And Now ... In Memorium, Guernica, Basque Country, Spain, April 26, 1937 [... O For A Muse Of Morning Memory]

The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War by planes of the German Luftwaffe "Condor Legion" and subordinate Italian Fascists from the Corpo Truppe Volontarie expeditionary force organized as Aviazione Legionaria. The raid was titled Operation Rügen and resulted in widespread destruction and civilian death in the Republican held town of Guernica, Basque Country. (Wikipedia)

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On May 12, 1999, the New York Times reported that, after sixty-one years, in a declaration adopted on April 24, 1999, the German Parliament formally apologized to the citizens of Guernica for the role the Condor Legion played in bombing the town. The German government also agreed to change the names of some German military barracks named after members of the Condor Legion. By contrast, no formal apology to the city has ever been offered by the Spanish government for whatever role it may have played in the bombing. (PBS)


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