A Diary of My Times

Les grands cimetières sous la lune, translated into English as A Diary of My Times, appeared in 1938 and has become a crucial text for understanding the complexity and intensity of French responses to the Spanish Civil War. Its author, Georges Bernanos (1888-1948), was a devout Catholic and strongly right-wing in his political views; for a time, he supported the pro-monarchist Action française movement. After serving in the First World War he began to establish himself as a writer, producing several successful novels.  

Bernanos struggled financially, however, and in 1934 he and his family relocated to the Spanish island of Mallorca, hoping to reduce expenses. There they witnessed the bitterly polarized political situation in Spain; when the civil war began, Bernanos initially supported the Nationalists, as well as the Italian Fascist forces who came to the island to help them resist a Republican effort to regain control. 

However, Nationalist success in retaining control of the island was accompanied by a savage repression of suspected Republican sympathizers, and Bernanos grew horrified by the actions of those whom he had previously supported. Returning to France in 1937, he recounted numerous atrocities, and sharply criticized the Archbishop of Palma and many members of the Catholic clergy, who had supported the violence and showed scant compassion to Republican victims, instead taking advantage of the situation to promote a restoration of religious practice. 

Les grands cimetières sous la lune sparked considerable controversy, with critics accusing Bernanos of distortion, even betrayal of his values. It has been suggested that only the personal intervention of Pope Pius XI saved the book from official censure. Disturbed at the depths of political divisions in his homeland, which reminded him of circumstances in Spain, Bernanos insisted he remained true to his Catholic convictions but felt compelled to condemn the betrayal of Christian principles. 

Bernanos and his family left France in 1938, this time for Brazil, only returning after the end of war in Europe in 1945. He condemned the Vichy regime and collaboration with Nazi Germany, supporting Charles de Gaulle, but remained uneasy with the domestic political situation  and left again in 1947, this time for Tunisia. However, he developed cancer and returned to France for treatment, dying there in 1948. 

Les grands cimetières sous la lune remains a crucial document by a witness to Francoist atrocities during the Civil War, one that has had a lasting impact in France. Bernanos’ perspective reminds us that, while the conflict involved a bitter clash of values, sympathies and attitudes could evolve, and were not always predictable. 

SK