3. The Fascists Initially Labeled Guernica’s Destruction “Fake News”
Franco’s propaganda claimed that Guernica was destroyed by its defenders as they withdrew. Per Franco and his minions, the Republicans then falsely blamed the heroic fascist air forces. Spain’s Catholic Church, a mainstay of the Spanish fascist camp, backed Franco’s claims completely. Indeed, its professor of theology in Rome went so far as to claim that there was not a single German in Spain, because the local fascists needed only Spanish soldiers, who were second to none in the world. It was too ludicrous even for Franco’s supporters abroad to sustain. Especially after Condor Legion personnel acknowledged that they had bombed Guernica, claiming to have been aiming at a stone bridge just outside the town, only for strong winds to blow their bombs into Guernica. In reality, the bridge was never hit, there was virtually no wind, and antipersonnel bombs, incendiaries, and machine gun strafing are useless against stone bridges.
