The church- and convent-burnings were started before the war (they convinced the generals they had to fight); the leftist government outlawed the Jesuits as well. Read “The Last Crusade” and you’ll understand how it happened; understanding the Spanish Civil War is key to understanding many Europeans’ tolerance/support of fascism (as opposed to Stalinism, which they witnessed in Spain and of which they were terrified). The arrest of the Falange leader months before the war was important as well; imagine Obama’s first executive order was to arrest Mitt Romney.
There is no comparison between the wrongs committed by the generals and the communists in Spain between 1936 and 1939; in 1937 the communists had murdered many of their own allies (the anarchists) in their own civil war. Once they were exposed for what they were, the “Republic” could never garner enough public support to win. In fact, they steadily lost ground from the first days of the war, and murdered as many people as possible until the army (assisted by Hitler & Mussolini) stopped them.
>> in 1937 the communists had murdered many of their own allies (the anarchists) in their own civil war.
George Orwell was nearly killed by the Communists as he had fought with the Anarchists. He had to leave the country incognito and barely escaped with his life. Homage to Catalonia, his book about this time, is a short and highly worthwhile read. Those events certainly helped color 1984.
True, the generals killed some multiple of those killed by the commies.
This was mostly because they won and had the leisure to slaughter their opponents without the drudgery of having to fight them. And I'm sure the numbers would have been reversed had the commies won.
in 1937 the communists had murdered many of their own allies (the anarchists) in their own civil war.
Also true. However, it should be pointed out that the anarchists were not themselves nice people. Had they won, which for anarchists is pretty nearly inconceivable by definition, there is no reason to think they would have been any less murderous than the commies or the Francoists.