“We have rounded up all the priests and parasites... we have lit our torches and applied the purifying fire to all the churches... and we have covered the countryside and purified it of the plague of religion.” – Solidaridad Obrera (anarchist newspaper), August 20, 1936

This pre-civil war is the description of the main reason of the Civil War. Claimed as “the greatest clerical bloodletting Europe has ever seen,”1 the early days of the Spanish Civil War saw nearly 7,000 members of the Catholic clergy systematically executed as hundreds of churches, convents and monasteries were burnt to the ground. Religious icons were profaned, the tombs of saints desecrated, and "public acts of unspeakable blasphemy” were performed to the approval of jubilant crowds.
The Republican Government controlled with promises of Josef Stalin, did nothing to stop the genocide of people of the churches (mainly Catholics), but also civic people like doctors, teachers etc.
This executions supported and never stopped or criticized mass murdering of innocent nones, priests..... was the reason for the civic society in Spain to stand up against the mass murdering in the whole Spain by this totalitarian communist etc. murderers! They did like in Russia 1917.
Here a comment of ""Solidaridad Obrera (anarchist newspaper), August 20, 1936: “We have rounded up all the priests and parasites... we have lit our torches and applied the purifying fire to all the churches... and we have covered the countryside and purified it of the plague of religion.”  – Solidaridad Obrera (anarchist newspaper), August 20, 1936". or an other statement; "“Being a priest or a monk is all that is required in order to rape and kill almost with impunity.”  – Rodrigo Soriano, deputy from the republican Radical Party."
Thank everyone and the author for this long expecting report.

Gerardo Señoráns Barcala
Political Scientist
Canada