Kocbek's "Reflections on Spain": an Introduction.

Abstract

"Reflections on Spain" originated long before anything happened in Spain that was important enough to attract attention in Slovenia. Kocbek's "Reflections on Spain" above all reflect on the role of the Catholic Church in the Spanish Civil War; they contain an implied but nevertheless direct comparison with the role and work of the Catholic Church in Slovenia. War had not yet come to Slovenia and Yugoslavia, and yet with the start of the civil war in Spain it was increasingly clear that a new, all-encompassing conflict a war that would not pass the Slovenes by was moving inexorably closer in Europe. And given its prevailing influence at that time, the role of the Catholic Church in Spain in wartime conditions indicated the most likely position of church leaders in Slovenia.