"The mass killing of civilians in incidents of 'collateral damage', especially as a result of air bombardment, represents one of the most emotive and ethically urgent issues of the contemporary world. Many experts see the civil war in Spain (1936-9) as the original site of this 'new kind of war' - as George Steer, reporting on the bombing of Gernika, christened it. Six months before Gernika, on 30 October 1936, the Nationalist lebels advancing on Madrid launched air raids on targets in the capital. The Republican government claimed that bombs were also dropped on the suburban township of Getafe, killing thirty children. The claim inspired not only a celebrated poster - 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' - but also a world-wide propaganda campaign, aimed at stimulating support for the Spanish Republic, focusing on the deliberate bombing of women and children by 'Fascist barbarians'." "The core of Rob Stradling's book is a meticulous account of the alleged atrocity of Getafe. This investigation is presented as part of a wide-ranging survey of the conduct of both sides in the matter of 'the bombing of open towns' together with the reactions of politicians, reporters, soldiers, writers and artists. Much of his evidence has never previously been presented for public discussion, and the arguments drawn from it are guaranteed to stimulate lively debate."--book jacket.