Guernica bombed
April 26, 1937
On market day, German Condor Legion planes flying for Franco dropped high explosive and incendiaries on the Basque town of Guernica, machine-gunning those who ran. A few hundred civilians died and a modern horror was born: the deliberate aerial bombing of a town to break civilian morale. Picasso painted it within months.
In context
Also in 1937 (5 other events on record)
- Japan invades China at Marco Polo Bridge · East Asia · War
- Rape of Nanjing · East Asia · War
- Hindenburg burns at Lakehurst · North America · Disaster
- Golden Gate Bridge opens · North America · Technology
- Amelia Earhart vanishes · Oceania · Exploration
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in War
Era
Modern Era (1901–2000), one of 590 events from that era on Saeculum.