You may well have seen the famous painting by Pablo Picasso called Guernica, or at least a photo of it. The modernist masterpiece is currently located in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, capital of Spain. It has even been used as an inspiration by North East artist Bob Olley who painted a similar piece of work in his superb representation of the events at Orgreave 41 years ago.
The town of Guernica is found in the heart of the Basque Country in northern Spain. The Basque language is said to be unique among the languages of Europe. It bears no direct resemblance to the languages around it, and is not seen as part of the Indo-European tree of languages to which all but four European languages belong. The other three are Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian which are linked together. The Basque language, however, stands alone.
The story of Guernica
The uniqueness of the Basque language has led to suggestions that the Basques are very early inhabitants of Europe, and possibly the first. Guernica, with its famous tree (see below), has long been a centre of Basque culture and was a stronghold of Republican support and resistance in the Spanish Civil War. This made Guernica a target, as the Nationalist side led by the fascist General Franco sought its destruction and, handily for them their allies in Nazi Germany wanted to try out the newly formed Luftwaffe and see what their bombers could do. All this led to the terrible tragedy of 26th April 1937. It has been noted that between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on 26th April 1937, the German Luftwaffe’s Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria sent waves of planes to attack Guernica. The operation demonstrated a new method of aerial warfare, with meticulous planning.
It has been further noted:
“The first wave of bombers dropped high-explosive bombs to destroy buildings and create debris-filled streets, trapping civilians. The second and third waves unleashed incendiary bombs, intensifying fires that engulfed large parts of the town. To add to the horror, fighter planes strafed fleeing civilians with machine-gun fire, ensuring maximum casualties.
“Estimates suggest that between 31 and 41 tonnes of ordnance were dropped, with incendiary bombs accounting for over 20% of the total. This scale of destruction was unprecedented, foreshadowing the large-scale carpet bombing tactics used in World War II.”
Visit to Guernica
It was a hot day in the Basque country in what is officially northern Spain, when I made my way by bus from the lively city of Bilbao to Guernica, or Gernika as it is called in Basque. Having arrived, I found a very pleasant modern rebuilt town, busy with lively cafés on an early Sunday afternoon. Steep streets and steep mountains in the background all around, a long thin town in a narrow valley between steep mountains, like a smaller version of Bilbao. I couldn’t help but notice how modern so many of the buildings in the town centre are…
I found a square with photographs of the destruction and information about the Luftwaffe bombing on 26th April 1937, including the sobering statistic that 85.22% of the town had been destroyed and 2,000 people killed in the air raid.
Gernika (Guernica) Peace Museum
Next to the square was the Peace Museum which was an excellent tribute to the memory of those whose lives were lost in 1937. The tour of the museum began with reflections on ‘Bakea’(Basque), ‘Paz,’ ‘Peace.’ It was noted that peace is not just when the fighting ends but has many aspects to it. You could be reminded of Albert Einstein’s words:
“Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order – in short, of government.”
The museum also informs visitors about political violence and reconciliation as well as the bombing in 1937. It points out that there are different ways of seeing peace, including peace-of-mind on a mountain or in a desert or in cloisters and different ideas of what is needed for us to live in peace.
- Begoña’s house
Then there was a room known as Begoña’s house, with an audio description of the day the Luftwaffe came.
The character of Begoña talks about the reality of the war, but also about her life before the war. How the church bells used to just call people to Mass, but now also warn of approaching bombers, how the siren used to mean her husband would soon be home from work, but now also meant the all-clear. She talks of how she goes to Mass at 7am every morning, and how important it is to keep faith and hope.
Then the bombers arrive. We hear the sounds of destruction and in front of us, what had appeared to be a mirror becomes a window as a destroyed house is lit up, while a child sings.
- More of the museum
Another section tells visitors some of the history of Guernica and how the dispute between the right-wing and the republicans had given the people of Spain in the 1930’s conflicting dreams. Poignantly it was added:
“… again, mankind forgot how to convince and could only vanquish. And nobody dreamed for a long time to come.”
It was noted that Guernica had a mixture of people, and nobody knew why the civil war had started.
Another section raised the issue of the need for reconciliation, which is always possible, with proof of that in the form of films of reconciliation in Northern Ireland, between Europeans and aborigines in Australia, in South Africa and in Guatemala.
There were also very moving witness statements from 1937, bringing us back to the reality of what happened that April day when the Nazis bombed the town.
Finally, there was a room dedicated to human rights, without which peace is hard to achieve and which are often lost in war.
The Tree of Guernica
I also visited the Tree of Guernica. Oak trees traditionally have great significance for the Basque people as meeting places and political symbols of independence and autonomy. And with regards to the most famous of these trees, it was:
“Planted in the 18th century, the old tree trunk is contained within a colonnaded pavilion in the garden. Although there are records of earlier specimens, it is the most ancient remnant to have survived to the present day.
Its successor was planted in 1860 and stood in front of the Oath Stand until 2004. In 2005, it gave way to another oak tree that only managed to survive for 10 years in this illustrious spot. The current tree was planted in 2015, thereby serving to perpetuate its symbolic significance, just as the soul of Euskal Herria continues to be passed down from generation to generation.”
It is also noted that the Tree of Gernika is without doubt the most “universal symbol of the Basque people.”
Comment
Eighty-eight years on, the horrors of Guernica are now being repeated in Gaza, in eastern Ukraine and in other war zones around the world. The bombing of Guernica in 1937, let a dreadful genie out of the bottle and countless numbers of people have paid the price with their lives ever since. All these years later, what have we learnt?
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