“Following an aerial attack on Madrid from 16 rebel planes from Tetuan, Spanish Morocco, relatives of those trapped in ruined houses appeal for news of their loved ones, Jan. 8, 1937.” (AP Photo)
The bombing of Barcelona by Nationalist forces loyal to Francisco Franco.
Spanish Civil War - 1938
A Nationalist gun squad defending a hill in Northern Spain against Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.
December 30, 1936.
As a sign of what was to come in the next few years, one of the first ever bombings on a civilian population took place in Guernica, Spain on April 26, 1937.
In order to help the Spanish Nationalist cause, planes from the Germany and Italy took part in the air raids. Casualty rates differ by source, but there were at least a few hundred deaths along with a large amount of damage to the town.
The bombing would inspire Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica, painted as a gesture against war and as a way to bring attention to the events which transpired that day.
One of the most famous images of war; this photo was taken by Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War. Long thought to be an image of a dying Republican, it is now known that the image was in fact staged.
Originally taken September 5, 1936.
Robert Capa would on to photograph the landings at Normandy during WWII. He later died in the First Indochina War after stepping on a landmine.
