"after we left the air-raid shelters. ... dead." "I've always been filled with emotion to see that woman burning on the balcony." "with her arms outstretched." "I think she could be my grandmother." "Guernica." "the towns bombing in the Spanish Civil War is a personal memory." "For nearly fifty years it has echoed in the conscience of the world." "was in many ways still struggling out of the 19th century." "But it found itself the arena and battlefield for the ideologies of the 20th century." "Men and women from all over the world fought for dreams or fascism." "Those ideas were later given a bitter new meaning and the cold war." "in 1936." "Hitler had been in power for three years." "Mussolini had ruled Italy since 1922." "Stalin had begun the show trials and purges of his enemies." "Democracy everywhere was on the defensive." "Britain and France were fearful of a European war." "Then came the news from Spain. and the cost of political anarchy is death and destruction. illustrates all the tragedies of civil war under modern conditions." "property of law abiding citizens is wrecked and half the combatants fight half- heartedly for one cause or the other because they're forced to take sides and a people divided against itself." "had a simple explanation." "Spain's crisis confused many an outsider." "they translated the peculiarly Spanish issues into their own" "Spain became Europe's obsession. seemed a very passionate and pure cause." "I remember that my Oxford philosophy tutor said it was the only cause in his lifetime in which there seemed an absolute choice between and evil as represented by the Francoist forces. were matched by their enemies on the right." "Renzo Lodoli was an Italian fascist." "I thought that in Spain it was necessary to defend Christianity" "It was under siege." "We thought fascism was valid as a social and political doctrine." "So it was our duty to go and help those who wanted more or less the same thing as we did. gestures of support from rival sponsors abroad." "individual sympathy for the plight of the Spanish republic was widespread." "But practical help from governments was to prove a different matter. were soon answered." "a fascist." "but he was immediately assisted by European dictators who were fascists." "So he was inevitably identified with their kind of political despotism there is no evidence of any international fascist complicity in the Spanish general's original coup." "in the summer of 1936" "Hitler's thoughts were far from Spain." "He was building a war machine for his own purposes. and the oppression of his opponents inside Germany." "Hitler promised Britain that Germany wouldn't get involved in Spain." "It was the first example of double-talk in the civil war." "and doing the opposite." "Hitler had already sent aid." "Franco had appealed to the fuhrer for help." "After considering the consequence of a communist influenced government but a full squadron of Junkers transport planes to airlift the Spanish Army of Africa from Morocco." "500 of these troops were transported to Seville to begin their fighting passage to Madrid." "These crack troops of the Spanish Army were to play a decisive role in the war. the aircraft that Franco had to thank for his victory." "Hitler might have congratulated himself too." "His help was later rewarded with a constant supply of Spanish iron ore." "This gave him a great advantage in his preparations for the world war that was to follow." "most people still thought that war could be avoided." "Mussolini had not yet become Hitler's pawn." "many British hoped Italy could become an ally." "But Mussolini's conquest of Abyssinia had already shown that he was preparing aggressive expansion." "He wanted to turn the Mediterranean into what he called:" "Mare Nostrum" ... "Our sea" "Another Italian lake." "There was a natural challenge at the entrance to that lake." "Mussolini had dabbled with small-scale right-wing plots to subvert Spanish democracy." "José Antonio and allowed right-wing military groups to train on Italian soil." "agreement" "Mussolini had promised to supply arms to Spanish monarchist conspirators." "should they overthrow the republic. the first foreign military hardware to arrive in Spain's war." "Léon Blum the French prime minister naturally identified with the republican government of Spain." "Léon Blum feared France's isolation." "Still haunted by the terrible French losses in the 1914-18 war France certainly did not want to be trapped in a fascist triangle." "Blum went to London to discuss plans for a collective security treaty with the British." "he ordered that arms be sent to Spain. but Blum discussed it anyway. a member of his government." "Blum told me of his talks with Eden. that both Eden and his colleagues were taking" "Eden told Blum we shouldn't get mixed up in it. would remain neutral." "since France could not count on support from England it would be wise for her to adopt the same position as the English." "I think I can recall that Blum told me that that would be a cowardly position." "the British national government was worried." "Conservative Prime Minister Baldwin and his ministers and feared it could start in Spain." "Alec Douglas-Home was then a backbencher. and it could end up in a big European conflict." "Mussolini was careering around in the Mediterranean and making all sorts of trouble." "German rearmament was in full flood." "So we were very apprehensive about getting entangled in any other situation." "Léon Blum." "His plan to keep a European peace by protecting Spain was also in trouble at home." "His policy of unrestricted military sales had threatened to split his government." "and might have precipitated serious civil unrest." "He therefore reversed his original decision to send arms to Spain." "and devised another policy to save his face." "the French