On April 26, 1937, nearly sixty bombers and fighters attacked Gernika. They dropped between 31 and 46 tons of explosive and incendiary bombs on the city center. The desolation was absolute: 85% of the buildings in the town were totally destroyed; more than 2,000 people died in an urban area of less than one square kilometer. Just hours after the destruction of the Basque town, General Franco ordered to attribute authorship of the atrocity to the "Reds" and that remained the official truth until his death in 1975. Gernika was a key event of contemporary European history; its "alternative facts" historiography an exemplar for commentators and historians faced with disentangling contested viewpoints on current military and political conflicts, and too often war crimes and genocide that result.
Author Biography
Xabier Irujo is director of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is professor of genocide studies. Member of the editorial board of four academic presses, he has authored more than 15 books and has received awards at national and international levels.
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