The Bombing of Guernica

On April 26, 1937, German Luftwaffe pilots from the Condor Legion and the Italian Avaizione Legionaria bombed the city of Guernica in Basque Country during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica had been a Republican held city and seen as key to the war in the North and was mostly destroyed in the attack. About one hundred to two hundred civilians also died in the attack which was later made famous by a painting of the same name by Pablo Picasso.

For centuries, Basque has tried to secure independence, but has come under the authority of Spain and/or France again and again. It has, however, enjoyed brief periods of autonomy as it did during the Spanish Civil War. At the time of the raid, the autonomous Basque government resisted the fascists forces of Generalissimo Fransico Franco just as did the Republican forces. Like the Republican forces, they were ultimately defeated, however, and Basque lost its independence.

As the Basque forces tried to defend several key cities in Basque, the fascists continued to advance with their sights on taking Bilbao. They could not take Bilbao, however, until they dealt with a smaller, less important city called Guernica. Guernica was under the control of Republican forces, but it was not well defended. Although it was home to two battalions of Basque troops and five thousand civilians, it did not have any air defense.

The motivation for the attack on Guernica remains unclear. It seems that the Nationalists wanted to destroy a key bridge. The loss of this bridge would cut of the Republican forces and support the Nationalists in the area. The attack may have also been the reaction to the lynching of a German pilot or a simply attempt at terror bombing. In any event, the Condor Legion probably received orders from Franco himself or his chief lieutenant to carry out the attack.