"In Gernika, 1937: The Market Day Massacre, the historian Xabier Irujo reveals the hitherto unknown fact that the destruction of the historic Basque town of Guernica was planned by Nazi Minister Hermann Göring as a gift for Hitler’s birthday, April 20. Guernica, the parliamentary seat of Biscay province, had not as yet been dragged into the Spanish civil war and was without defenses. Logistical problems delayed Göring’s master plan. As a result, Hitler’s birthday treat had to be postponed until April 26.” —The New York Review
"Gernika, 1937: The Market Day Massacre is the most complete and detailed account of the event and its context, and will remain the authoritative history for a long time to come." —Ian Patterson, professor of English at Queens' College, Cambridge
“This book raises a number of important questions relating to the circumstances surrounding the Gernika affair and the impact that modern warfare practices have had on ethical and humanitarian issues. His effort to remind us of the place Gernika holds in contemporary world affairs is also a welcome feature of the book.” —George Esenwein, author of The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy
“In Gernika, 1937: The Market Day Massacre, the historian Xabier Irujo reveals the hitherto unknown fact that the destruction of the historic Basque town of Guernica was planned by Nazi minister Hermann Goring as a gift for Hitler’s birthday.” – The New York Review of Books
~The New York Review of Books
“The book helps elucidate highly controversial topics about the undeclared war that Germany and Italy fought in the Basque Country and it makes a significant contribution to the study of warfare prior to the Second World War.” -- Professor Angel Vinas, Center for Basque Studies Newsletter, Fall 2015
~Angel Vinas, Center for Basque Studies Newsletter
