The bombing of Jaén was an aerial attack on the city of
Jaén on 1 April 1937, during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, by the
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, who fought for the rebels. The bombing was ordered by the General
Queipo de Llano, as retaliation for a Republican air raid on the city of
Córdoba.
Bombing
On 1 April 1937, six German
Ju 52 bombers of the Nationalist Air Force, escorted by six
Heinkel He 51 and three
CR 32 fighters, bombed the city of Jaén, which had no
legitimate military targets or
anti-aircraft defenses. Current estimates indicated there were 159 deaths among the civilian population and several hundred injured, comparable with the
bombing of Guernica, which occurred four weeks later.
Aftermath
As a reprisal, the local republican authorities executed 128 Nationalist prisoners.
[Julía, Santos; Casanova, Julían; Solé i Sabaté, Josep Maria; Villarroya, Joan; and Moreno, Francisco. ''Víctimas de la guerra civil.'' Editorial Temas de Hoy. 2006. Madrid. p.171]
See also
*
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...
*
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
Notes
Explosions in 1937
Mass murder in 1937
Battles of the Spanish Civil War
1937 in Spain
Spanish Civil War massacres
Conflicts in 1937
History of Andalusia
Jaén, Spain
Airstrikes during the Spanish Civil War
April 1937 in Europe
Airstrikes conducted by Spain
Nazi war crimes in Spain
{{SpanishCivilWar-stub