88th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. Cartoon of 27/04/2025 in CTXT
Translation of the cartoon: "Every time they talk about buying guns for security I feel more insecure".
The bombing of Guernica (Gernika-Lumo) in País Vasco, Bilbao (España) on 26 April 1937 had no other intention than to harm, destroy, kill and spread terror. It should not be considered an act of war, it was pure fascist terrorism.
As reported on the website of the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, the first plane appeared at around four o'clock in the afternoon and dropped a few bombs. After about fifteen minutes the first wave took place, three planes in a triangular formation flying very low. Thus began the systematic bombing of Gernika, which lasted for more than three hours.
The technical aspects of the bombing of Guernica remain today one of the most exciting topics in contemporary history. The destruction of Guernica was the work of the German Condor Legion and the Italian air force, acting under orders from Franco's rebel army. The military tactics applied were so devastating that Gernika has gone down in history as the first rehearsal of total war.
"The planes took off from the Vitoria airfield, flew over the coast and then, turning around, followed the Oca valley, attacking Guernica from north to south. They apparently belonged to three types: Heinkel 111, Junker 52 bombers and Heinkel 51 fighters and strafers. They must have formed two masses, which took turns, and as to the number of each there is a general discrepancy. In order to fix ideas, we can well suppose that in each wave, between bombing and fighters, there were about 15 to 20 aircraft. That was enough. Their tactics consisted of dropping first ordinary bomblets, then clusters of small incendiary bombs, and simultaneously strafing the personnel in the open, not only those in the city, but also in the surrounding area and even in the surrounding villages.
Martínez Bande. Vizcaya.
At least 31 tonnes of bombs were dropped on Gernika during the bombing. The urban centre of the town, less than 1 km2 in area, was completely destroyed. 85.22% of the buildings - a total of 271 - were totally destroyed and the rest were partially affected. The incendiary bombs caused a fire that could not be extinguished for several days. In line with the concept of terror bombing, the armament factories and the Errenteria bridge, the only strategic targets in the town, were not bombed.
The Basque Government registered 1,654 fatalities. The mayor of Gernika, Jose Labauria, said that more than a thousand people had lost their lives in Gernika, including 450 in the shelter in Andra Mari Street. Father Eusebio Arronategi, who like Labauria was in Gernika during the bombing and the days that followed, helping in the rescue and identification of the bodies, said that he saw "thousands of his fellow citizens suffocated, dead and wounded". 38 eyewitnesses, including all the international reporters who went to Guernica, seconded these figures. But the total number of fatalities is difficult to know because the more than 60,000 m3 of rubble would not be removed from the centre of the town until the end of 1941.
The Franco regime did not record any deaths during this time and tried to eliminate the registers drawn up by the Basque authorities, thus erasing even the memory of the victims. Nevertheless, research work continues into the counting and identification of the victims.
"When the bombing happened, people came out of their shelters. No one was crying. Their faces showed astonishment. None of us could understand what we were seeing. When the sun went down, you still couldn't see beyond 500 metres. Everywhere the flames were raging and a heavy black smoke was rising".
Alberto de Onaindía. Collected by Hans Christian Kirsch: Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg in Augenzeugenberichte.
In memory of the bombing of Gernika, programme for the 88th anniversary of the bombing of the Gernika Peace Museum Foundation.
