How Nazi press instructions framed German perceptions of the Spanish Civil War

This article examines the measures taken by the German Nazi government to regulate and frame the coverage of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1039) in the German press. Primarily they did this through instructions issued at press conferences for the Berlin correspondents of the German newspapers. Although the journalists were forced to destroy their notes of these verbal instructions, some did not follow this command, preserving the written directives. In total, around 500 instructions reference the Spanish Civil War. In the beginning, the German press was asked to remain reluctant concerning the conflict; however, the Spanish Nationalists eventually overcame the Republicans. One of the permanent topics addressed by the Nazi propaganda ministry was foreign intervention in the Spanish Civil War. German intervention in the conflict was continually denied, particularly when German aircrafts bombarded the Basque town of Guernica on 26 April 1937, one of the most heinous war crimes prior to World War II. On the whole, the press instructions presented a distorted picture, full of deceit and hypocrisy. The brutal reality of war was omitted or completely glossed over in the German press.