German president to visit Guernica
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will on Friday become the first German head of state to visit Guernica, the Basque town devastated by a 1937 Nazi air raid during Spain’s civil war. He will be joined by Spain’s King Felipe VI and Basque regional president Imanol Pradales to lay a wreath at a cemetery housing a mausoleum for hundreds of victims.
At a gala dinner in Madrid, Steinmeier said Germans carry “a heavy burden of guilt in Guernica”, calling the bombing a warning to defend peace, freedom and human rights. He stressed the importance of remembering that the attack was committed by Germans, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The visit comes as the far-right AfD gains momentum in German polls ahead of key state elections next year, intensifying debate over political cooperation with the party. Earlier during his Spain trip, Steinmeier and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez viewed Picasso’s renowned anti-war painting “Guernica” at Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum.
Similar news
