Francisco Franco was an army general and dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. He rose to dictatorship during the Civil War Spanish. Aid from Germany and Italy set up their forces to overthrow the Second Republic. Adopting the title "El Caudillo", the leader, Franco persecuted his political opponents and suppressed the culture and language of Spain's regions. He censored the media and took absolute control of the country. Without the lack of involvement in World War II, Franco's dictatorship might have been overthrown or would not have lasted until his death. Francisco Franco was born in 1892 in Ferrol, Spain. Francisco Franco's father was an officer in the Spanish naval administrative corps and his mother was an upper-middle-class conservative and Roman Catholic. The previous 4 generations of Franco's family and his older brother were also naval officers. Franco was destined to follow this path. Due to reduced admissions to the Naval Academy, Franco was forced to enlist in the army. Franco was only 14 years old when he entered the Infantry Academy in 1907. He then graduated three years later and volunteered for active service in the campaigns of Spanish Morocco and was stationed there in 1912 In 1913 he was promoted to first lieutenant and served in a Spanish cavalry company based in Morocco. Franco seemed to be a born commander. Soon he had a reputation for being totally devoted to the profession and the troops under his command. In 1915, Franco became one of the youngest captains in the Spanish army. Then, in 1920, he was chosen to be second in command of the Spanish Foreign Legion. During the Moroccan campaigns, the Foreign Legion played a key role in subduing Morocco...... middle of paper ...... the northern border of France after receiving assurances that the allies would not would not attack. German intelligence was authorized to operate in Spain. Downed Allied pilots and Jewish refugees were also allowed entry. Overall, Spain was weak. Their armed forces were exhausted and Franco did not have the resources to wage a war against or with Germany. Franco also knew that Germany and Italy could not have won the war in Europe against France, England, the Soviet Union and the United States. There were two very powerful enemies on two Spanish fronts. For them, joining the Axis would have been military suicide which could have led to the fall of the newborn regime and the return to power of the communist and socialist parties in Spain. This was Franco's greatest fear, as his dictatorship may have ceased to exist. Instead, it lasted until his death.