The bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War killed hundreds of innocent civilians and involved German and Italian military representatives. The attack was a symbol of wartime atrocities and the cost of war, and was immortalized in Picasso’s famous painting “Guernica”. In 1999, the German government apologized for their involvement in the bombing.
The Bombing of Guernica was an infamous military attack that occurred during the Spanish Civil War. Many people today use Guernica as a symbol of wartime atrocities and the cost of war, because hundreds of innocent civilians were killed in the vicious attack. The bombing also set off alarm bells across Europe because it involved the German government, which was theoretically barred from participating in military activity by the terms of the treaty that ended World War I.
Guernica is located in the cultural heart of the Basque Country, a region that extends into northern Spain and part of southern France. During the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, the city was largely not involved in warfare, although Basque troops were certainly harbored nearby, along with Republican forces who were trying to wrest control of Spain from Franco and his troops nationalists.
The city became a military target because the nationalists saw it as a launching point for an invasion of the nearby city of Bilbao. No doubt they also wanted to gain control of Guernica as a dominant tactic, because striking at the heart of Basque culture would undermine morale among the Basques. In April 1937, the Spanish government worked with German and Italian military representatives to coordinate an air attack on the city that was designed to annihilate it.
The bombing of Guernica occurred on a Monday, the traditional market day, and historians believe this day was probably chosen deliberately to maximize casualties. Multiple waves of aircraft were involved in the bombing of Guernica, carpeting the city with bombs and mowing down civilians who attempted to flee. At the end of the bombing, almost the whole city was destroyed, and an unknown number of dead were buried in the rubble; estimates range from 300 to 1,500 dead, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of the death toll.
It took several days for news of the bombing of Guernica to reach the outside world, and when it did, the world was collectively horrified and concerned. Germany shouldn’t have had an air force, let alone an army, and the clear evidence of German involvement in the bombing suggested that the German government was up to something. The bombing of Guernica also represented one of the first airstrikes involving mass civilian casualties in history, appalling witnesses and commentators alike with the brutality of the military involved.
The bombing of Guernica was immortalized in Picasso’s famous painting “Guernica”, which has been widely reproduced around the world. In 1999, the German government formally apologized to the Basque people for their involvement in the bombing, expressing regret for what was essentially a test by the newly formed Luftwaffe.
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