The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 was an important conflict in the history of Spain. This war was started by a military uprising led by General Francisco Franco on July 17, 1936 and ended with Franco's victory on April 1, 1939. This victory led to the replacement of the Second Spanish Republic with Franco's conservative dictatorship. This conflict triggered the clash between the various cultures and ideologies within Spain. An important example of ideological clash was that between communism and fascism. This clash was so important that, based on an analysis of the level of involvement of the fascist and communist factions in the clash itself, it must be admitted that the conflict between communism and fascism was largely represented by the Spanish Civil War. The pro-communist faction that fought in this civil war was the Spanish Popular Front coalition that won the general elections of February 1936. Led by Prime Minister Manuel Azaña Díaz, this broad coalition, like the one that won the French elections of May 1936, it was made up of communists, socialists and moderate parties. Both coalitions were encouraged to arise as a result of Soviet foreign policy. This policy, known as the Popular Front policy, was approved by the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International in 1935 to protect Russia from fascist Germany. The Communist International, Comintern or Third International, founded by Lenin in 1919, was an international organization of communist parties. The Comintern's Spanish affiliates were the PCE (Partido Comunista de España), the Communist Party of Spain, and the Catalonia-based Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya or PSUC). It was this coalition…half of the paper…versity Press, 2010.Coverdale, John F.. Italian Intervention in the Spanish Civil War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975. Esenwein, George Richard. "Introduction: Interpretation of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution." In The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy, 1-10. New York: Routledge, 2005. Graham, Helen. The Spanish Civil War: a brief introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Lannon, Frances. "Introduction." In the Spanish Civil War: 1936-1939, 7-10. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2002. Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: reaction, revolution and revenge. 2006. Reprint, New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2007. Smith, Angel. Historical dictionary of Spain. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009.Welch, David. Modern European History 1871-2000: A Documentary Reader. 1994. Reprint, London: Routledge, 1999.