Deadly wartime bombing raid in Spain 'was target practice for Nazi Stukas', documentary reveals

For villagers in Spain's Castellón hinterland, the reason for the bombing raid of May 1938 in which 38 people died has always been a mystery. 

But now a documentary based on the work of local historian reveals that the residents of Benassal, Ares, Albocàsser and Vilar de Canes were simply the victims of a technical experiment to test the capacity of the Stuka dive bomber before the start of World War Two. 

“It is clear that looking at maps of the area the day before the bombing, the villages were just a game board with little houses to destroy and small figures to be eliminated. For the Germans it was just a game,” Óscar Vives, a historian from the worst-affected village of Benassal, where 15 people were killed, told the makers of Experimento Stuka, a documentary being made by Suica Films.