On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria, under the code name Operation Rügen. The town was being used as a communications centre by Republican forces just behind the front line, and the raid was intended to destroy bridges and roads. The operation opened the way to Franco's capture of Bilbao and his victory in northern Spain.
Ruins of Guernica (1937)
A Luftwaffe 1 kg incendiary bomb dated 1936
George Steer's report in The Times
Mural in Guernica based on the Picasso painting. Basque nationalists advocate that the painting be brought to the town, as can be seen in the slogan underneath.
Guernica, officially Gernika in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo, whose population is 16,224 as of 2009.
The Oak of Gernika (Gernikako Arbola)
Tiled wall in Guernica, the inscription below, written in Basque, expresses the desire to have the Picasso painting of the same name transferred to the city (it is currently exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofía).
An aerial view looking south.
Santa María Church
