Guernica

On our way to Bilbao we stopped off at Guernica and were given a tour by a local guide. I had not realised the bombing of Guernica although it was done at Franco’s behest in the Spanish Civil War 
Was in fact a trial run for the Germans at obliterating an enemy prior to World War II. Most of the men were away fighting in the Spanish Civil War.They chose to do it on a Monday, market day when the town was bustling with traders and after the initial heavy bombing they followed up with incendiary devices and machine gun fire. Even those who made the shelters died as the shelter entrances were covered in rubble and they could not escape. What was so awful was that this was a cold-bloodied attempt to wipe out the citizens. There are various memorials around the town including a wall mural version of Picasso’s Guernica. We had previously seen the original in Madrid and its sheer scale is overwhelming. There were also a couple of outdoor statues, one by Ellida Chillida whose work we had seen at the museum in San Sebastián and another entitled ‘Large Figure in a Shelter’ by Henry Moore which I have chosen to blip.