Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) pitted the fascist forces of General Francisco Franco against the popularly elected government of Spain. While the battle settled the fate of Spain for decades, it also marked the beginning of conflict between fascists, communists, and the rest of Europe. With the Nazis in Germany supporting Franco and Josef Stalin's USSR, providing assistance to the Spanish government, this domestic conflict came to be seen as having major international implications. It attracted fighters from the United States and became the subject of major works by leading authors, such as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway. For some young men in places like the United States, the fight against Franco was in fact a battle against fascism and so they joined international fighting units, such as the Lincoln Brigade