Guernica, 1937 Pablo Picasso

On the afternoon of 26 April 1937, the air force of Nazi Germany’s Condor Legion, working on behalf of the Spanish Nationalists led by General Franco, sent its bombers over the ancient Basque town of Guernica. It was a Monday – market day – and the centre was packed with people going about their everyday business, as they had for generations. Image: © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2017 The first bombs began falling around 4.30 in the afternoon. Within four hours, hundreds (possibly thousands) were dead and wounded, and the town had been destroyed. The brutality of such a deliberate terror attack on a civilian population shocked Spain and the rest of Europe. George Steer’s