Civil and WWarII

[Mariusz Wesolowski]

I am not familiar with any hard facts regarding the activity on the Camino
during the Spanish Civil War and WW2 but I can make some educated guesses.
Since Northern Spain - with a temporary exception of the Basque country
(but not Navarra) - had been held firmly by the Nationalists from the very
beginning of the Civil War, there would be no obstacles to anybody wanting
to use the route. Thanks to clever policies of General Franco, WW2 had a
very small impact on Spain, so again, it would not affect the internal
traffic on the Camino (of course, it was a very different situation for the
international travellers.)

General Franco was an ardent Catholic, and he wouldn't dream of prohibiting
the pilgrimage. In fact, if I remember correctly, he made it himself
sometime after the end of the Civil War in 1939. However, there might have
been some restrictions in place during the Republican period (1931-36).
Spanish Republican governments were decidedly anti-Catholic.

Regards,

Mariusz Wesolowski