Bombing of Guernica

E13901

aerial bombing event in the Spanish Civil War war crime

The Bombing of Guernica was a devastating 1937 aerial attack by Nazi German and Italian fascist forces on the Basque town of Guernica, widely remembered as one of the first large-scale bombings of civilians and immortalized by Pablo Picasso’s painting "Guernica."

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Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
bombing of Guernica	5
bombing of Gernika	2

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	aerial bombing ⓘ event in the Spanish Civil War ⓘ war crime ⓘ
aftermath	large parts of Guernica destroyed or burned ⓘ survivors displaced from the town ⓘ
aircraftUsedByCondorLegion	Heinkel He 111 ⓘ surface form: Heinkel He 111 bombers Junkers Ju 52 aircraft ⓘ surface form: Junkers Ju 52 bombers Messerschmitt Bf 109 ⓘ surface form: Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters
aircraftUsedByItalianForces	Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero ⓘ surface form: Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers
associatedWork	Guernica ⓘ surface form: painting "Guernica"
belligerent	Condor Legion ⓘ Fascist Italy ⓘ Aviazione Legionaria ⓘ surface form: Italian Aviazione Legionaria Nazi Germany ⓘ
cause	support for Francisco Franco's Nationalist offensive ⓘ
civilianCasualtiesEstimate	hundreds of civilians killed ⓘ
commander	Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen ⓘ surface form: Wolfram von Richthofen
commemoratedBy	Guernica ⓘ surface form: Pablo Picasso's "Guernica"
conflict	Spanish Civil War ⓘ
countryAtTime	Spain ⓘ
date	26 April 1937 ⓘ
historicalSignificance	early example of terror bombing of civilians ⓘ precursor to World War II strategic bombing campaigns ⓘ
inspired	global anti-war sentiment ⓘ
internationalReaction	widespread condemnation abroad ⓘ
legacy	symbol of civilian suffering in modern warfare ⓘ
legalCharacterization	often described as a war crime ⓘ
location	Basque Country ⓘ Guernica ⓘ
mediaCoverage	reported by journalist George Steer ⓘ
memorials	Guernica peace memorials in the Basque Country ⓘ
method	aerial bombardment ⓘ high-explosive bombs ⓘ incendiary bombs ⓘ
militaryObjective	destroy bridge and roads near Guernica ⓘ disrupt Basque and Republican communications ⓘ
notableAs	one of the first large-scale aerial bombings of civilians ⓘ symbol of the horrors of war ⓘ
orderedBy	Nationalist command in the Spanish Civil War ⓘ
propagandaUse	used by Republicans to highlight Nationalist brutality ⓘ
result	high civilian casualties ⓘ widespread destruction of the town of Guernica ⓘ
supportedSide	Nationalist faction (Spain) ⓘ surface form: Spanish Nationalists
tactic	carpet bombing ⓘ machine-gunning of civilians from aircraft ⓘ
targetedPopulation	Basque civilians ⓘ
targetedSide	Spanish Republicans ⓘ
year	1937 ⓘ

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pablo Picasso → depictsInGuernica → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Guernica

Condor Legion → engagedIn → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Guernica

Peace Museum of Gernika → focusesOnEvent → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Gernika

Peace Museum of Gernika → hasSubject → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Gernika

reported by journalist George Steer → hasSubject → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

Guernica → historicallyKnownFor → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Guernica

Spanish Civil War → notableBattle → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

Nationalist faction (Spain) → notableEvent → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

Condor Legion → notableFor → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Guernica

Aviazione Legionaria → notableOperation → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ

this entity surface form: bombing of Guernica

reported by journalist George Steer → refersTo → Bombing of Guernica ⓘ