The bombing of Guernica was an air attack on the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, carried out by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria in support of General Franco's Nationalist forces. The town was an important cultural symbol for the Basques and lay behind the front line, near the fighting around Bilbao. The raid on a market day destroyed much of the town and killed a large number of civilians, though historians disagree about the exact toll. It became a symbol of the horror of aerial bombing of civilians and drew worldwide condemnation. Pablo Picasso painted his famous mural Guernica for the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 Paris World's Fair in response.
Before and after
- from 31 March 1937 to 1 July 1937Biscay Campaign
- April 1937Construction of Ben Gurion Airport
- 5 April 1937Construction of Václav Havel Airport Prague
- 22 April 1937Birth of Jack Nicholson
- 27 April 1937Bombing of Guernica
- 28 April 1937Birth of Saddam Hussein
- 11 May 1937Establishment of Los Glaciares National Park
- 12 May 1937Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth
- 15 May 1937Birth of Madeleine Albright
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918World War I
- 16 May 1916Sykes–Picot Agreement
- from February 1919 to March 1921Polish–Soviet War
- 4 June 1920Treaty of Trianon
- from 1933 to 1945The Holocaust
- from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945World War II
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.