There’s a plaque in St. Jean de Luz honoring Basques who fought in the Resistance during World War II. We came across the plaque while on a post-lunch walk near the marina. There was a lot going on in this little town during the war.
Today is the best kind of travel day – the kind with no plan. This morning we walked through town on Rue Gambetta. Then we stopped at a brasserie on Place Louis XIV, where we had a fantastic, leisurely lunch. You know – the way the French do it.
After lunch, we kept walking, this time toward the marina. It was full of small wooden boats. Most of them looked to me like fishing boats.
There’s a plaque here honoring the people of St. Jean de Luz who fought in the Resistance during World War II and those who operated a covert network to smuggle downed airmen out of Europe.
Many Basques risked or gave their lives in support of the Allies during WWII. But why? Most of Basqueland lies in Spain. And Spain, at least initially, supported Nazi Germany. One might think the Basques would, too. Nope.
The Bad Old Days
World War II started in September, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Then in 1940, the Nazis invaded France. Everyone knows the result.
But bad things had already been happening in Spain. A brutal civil war had been underway since 1936. Basqueland was a very bad place to be.
Francisco Franco’s forces won the civil war. Franco took charge and set out to wipe out the Basque Nationalists who had opposed him. Not defeat them. Wipe them off the face of the earth.
And not just Basques who supported the Nationalists – all Basques. That tells you everything you need to know about Francisco Franco.
Franco cozied up to Mussolini and Hitler. They were his type of take-charge guys, and they could provide the firepower he needed to finish off the Basques.
Target #1: Bilbao
The Basque city of Bilbao, with it’s thriving steel and manufacturing industries was the big prize. Hitler and Mussolini had new bombers and fighter planes to test out. Perfect.
But on the other hand, if they destroyed Bilbao, they’d lose access to its massive industrial capabilities. Bilbao would have to be taken without air power. And the Basques in Bilbao were dug in deep.
Franco’s forces laid siege to Bilbao for months. Residents left the city for safer ground. Many landed in Guernica, a small farm town nearby.
Someone in Franco’s camp had the idea that an all-out air attack on Guernica would teach the Basques a lesson. Not only that, it would give Hitler’s and Mussolini’s commanders a chance to test out their new air power under real-life conditions.
Guernica
The attack came on April 26, 1937. It was a busy market day in Guernica. A lone bomber came over a ridge to make the first pass, and maybe to test out Basque air defenses. Those would consist mostly of hand guns and rocks.
Then wave after wave of German and Italian bombers dropped their payloads on the defenseless town. Fighter planes followed, targeting people who were running for their lives.
The attack lasted three hours. After three hours there was nothing left to bomb.
Guernica wasn’t a fortified town full of of troops. It was a farming town full of locals and displaced people from Bilbao. That was well-known to all. Just the same, German and Italian air power, acting on Franco’s behalf, reduced it and its inhabitants to ashes.
Picasso
In 1939, Pablo Picasso was invited to paint a mural for the Spanish pavilion at that year’s World’s Fair in Paris. Picasso obliged and created his famous work, “Guernica.” My guess is that Franco and his pals didn’t see that coming.
Picasso wanted to capture the horror of Guernica and draw attention to the massacre. After all, at the time, most of the world wasn’t focused on Spanish problems. And of course, Franco was in full denial mode.
So it’s easy to see why Basques supported the Allies during the war. And also why there was no Basque love for Franco, who managed to stay in power for the next 30 years.
To be continued…
Photo at the top of this post, Credit: iStockphoto/Ana del Castillo
