Reference News Network, November 27th: According to the German magazine "Die Zeit" website on November 26th, German President Steinmeier stated that Germany is responsible for the bombing of the Basque city of Guernica in Spain in 1937. Steinmeier said that during the Spanish Civil War, the German air force unit "Condor Legion" reduced the city to ruins.
The report states that Steinmeier pointed out that hundreds of unarmed children, women and men were killed in the massive bombing; Germany and Germans must never forget what happened in Guernica. He said, "This crime was committed by Germans. Guernica is a warning, urging us to defend peace, freedom and human rights. We should follow this warning."
On April 26, 1937, the "Condor Legion" was ordered by Hitler to destroy Guernica. At that time, Hitler sent fighter planes and bombers to Spain to support General Franco, who had launched a right-wing coup. The attack resulted in hundreds of deaths and caused strong international outrage. Picasso recorded this catastrophe in his painting "Guernica." On the 25th of this month, Steinmeier viewed the painting at the Queen Sofia National Art Center Museum in Madrid, Spain.
The "Condor Legion" was nominally composed of German military "volunteers" who infiltrated Spain. In the autumn of 1936, a few months after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the unit was equipped with more than 100 aircraft and had 5,000 soldiers. During the three years of the Spanish Civil War, approximately 20,000 German soldiers fought in Spain.
This 28th, Steinmeier will become the first German president to visit Guernica. Previously, only former President Herzog acknowledged in 1997, on the 60th anniversary of the air raid on Guernica, that "German pilots were guilty of involvement in the bombing" and requested the residents of the city's forgiveness. (Translated by Wang Qing)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577373889941045812/
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