The town of Guernica is one of the most ancient Basque towns, and their most important cultural center. Today it is most known not for its ancient history, but a modern era tragedy that befell it on Monday, April, 26th, 1937. That afternoon, Guernica was destroyed by warplanes sent by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy to support General Francisco Franco’s Spanish Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. It shocked the world because, among other things, it was the first time a town was demolished from the air. Sadly, it would not be the last. The event was immortalized by Pablo Picasso in a painting, Guernica. Below are fourteen fascinating but lesser known facts about the background and true story of Guernica’s destruction.
14. A Dress Rehearsal for World War II
The Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) pitted fascist rebels against a democratically elected government. In many ways, it was a sneak preview, in proxy form, of World War II, which began a few months after the guns fell silent in Spain. The western democracies, led by Britain and France, declared neutrality and imposed an arms embargo that hamstrung the democratically elected Republican government and severely restricted its ability to defend itself. It did little to impede the fascists, who were generously supported by their natural allies, Mussolini and Hitler. Indeed, Hitler sent a German expeditionary force, the Condor Legion, which played a key role in securing victory for the Spanish fascists. In the meantime, the Republicans were forced to rely for arms on the Soviet Union, which charged them through the nose for the privilege, then abandoned them when Stalin sought to make nice with Hitler.
