Francoist Spain (also historically known as Nationalist Spain during the Spanish Civil War) refers to the period of Spanish history between 1939, when Francisco Franco took control of Spain from the government of the Second Spanish Republic after winning the Civil War, and 1978, when the Spanish Constitution of 1978 went into effect. During the Spanish Civil War, Franco's goal was to turn Spain into a totalitarian state like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, though, after the defeat of the axis powers in the Second World War and the ensuing isolation of the country, it evolved into a more classical autocratic regime.