Madrid to Remove Nazi Plaque at Guernica Bombers' Grave

The Madrid city council, in coordination with the German embassy, has decided to permanently remove a commemorative plaque honoring seven Luftwaffe pilots of the Condor Legion who died during the bombing of Guernica. The plaque, which bore the inscription "German aviators who died for God and for Spain: present!" in German, had previously been removed at Germany's request but later reappeared. It will be replaced by seven small, simple plaques identifying the buried soldiers, without any reference to the event or glorification of the Nazi role. The bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, inspired Pablo Picasso's monumental painting "Guernica," now housed at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. The decision coincides with the 80th anniversary of the attack and reflects ongoing efforts to address uncomfortable legacies of 20th-century totalitarian regimes in European cities.