A forgotten path of political Catholicism? National-Catholicism in Poland and in Spain 1939-1945

Resumen

The aim of the article is to identify parallels between national Catholicism in Poland and in Spain in the period between 1939 and 1945. In Poland under the Nazi occupation, Catholics engaged in the clandestine politics. The most significant group was ‘Unia’ which in 1942 elaborated a coherent national-catholic doctrine that, contrary to the nationalistic mainstream in Poland, put its Catholicism and messianism in the centre of political thinking. Between 1943 and 1945 ‘Unia’ underwent a deep transformation, following the decision to join Christian-democratic Stronnictwo Pracy. In Spain the period 1939-1945 is the time of the regime building. Firstly it seemed that Spain would become a fascist state, however, the increasing influence of monarchist and conservative circles led to solidification of a catholic-national doctrine. It is argued that the catholic-national synthesis presented by ‘Unia’ in 1942 and in Spain throughout the years 1938-1945 (as a counterproposal for the fascist option) constitute an important but forgotten moment in the intellectual history of European political Catholicism.