Spain, 1936–1939
Spain, a nation torn by deep divisions, became the testing ground for ideologies that would soon engulf the world.
The Second Spanish Republic, fragile and polarized, struggled to maintain order amid rising tensions between leftist republicans, anarchists, and conservative monarchists.
In July 1936, a group of right-wing military officers, led by General Francisco Franco, launched a coup against the Republic.
What followed was a brutal civil war that tore the country apart.
The war was more than a Spanish struggle; it was a battleground for global powers.
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy backed Franco's Nationalists with troops, aircraft, and weapons.
The Soviet Union provided support to the Republican government, while thousands of international volunteers—known as the International Brigades—came to fight for freedom.
Cities like Guernica suffered horrific bombings, immortalized by Pablo Picasso's haunting painting.
The conflict was savage: brother against brother, ideology against ideology, old world clashing with new.
Despite fierce resistance, Franco's forces prevailed.
In 1939, the Nationalists declared victory, and Franco established a dictatorship that would last until his death in 1975.
The war was a grim rehearsal for the global conflict looming on the horizon—an early warning ignored by much of the world.
As a Republican fighter wrote in a letter before his death:
"We fight not just for Spain, but for the future of humanity."