leftist causes.

A Painful Legacy

The memory of these atrocities remains a sensitive subject in Spain. The Franco regime, which eventually won the war, used the Red Terror as justification for decades of authoritarian rule. As a result, open discussion of the religious persecution has often been overshadowed by the need to reckon with the repression that followed.

Yet historical memory must be even-handed. The persecution of religious communities during the Spanish Civil War was a profound human tragedy—one driven by fanaticism, not just politics—and it deserves recognition alongside all other victims of that devastating conflict.