Georges Bernanos: Continuity or Rupture?

Abstract

The pronunciamiento, in July of 1936, divided Spain and the world at large. Moreover, it underscored how this conflict of totalitarianisms was imbued with the spirit of a crusade and the ways in which Franco wanted to launch a war against the Republicans. Various cross-cutting issues, however, transcend[ed] such a political struggle between the Frente Popular and the Frente Nacional. Indeed, more than a war, Spain witnessed several wars, thus becoming the center of political, ideological and religious debates among the intelligentsia circles around the world, substantiated by literary proclamations and carried out upon engaging in de facto warfare. Concerned with such a reality, French intellectuals became protagonists during this poignant moment in History. For the Catholic intellectuals, the choice was quite obvious, given the underlying religious nature of the war. Georges Bernanos, however, a French Catholic intellectual and right-wing politician, embarked on a surprising course which, initially, provided no hint of its originality. Although this writer publicly approved the pronunciamiento, through time, he no longer endorsed Franco’s views and eventually denounced Franco’s crusade. Bernanos’ unexpected choices, thus, clashed with the doctrinal beliefs of his contemporaries and his reactions would be highly criticized by most thinkers and critics of the time.