Guernica

On the way back to Bilbao, we stopped in Guernica. Guernica is a small town that was offered by Franco as the target of Hitler's aerial bombing experiment on April 26, 1937. For almost four hours, bombs were dropped on Guernica during Market Day in an experiment for the blitzkrieg tactics and bombing of civilians seen in later wars. The town was destroyed and 1654 civilians were killed. It inspired Pablo Picasso's famous painting, which now sits in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

Stained glass window in the Peace Museum. The oak tree is symbolic of the rights of the Basque people.

Stump of original oak tree that survived until the 19th century

Display of "Guernica" in the Peace Museum



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