Spain Splits: Civil War Paves Way for Franco
Rebels led by General Francisco Franco toppled Spain's democratic government in 1936, sparking a brutal three-year conflict that ended with Nationalist victory and Franco's thirty-six-year dictatorship. This civil war served as a deadly dress rehearsal for World War II, allowing Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to test new weapons and tactics while the Soviet Union backed the struggling Republicans. The outcome silenced leftist opposition through persecution and exile, installing an authoritarian regime that reshaped Spanish society until Franco's death in 1975.
July 17, 1936
90 years ago
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