The daily independent., 1937-06-01

Europe Alarmed
The destruction of Almeria
whose streets tonight were heaped
with debris and the bodies of men
women and children. precipitated
the worst war scare to spread thru
Europe in % years.
Fa ciSt Italy. aligned with Ger
many in support of Gen. Francis
co Frances Spanish revolution
rallied to the German side.
Premier Benito MuSsolini and
Hitler announced. almost in Choir
us, their Withdrawals from the in
ternational non-intervention COM
mlttee which ha; been striving to
draw a sanitary Gordon" around
Spain and prevent the conflict
from bursting into a general Eu-
ropean war.
They announced that their war
ships would not continue the neu-
trality patrol of Spanish coasts -
but both Berlin and Rome dis
patched more warShips into Span
h waters.
Germany Italy Withdraw
The angry withdrawal of Ger
many and Italy from the neutrali-
ty committee conceded with a
loyalist government demand that
warShipS of the Fascist powers Ee
ordered away from Spain. The de-
mand was sent to London.
Almeria was a Shamblc5.
The loyaliSt radio announced
that 10 bodies had been recovered.
Many were those of children.
About 100 others were missing. and
many of them believed to be en-
tombed in piles of brick and NOR
tar that lay everywhere. Scores
were injured. 100 seriously.
Not a house in Almeria escaped
the shelling," Gabriel Moron, civil
governor Of Almeria. told me.
There is hardly section of the
town that is not in ruins. pulver-
lied by more than 200 shells from
the big guns of the German war
hips which steamed into the
broad harbor IN battle array in the
hush of a -Streaked Mediter-
ranean dawn.
No Landing
1t was enormously reported. in
the wave of terror and Indignation
that spread over all loyalist Spain,
that German troops had been
landed at Almeria after the bom-
bardment.
Reports that loyalist coastal
batterie; had disabled the battle
cruiser Admiral Scheer, sister ship
of the crippled Deutschland. with
one of their 70 shots were denied
in Berlin.
When the Nazi sea raiders had
finished their de',truction and
slaughter and had disappeared
under cover of a smoke screen
toward Melilla. rebel base in
Spanish Morocco across the Straits
OF Gibraltar. -oldierS and citizens
joined in pulling dead and wound
cd from the wreckage.
Resist Attack
LoyaliSt defenders in the Al
meria Notifications resisted the
German naval bombardment un-
I'll their ammunition was CX-
hauS.ed or their shore battcrie
were silenced. Official German
naval reports indicated that the
Almeria coast defenSeS were put
out OF action early in the engage
ment.
Eye-WitncsSeS of the lombard
ment gave me account: Of the in
describable horror which reigned
during the early morning surprise
attack.
Men. women and children who
could not. by any stretch of the
Imagination. be held responsible
for rna bombing of the DeutSch-
.and were reused from their sleeE
By the crash OF @hellS. They rar
hysterically up and down the
streets trying to find shelter"
young man said.
Buried in Ruins
He told how women and then
| children sought refuge in cellars
Their havens became their tomb,
when crashing walls blocked doors
and other exits.
Houses collapsed on all side:
and there wa. no escape" the
witness said. The bombardmen
was grossly Wanton and senSeleS!
| becau e hImeria- although it was
{. fortified city years ago-has nc
military Cbjectives Of any kind.
Many of those who were vic.
inns o. this horrible attack hac
narrowly escaped death at Malaga
where they we're machine-gunneC
and bombed by Italian airplanes
IS they fled along the coast road