April 26, 1937
On a Monday — market day — the Condor Legion conducted a systematic destruction of Guernica, the spiritual capital of the Basque people. Waves of aircraft dropped high-explosive bombs to destroy buildings, then incendiaries to start fires, then machine-gunned survivors in the streets. The bombing shocked the world and inspired Pablo Picasso's masterpiece. Nationalists initially denied responsibility, claiming Republicans had burned the town themselves — a lie that held for decades.
Commanders