Translations for Guernica in the Spanish»English Dictionary

Guernica Info

Guernica

A Basque town destroyed by German bombers fighting on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War in April 1937. Guerra Civil. The world was shocked at the slaughter of civilians. Guernica (Gernika) is the site of the ancient Basque parliament and of the oak tree, the árbol de Guernica, beneath which Spanish kings traditionally swore to uphold Basque privileges or fueros. Pablo Picasso commemorated the destruction of Guernica in his painting of the same name.

See also Guerra Civil, fueros

Guerra Civil Info

Guerra Civil

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 began when right-wing army officers led by General Francisco Franco rebelled against the elected republican government. Southern and northwest Spain soon fell to Franco's nacionalistas, but in cities such as Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona resistance was fierce. Franco's revolt was aided by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while Britain and France declared a policy of non-intervention and blockaded Spanish ports. The Soviet Union aided the Republican government and volunteers from around the world joined the Brigadas Internacionales to fight against fascism. Resistance collapsed in the spring of 1939 and Franco established a dictatorship which ended with his death in 1975. A period of great economic hardship followed the end of the war and the persecution of Republicans continued for several years after the end of hostilities.

fueros Info

fueros

Medieval charters setting out the privileges granted to an individual, a town or a territory. They included special fiscal concessions and exemptions from military duties to the Spanish king. Foral rights, were held, for example, by the cities of León and Burgos, by the former kingdom of Navarra, and by the Basque provinces. Each Spanish monarch traditionally went to Guernica to reaffirm the rights of the Basques.

Guernica

Guernica → Guernica