Guernica
[key], officially Gernika-Lumo, historic town, Bizkaia (Vizcaya or Biscay)
prov., N Spain, in the Basque Country. It has metallurgical, furniture, and
food manufacturers, and some tourism. The oak of Guernica, under which the
Biscayan general assembly used to meet, is a symbol of the rights and
liberties of the Basques. In Apr., 1937, German planes, aiding the
insurgents in the Spanish civil war, bombed and destroyed Guernica. The
indiscriminate killing of women and children aroused world opinion, and the
bombing of Guernica became a symbol of fascist brutality. The event inspired
one of Picasso's most celebrated paintings. Guernica is also called Guernica
y Luno.
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