cabinet announced that they had decided to appeal urgently to interested governments for a pact of non-intervention. responded eagerly." "I think France and Britain felt exactly the same on this issue." "We did not want to get embroiled. but nevertheless a pragmatic policy. the Spanish republic felt let down. but non-intervention stopped that." "No-one had ever claimed heroic intention for the policy" "It was a diplomatic strategy everyone could safely pursue their individual ends." "They would fight their battles without actually going to war. or even that it should." "Spain provided a safety valve to siphon off the political clashes of Europe at that time." "Nowadays when you say fascist you think of violence or dictatorship." "But at that time we youngsters didn't know anything else." "We had been brought up and educated under fascism." "We were convinced that it could be a valid formula to solve social problems." "Not all Italians were so convinced." "Giovanni Pesce had been brought up in France" "His parents had fled there to escape Mussolini's Italy." "The fight for the Spanish people was also a fight against Italian fascism." "to fight in Spain. was a communist member of the Spanish parliament." "Her rhetoric rallied worldwide support for the republic." "La Pasionaria had come to Paris to ask for support or help from the French people and the French government." "She finished her speech by saying: "If Spain is defeated the world will be flooded with blood." "a very young militant of the anti-fascist movement said that I must also go to give my contribution." "communists had been the first target of Hitler's terror." "German communists knew which side they were on." "I believe that for us German anti-fascists is was more poignant than for anybody else." "We had tangibly experienced Hitler." "Thousands of German anti-fascists were already in prisons and concentration camps." "We immediately recognised the connection between Franco's intentions and those of Hitler." "The politics of economic depression spilled over from the cities of Europe to a full scale battlefield in Spain." "It was mainly communists who traveled to do the fighting." "Frank Deegan was an unemployed communist docker from Liverpool." "I believed that if Hitler and Mussolini then this would be a defeat for the whole labour movement throughout the world. so a call went out for volunteers to help the republican government." "The call came from Moscow. organised an international column of volunteers." "had his doubts. and didn't want them scared off by communist intervention in Spain." "He held back from sending arms." "and food." "Initial rapture gave way to disappointment when but canned milk." "The guns only came later." "met Hitler at Berchtesgaden in Germany." "They agreed that their aid to the Spanish army rebels partly to counter Russian aid and partly because Hitler had now decided he wanted to go over to the attack against the democracies. became a concrete policy." "A joint front against communism." "Mussolini was heard for the first time to refer to the Rome-Berlin axis." "Events in Spain had drawn Italy and Germany closer together." "A step down the path towards a Second World War." "I hate war." "The world was very different in 1936." "America was not the fulcrum of the world's foreign policy decisions. and allowed the Texas oil company to supply Franco with fuel." "the non-intervention powers examined allegations" "German and Portuguese intervention." "The committee was chaired by the British." "... and they didn't." "the German ambassador later joked:" "A more appropriate name for the organisation would had been:" "The Intervention Committee"." "Nowhere was this intervention clearer than in the battle for Madrid. reinforced by German and Italian planes." "The Spanish republican air force was no match until" "Soviet planes arrived. shaking their fists at the German and Italian planes" ""They shall not pass." "there was another flight of planes over Madrid." "and dropped no bombs." "Everyone looking up from the streets suddenly saw they were Russian planes." "And a cry went up that ran right through the city:" "they're ours"." "One day we were surprised to see some new machines in the sky and we saw these small ones with snub noses. and shot down a nationalist plane occasionally." "started shouting: "Long live Russia"." "They started to hug each other. was on the front line." "The rest of the republic lay behind." "The army rebels held the territory north and west of the capital" "Their land offensive began on November 7th." "the nationalists were attempting to capture a city of one million inhabitants." "Franco had made ready lists of people to be arrested." "he could not have anticipated the stubborn reaction of the Madrid people. all republican Spain left the capital for the safety of Valencia." "So did many of the population." "some preparation to defend the city had already been made." "one of the army officers led the defence junta in charge of the overall political and military control of Madrid." "were joined by" "Enrique Lister." "The population had been prepared politically from their balconies and roofs." "The defence of Madrid was more thanks to than to the militias." "they didn't even bother to go home. and went off to fight." "This was really striking and wonderful." "It was one of the most wonderful moments of the war." "Everyone in Madrid was involved." "Loyal officers staffed the army." "Ordinary people built defenses for the city." "Political parties recruited men for defence militias." "an organised army was created. ten new brigades of the popular army of regular soldiers were naturally a more effective fighting force than the old militia columns. and by potent propaganda." "the Spanish Civil War has been remembered for the international brigades. was a unique expression of international solidarity." "Swiss. ... 