The Bombing of Guernica

[Ruy Horta]

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

Now all you have to do is explain what business Germany had in attacking the forces of a legal and elected government in a country with which Germany was not at war.

Aah, the difficult subject of legality!

Well the Germans were welcomed by the Nationalists, so in that sense they were at least invited to take part in an internal power struggle by one of the warring fractions.

As soon as a conflict starts the world community takes positions, it naturally comes down to an official position based on international pressure (read the view taken by the dominant powers in whatever international body is accepted by the majority of nations) and the unofficial position based on a variety of reasons ranging from cultural sympathy to national interests.

The difference between a legal government and an oppressive or objectionable regime that should be toppled is pretty arbitrary.

Again I am not taking any positions when it comes to the Spanish Civil War, but more modern conflicts have taught me to be extremely cynical and suspicious.