6th June 1939
Legion Condor
Postcard commemorating the homecoming of the Legion Condor from Spain to Berlin. Published by Verlag Th. König, Berlin, Nr.559. Note: the flags depicted are the left and right sides of the same Honour Standard of the 'Legion Condor', the German military in Spain, 1936-1939. Ref: 06.06.1939
Legion Condor
link to Spanish Civil War directory
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 used widely during the Second World War. The bombing of Guernica was the Condor Legion's most infamous operation. Hugo Sperrle commanded the unit's aircraft formations, and Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma commanded the ground element.
The KdF fleet, including the MV Wilhelm Gustloff and seven other ships, were given secret orders on 20th May 1939 and diverted from their regular pleasure-cruise schedule to arrive in Vigo, Spain. They arrived on 24th May to pick up the legion, and departed on 26th May for a five-day voyage to Hamburg, Germany. They arrived to crowds, parades and ceremonies celebrating their success, with Hermann Göring and other high-ranking officials in attendance.
Shame about the activities of the Condor Legion and its involvement in the bombing of Guernica have re-surfaced in Germany since its 1990s reunification. In 1997, the 60th anniversary of Operation Rügen, German President Roman Herzog wrote an apology on behalf of the German people and state to survivors of the raid. Herzog said that he wanted to extend 'a hand of friendship and reconciliation' on behalf of all German citizens. The sentiment was echoed by members of the German Parliament who, in 1998, legislated the removal of all former Legion members' names from German military bases. The issue surfaced again in 2005 after media reports about the role of pilot Werner Mölders, who had volunteered to serve in Spain. Although he was not involved in the bombing of Guernica, it was decided by German Defence Minister Peter Struck that Mölders' name would be removed from the barracks at Visselhoevede and from association with Luftwaffe Fighter Wing 74 (Jagdgeschwader 74) based in Neuburg an der Donau. Until then, it had not been established that Mölders had flown as a Condor Legion volunteer before his death in 1941.
On 26th April 2017, the 80th anniversary of the Guernica bombing, the Madrid City Council announced that it had dismantled the Condor Legion mausoleum at the Cementerio de la Almudena. The mausoleum's facade, removed at the request of the German embassy in Madrid, would be replaced with name plaques for the seven soldiers entombed there.
Source: Wikipedia
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