500 of them died." "But the war was already 4 months old and Madrid under siege by the time the first organised volunteers arrived in the city to take up positions at the front." "One of the first battalions was predominantly German who was in a Nazi concentration camp at the time." "They took us straight to their hearts." "They knew why we'd come." "They had one slogan for us all: "Long live Russia". and only slowly they got to realise we were Germans. there were Germans on their side. these German communists were an example to the Spanish." "seeing them brought the joy of solidarity and warmth." "They left a profound impression on me." "they showed us the things we had to learn." "what an army is." "not a regular army." "Not all republicans were so happy about the volunteers." "In Catalonia some anarchists feared their revolution was being taken over by communists." "They arrested a party of international brigaders arriving from France everyone was grateful for any relief from the enemy." "The international brigaders were rushed up to the front to help their Spanish allies resist the rebel army attack. a park on the western edge of the city." "The rebels finally broke through Madrid's defenses at a point in the university campus overlooking the park" "The international brigades held the line in the philosophy faculty." "the rebels attacked again." "and occupied part of the clinical hospital." "The Thälmann battalion found themselves defending one floor of the hospital from the Moors on the floor below." "We were on the third floor." "then we'd throw hand grenades down to clear them out." "In this fight there was hardly ever a real front." "A front which was clearly defined." "Eventually the line stabilised and Madrid held out." "So Franco tried a new tactic." "The Civil War became a testing ground for modern weapons." "It was a foretaste of what was to happen a few years later" "Tokyo and Leningrad." "no city in history had been so sorely tested." "Scenes like this on newsreels all over the world confirmed the sympathy that attracted so many people to the republic. and became propagandists." "The original complex Spanish causes of the war were distilled into the poetic certainties of right and wrong." "now the only communist went to drive an ambulance." "went with him to look." "We were obsessed by the feeling that this was the supreme cause of our time." "and writers." "The cause of freedom. we wouldn't be able to exist as writers." "Spender at time was a member of the communist party." "But he represented the liberal wing of English intellectual thought. within the objectivity of Marxism." "This was the generation of Philby and Maclean." "working as a Times correspondent with Franco's forces." "In fact he was spying for the Russians. which included Anthony Blunt." "The threat of fascism had turned a generation of English intellectuals into communists." "The brutal realities of Stalin's Soviet Union had not yet been made known. came to appreciate in Spain the danger of all pervasive totalitarian communism." "the POUM." "The persecution of the POUM by the official communist disillusioned many who thought the republic was a democracy." "were communists." "and those who weren't felt isolated. who was an English public schoolboy." "you know I came to Spain and joined the international brigade and what I found is that it's an entirely communist organisation." "And then he said:" ""I would spend the rest of my life and that will be the end of me." "though he accepted this." "and he was killed within six weeks." "the Soviet Union's support seemed a salvation." "Teresa Pamies was a member of the Socialist Youth." "The Soviet Union sold guns to the government of the legitimate republic." "Guns came to Barcelona in their ships." "It brought us this feeling of mythical togetherness which became very solid." "This comradely solidarity had a hard business edge." "All the arms were paid for." "Spanish gold reserves had been sent to the Soviet Union." "political influence came with them. celebrating the defence of the Soviet revolution of 20 years earlier." "But the Soviet influence was not revolutionary in Spanish terms." "the Communist Party's disciplined approach attracted large sections of the middle classes in the republican zone." "They had been frightened by the rival anarchist revolutionary ambition for the republic that the republic should collaborate with liberals and conservative peasants." "It is necessary to prevent the enemies of Spain he said." "still needed Britain and France on his side." "Hitler's intentions were becoming clear." "His ambassador formerly recognised the Franco regime" "Hitler could hardly afford to let the rebels lose." "and sent instructors to train nationalist officers." "but still not decisive advantage." "The nationalists were holding about 60% of Spain. 200 miles. the republic was holding its ground." "particularly Mussolini." "he began to send large numbers of Italian volunteers to Spain." "... it was an easy victory." "and raised nationalist morale. first from the south by crossing the Jarama valley. were rushed up to the front line. with heavy losses on both sides. this time from the north at Guadalajara." "supremely confident after their victory at Málaga persuaded Franco to let them fight alone." "the Italians took up position against their fellow countrymen." "This was the position of the Garibaldi battalion." "Headquarters was near the woods." "all in this area." "we saw two cars go by." "We stopped them and they said to us: "But we are Italians." "We answered:" ""We're Italians too." "Giovanni Pesce and his comrades had found just what they'd come to Spain for." "The opportunity to fight Italian fascists." "and began to cry:" "we are Italians too." "It's not our fault if Mussolini sent