# George Steer

George Lowther Steer (22 November 1909 – 25 December 1944) was a South African-born British journalist, author and war correspondent who reported on wars preceding the Second World War, especially the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the Spanish Civil War. During those wars, he was employed by The Times, and his eyewitness reports did much to alert Western nations of war crimes committed by the Italians in Ethiopia and by the Germans in Spain although little was done to prevent them by the League of Nations. His 1937 exclusive on the bombing of Guernica inspired Pablo Picasso to paint his anti-war masterpiece, Guernica. He returned to Ethiopia after the start of the Second World War and helped the campaign that defeated the Italians and restored Hailie Selassie to the throne.

## Early life

George Steer was born in South Africa in 1909, the son of a newspaper manager. He studied classics in England, at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford. He began his journalistic career in South Africa and then worked in London for the Yorkshire Post.

## War correspondent

In 1935 Steer covered the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, also known as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, for The Times. He reported that Italian forces made extensive use of poison gas in the form of mustard gas and bombed Red Cross ambulances despite clear markings of the Red Cross. He was involved in helping to transport gas masks to Ethiopia to give at least some protection against the poison gases that were deployed illegally by the Italians. He became friendly with Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who later became godfather to Steer's son. Steer met and married his first wife in Ethiopia, under difficult conditions in the British Legation in Addis Ababa, with looting and rifle fire outside the gates of the compound. His wife and his first child died in childbirth in London a little later.

### Spanish Civil War

In 1937, Steer was sent to report on the Spanish Civil War. His first reports from the Basque Country described how British merchant ships beat the Nationalist blockade of Bilbao to bring food to the starving people of the town and surrounding region. He also visited the front line on several occasions to report directly on the fighting.
He won prominence with his scoop report on the bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937. His telegram to London described German bomb casings (inscribed with the words Rheindorf 1936 with the German eagle insignia) and the use of thermite as an incendiary to create a firestorm in the centre of the town. High-explosive bombs were used to create blast damage to wooden structures, which could then be ignited more easily by the incendiaries. His reporting did much to inspire Pablo Picasso to record the atrocity for posterity in his massive 1937 painting Guernica. It also alerted Western nations to the way the Germans were preparing to use terror bombing to intimidate civilians.
His reports were directly contradicted by the Nationalists, who said that the damage had beem caused by the Republican forces themselves, as they had at Irun earlier in the conflict although a League of Nations investigation concluded that neither the terror bombing theory nor the Nationalist version of intentional arson was accurate. Steer responded to such reports by providing details of the damage in the town such as bomb craters and the Luftwaffe aircraft used in the attack such as Heinkel He 111 bombers. Although he was not an eyewitness to the bombing itself, he arrived soon afterward, saw the effects and talked to some of the survivors. He was one of the last journalists to leave Bilbao as the Nationalists advanced and fled to Santander, to the west.

### Winter War in Finland

The antidascist tone of Steer's reporting led The Times to dispense with his services. The newspaper's editorial stance on the war was anti-Republican, and its editor, Geoffrey Dawson, privately sympathised with the Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco. However, the newspaper had a general policy of appeasement when it came to Germany, Nazis and fascists. Steer returned to South Africa and in his book Judgment on German Africa documented Germany's attempts to subvert its former African colonies, especially the Cameroon, South West Africa (now Namibia), Tanganyika (now in Tanzania) and Togoland (now part of Ghana and Togo).
After the outbreak of the Second World War, the Daily Telegraph dispatched Steer to Finland to cover the Winter War, when the country was attacked by the Soviet Union in November 1939. Steer saw the effects of aerial bombing of several Finnish towns by the Soviets, attempts made to intimidate the population, just like at Guernica. However, unlike for Ethiopia and Spain, Western countries such as Britain, France and Germany were eager to offer arms and equipment, as well as volunteers, to assist the Finns. The war had a relatively short duration because of the disparity in armed might although the Soviets had a number casualties that was much greater than the Finns'. An armistice was signed in March 1940 in which Finland lost about 10% of its territory to the Soviets.

### Return to Ethiopia

When Italy declared war on Britain, plans were laid to invade Ethiopia from Kenya and Sudan to topple the Italian regime and reinstate Hailie Selassie as emperor. Steer was appointed as an officer in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army, initially to chaperone Selassie from London to the Sudan under the pseudonym, "Mr Smith" since the emperor's position had to be kept secret from the Italians. Steer was then put in charge of a mobile propaganda unit to undermine the Italian garrisons by leafletting, loudspeaker attacks and so on. The campaign was remarkably successful, with many Italian troops deserting to become prisoners and many Ethiopians transferring allegiance.
Steer broadcast light Italian operas and news from the Italian front in Libya, where the British Army had great success against much larger Italian forces in 1941. The military campaign waged by British and Ethiopian soldiers was very successful and used a combination of regular troops and irregular forces, led by Orde Wingate. They entered the capital, Addis Ababa, in triumph in April 1941 to accept the defeat of the Italians.Drysdale, Helena (24 March 2003). "Being there; Telegram from Guernica: the extraordinary life of George Steer, war correspondent". The New Statesman. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
Later, Steer was sent to India to lead a Field Propaganda Unit in Burma. The unit tried to break Japanese morale by loudspeakers with speeches and sentimental music. He was successively promoted from Lieutenant to Captain, Major and finally Lieutenant-colonel and was attached to the Special Operations Executive. His work was appreciated and promoted by General William Slim, the local army commander, who wanted to expand the operation.

## Personal life

In May 1936, while taking a break from rescue work, Steer married the French newspaper correspondent Margarita Herrero. Shortly afterward, he was deported by the Italian authorities, along with other Europeans, for aiding the Ethiopians."Campagne d'Abyssinie, 05/1936. - 9 photos - Photo n° 161571". Study and Documentation Centre for War and Contemporary Society. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024. Margarita Steer died in childbirth in London while her husband was reporting on the Spanish Civil War. He later married Esme Barton.

## Death

Steer died on the way to a Christmas party in the crash of a heavily-loaded army Jeep, which he was driving, in Burma.

## Legacy

In 2006, Guernica honoured Steer by unveiling a bronze bust and naming a street in his memory, and in 2010, Bilbao dedicated George Steer Street, with his son and granddaughter attending the ceremony.