On August 5, 1936, three weeks after the beginning of the Spanish civil war, the port Gijon was bombarded by the warships of the rebels with heavy gunfire.
At large of Gijon, from a german ship, the cruiser «Köln», the war correspondent of the «Voelkischer Beobachter» Arthur Vogt observed the bombardment. A hit next to the hotel «Savoy» killed a German named Heinz Voss and wounded five other Germans living in Gijon. Before starting the attack the rebels welcomed the German warship with the following cable message:
«Spanish cruiser Almirante Cervera. Heil Hitler!»
The Ministry of Propaganda gave on the next day a Communiqué, after which the German Heinz Voss had been shot in Gijon by «the reds».
On August 15, 1936 the bombardment was repeated on the open city Gijon. Forty habitants, among them a majority of women and children were killed, several hundreds were destroyed; countless families saw their home and their property destroyed.
On August 16, 1936 the «leader»of the rebels, the general Franciscus Franco declared solemnly before representatives of the world press: «I will never bombard Madrid - there live innocents.»
On August 29, 1936 for the first time bombs fell on Madrid.
With this bombardment of the open city Madrid germans no more were only involved as observers and victims. German and Italian pilots threw German and Italian bombs from German and Italian airplanes on the capital of the Spanish republic, which had peace with Germany and Italy.
The Spanish rebel troops were not strong enough despite the intervention of the «Moros», the colored colonial troops, in order to lead the putsch of the generals to victory. Franco called the «White Moros» from Germany and Italy to assistance, the «ordered volonteers». With them and with the tanks and guns, the Junkers, Heinkel Messerschmid -, Caproni and Savoja airplanes Franco hoped