us here." "They told us they were sending us to Abyssinia." "and took them to the command." "Mussolini was furious." "He decided that no Italian could return home until they'd won a victory." "Foreign aid on both sides poured into Spain at a faster rate than ever before. ... only to prolong it." "And Madrid was now a stalemate." "two years later." "So the nationalists switched their offensive to the north." "The western part of the Basque country was still republican." "It had been separated from the main republican zone since the early days of the war." "This northern region was a potentially valuable prize on account of its heavy industry and mineral wealth." "It was a special region in other ways." "Here conservatives were fighting side-by-side with anarchists and socialists." "The Basques gave the lie to Franco's claim that his campaign was a Christian crusade." "The region is the most devout Catholic area in the country." "Here people prayed for victory against the nationalists. came from the traditional Basque yearning so distinctive from the rest of Spain. were determined to crush it." "The attack began on March 31st. threatened to raise the region to the ground." "He nearly succeeded." "But first the nationalists tried to starve the Basques into submission." "The sea blockade of republican ports posed an embarrassing problem for Britain. were stuck in the French port of St Jean de Luz." "The British government was reluctant to challenge Franco's navy by supplying escorts for their merchantmen." "Eden announced that British ships would be protected only outside a three mile limit of Bilbao. for the output of British owned mines in Spain. became anxious to leave St Jean de Luz before his cargo rotted." "Captain Roberts defied the British order and set sail for Bilbao." "was on board." "and sailed out. and we sailed on." "I mean there was nothing to it. the Seven Seas Spray arrived unscathed and sailed up Bilbao river." "We were the first in and the town had only four days food left for the people." "hooters were going." "It was rather like a ticker tape reception." "and everybody was hanging out and waving and cheering." "It was quite emotional." "became the Basque people's heroes. and other British merchant ships followed with food supplies." "But the Basques couldn't celebrate for long. 000." "It was the historic centre of Basque nationalism. stood beside the parliament building where traditionally all Spanish monarchs had sworn to uphold Basque liberties." "was market day." "The market was held where the public gardens of Guernica are now." "but then the planes came in the afternoon." "Dona Ignacia Ozamiz lived in Guernica" "Koni and Manoli." "I saw the planes arriving." "First just one of them." "It circled twice." "but we were used to seeing it do that and fly away again. all in a line ... black." "I remember them as very black and ugly. ... followed by cries." "over and over again. and we could feel everything tremble." "Smoke and heat came in. took part in wave after wave of attacks on the small town. which bombed Guernica." "This had no impact on me." "I conducted these attacks and operations in the course of my duties as a soldier carrying out my orders without heed for my life." "we thought we were fighting a war against communists." "The Condor Legion might had believed the catholic Basques were communists." "but the Spanish High Command who ordered the attack knew otherwise." "Guernica's cultural significance was more or less irrelevant. and republican soldiers retreating from the nationalist attack had to pass through the town to reach the last line of defence round Bilbao." "The Germans claimed that instructions were to bomb the bridge and crossroads at the edge of Guernica in order to make the road to Bilbao impassable. were dropped on the town. and the German's main target ... the bridge." "We could clearly see that the wind blew the bombs onto the fields." "They missed the bridge and the houses about. converted into bombers. slung underneath the plane. and lowered during flight." "The poor observer had to climb down a tiny ladder to this contraption with his goggles and his flying helmet on." "There he had a primitive targeting device and rangefinder." "The Germans excuses do not explain why they did not use accurate Stuka dive bombers the bridge at the edge of Guernica." "Nor the fact that they machine- gunned the fleeing population." "Nor the magnitude of the whole operation. the force of the blast of heat in my face as I came out. ... everything on fire." "The sky was red with reflections." "Fifi Roberts was taken with her father to see the devastation of the town. to revisit the scene she had photographed with her own camera." "trudging along. what they were going to do. and being pushed with a few of their belongings on it." "It's rather heartbreaking to see. and rubble all over the place. who may be still looking in the ruins for bodies. but the place was an absolute shambles. before the reckoning of destruction could be competed" "the rebel army arrived at Guernica. making show of guarding the famous Basque tree of liberty." "They even tried to put the blame on the Basques for destroying their own town" "Some people were even prepared to believe this." "The nationalists real prize lay ahead." "the Basques had built a defensive wall around Bilbao ... a ring of iron." "But it could not protect the city from intensive bombing." "the western democracies finally felt free to help. and transported to" "America and the Soviet Union. and seized the region's industries and mines intact." "Soon Franco was exporting iron ore." "His clients included Germany and Britain." "Both countries were to use the captured resources of the republic for their own rearmament program. didn't interfere much with business or prevent the world war that was to follow."