On this day in 1937, the Basque market town of Gernika was bombed in the most emblematic episode of the Spanish Civil War, immortalised by Picasso's Guernica. A thread below of how commemoration of the bombing has evolved since in the 83 years since 👇 
Gernika was bombed on the 26th of April 1937 by the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion, allied to General Franco's rebels. The bombing lasted for between 2 to 3 hours. It allowed the Nazi air force to practise their total warfare. Around 85% of buildings of the town were destroyed.
Gernika had little or no military significance and the bombing was intended instead to demoralise the population by not only killing and injuring civilians. Some scholars suggest that the bombing intentionally took place on a market day, to maximise casualties.
Similarly, Gernika is a sacred site for the Basques, particularly owing to the oak tree of Gernika, under which Spanish monarchs would swear allegiance to the Basque rights and Basque Presidents swore their oaths of duty.
George Steer, a journalist broke the story to the world in the Times newspaper. The manner of the bombing appalled the public around the world. thetimes.co.uk/article/bombin…
Pablo Picasso, living in Paris, was inspired to paint 'Guernica', his masterpiece. The painting was commissioned for the Paris International Exhibition, for the Spanish Republic's embassy and later toured Europe and the USA to raise money for the Republican cause.
In Britain, public opinion was so profoundly affected by the bombing that following sustained pressure, 4,000 Basque children evacuated to the UK, where they were supported by private donations. The @basquechildren of '37 Association still commemorates this 'Guernica Generation'
In the propaganda war that followed the bombing, Franco's rebel nationalists denied that Gernika had been bombed. They alleged that the town had torched by arsonists allied to the Basque Country. This denial has weighed heavily on the commemoration of the bombing.
Gernika was occupied three days after the bombing and remained under Francoist control until Franco's death in 1975. Franco's authoritarian dictatorship banned any commemoration and any questioning of the official narrative that Gernika had burned by arsonists.
Nevertheless, some exilic and some clandestine commemoration was undertaken. Basque Nationalists occasionally illegally travelled (some from exile in France) to Gernika to celebrate their national day, Aberri Eguna. nytimes.com/1970/04/27/arc…
The death of Franco in 1975 brought an end to his dictatorship, allowing a new era where commemoration was allowed. In Gernika's Casa Social, three hundred people gathered on the anniversary in 1976, to commemorate the bombing for the first time.
By the time of the 40th anniversary of the bombing in 1977, the 'Commission of Historical Research of Gernika' organised a much more public event where witnesses could publicly testify and historians sought to prove that Gernika had been bombed, not burned.
This 'Commission for Historical Research' took control of the commemoration of the bombing. Their core message was that Gernika should be re-branded 'The City of Basque Resistance and Culture', with a new museum housing Picasso's Guernica. elpais.com/diario/1978/04…
Gernika's experience of the transition to democracy contrasted greatly to the general, national experience. Whilst Gernika witnessed an outpouring of history and testimony, the majority of Spanish society subscribed to a 'Pact of Forgetting' (Aguilar, 2002).
Similarly, the Basque Country was marked by violence during the transition, particularly owing to the activities of the armed terrorist group, ETA. Indeed, the Francoist mayor of Gernika, Augusto Unceta Barrenechea, was murdered by ETA in 1977.
In 1981, the Spanish government successfully negotiated the return of 'Guernica' to Spain after Picasso forbade it from being hung in Francoist Spain. Its return was heralded (not without controversy) as a key sign of reconciliation following the war and dictatorship.
In 1985, to separate the town from this association with violence, the town hall decided that Gernika should instead become a 'City of Peace' in time for the 50th anniversary in 1987.
The 50th anniversary was marked by a commemorative tug-of-war between the unofficial 'Gernika 37-87 Commission', who organised controversial but popular concerts and the official commemorations, imbued with peace, led by the town hall (ayuntamiento).
The official town hall and the Basque Government eventually came out on top. They commissioned artwork by Chillida, imbued with peace symbolism. In 1987, they created a Centre for Peace Studies, @GGogoratuz and in 1998, they created a Peace Museum, @museodelapaz .
In 1997, Roman Herzog, President of reunified Germany, wrote a letter to Gernika in which he admitted German culpability in the bombing. This was the first official state recognition of the bombing, 60 years after the event. An official apology followed a year later.
The 'Gernika Network' was also set up, which has worked to bring together mayors of other cities which have experienced destruction and horror. Subsequent anniversaries have been attended by mayors from Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Coventry and Auschwitz.
The 21st century has also given rise to a 'movement for the recovery of historical memory' in Spain. In their mission for truth, justice and reparation, the commemoration of the bombing of Gernika has frequently been held up as an example to follow.
In spite of the ratification of a Historical Memory Law and other memory initiatives, the bombing of Gernika in 1937 has never been formally recognised or apologised for by the Spanish government. Commemorations continue to demand peace but also accountability.
Since 1991, Picasso's Guernica has been housed in the Reina Sofia, Madrid. Foreign leaders are often taken to view the painting. Gernika's Town Hall has continued to demand that the painting be housed in Gernika.
Today, the 83rd anniversary of the bombing, commemorations are going ahead but from home or without public attendance due to COVID-19, organised by @museodelapaz @GGogoratuz & @AytGernika
As a 'City of Peace', Gernika has resolved to 'forgive but never to forget'.
As a 'City of Peace', Gernika has resolved to 'forgive but never to forget'.
