The bombing of Guernica (April 26, 1937) was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths during the Spanish Civil War. The raid by planes of the German Luftwaffe "Condor Legion" and the Italian Fascist Aviazione Legionaria was called Operation Rügen. The Basque government reported 1,654 people killed, but modern research suggests between 200 to 400 civilians died. Western countries viewed Gu...
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The bombing of Guernica (April 26, 1937) was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths during the Spanish Civil War. The raid by planes of the German Luftwaffe "Condor Legion" and the Italian Fascist Aviazione Legionaria was called Operation Rügen. The Basque government reported 1,654 people killed, but modern research suggests between 200 to 400 civilians died. Western countries viewed Guernica as an example of terror bombing and gained the impression that the Luftwaffe was committed to that tactic. The bombing was the subject of a famous anti-war painting by Pablo Picasso.
Guernica (Gernika in Basque, and officially called Gernika-Lumo since 1983) was a centre of great significance to the Basque people before and after the air raid which made it notorious. Traditionally, the important administrative body, the Biscayne assembly, had met in the town under an oak tree, the Gernikako Arbola, and in more recent years, the assembly...
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