ABSTRACT
After centuries of a monarchical government in Spain, a republic was established in the early 1930s. The elections of 1936 resulted in the formation of a popular-front government that was more left-leaning than its predecessor. This touched off a civil war between rightist insurgents, led by General Francisco Franco, and those loyal to the Spanish Republic. Communists came to dominate the Spanish government because of Soviet assistance, but Josef Stalin had no wish to see them victorious. He was afraid a Communist Spain might push Great Britain and France closer to Germany. The democracies, as in previous crises, waffled. Great Britain and France adopted policies of noninterference in hopes of keeping the conflict localized. To some Americans, as well as to people in other nations, the civil war in Spain seemed to be a preview of an apocalyptic world struggle.
