Cannot help but include a comment on this email address. The email address does not directly relate to the institute, which is rather interesting. As our group commented on throughout the presentation and in our individual comments, the website does not seem to have been properly updated in quite some time. I am wondering if the museum has to utilize a different agency to handle the documentation on the website, or if they have not updated the website in so long and the email address is old.

Initially reading this portion, I was wondering why Germany waited until 1997 to formally acknowledge their role in the bombings: however, upon further analysis, this actually makes more sense. Until roughly 1990, Germany was still a divided nation wherein each half was controlled by opposing sides of the war. The government could not have formally acknowledged their role in the bombing until reunification occurred. Germany, like Spain, then began working on the process of reconciling with the past, meaning it had to acknowledge their past atrocities committed both within their borders and outside them as well. Unlike Spain, Germany has made a more fervent effort to deal with their past, such as this gesture with formally acknowledging their involvement in the bombing of Guernica. Of course, it is 60 years after the fact, yet it is a very symbolic act, showing the advancement of the two nations towards dealing with their pasts in a constructive way.

Now this particular line was rather interesting. Spain, obviously, has had quite a long journey of reconciling with its past, and has not made the most valiant efforts in doing so: however, this museum asserts that Guernica has been a prime example of the country's effort towards reconciliation. It is rather quick to blame the Germans for slowing down the process of reconciliation, almost saying that the efforts towards reconciliation could not occur until the Germans acknowledged their role in the bombing. Of course, the museum does blame Franco for never fully acknowledging his role in the bombing, but couldn't efforts have been made without outside assistance? Particularly after the death of Franco? It just seems rather odd that reconciliation couldn't happen until other people did something too.

Of course, a museum emphasizing how tragic the bombing of Guernica was would make it clear that the aftermath of the bombing forever altered how the town operated. Analyzing the quote specifically, Franco instituted a real authoritarian state over the entire town, turning the townspeople against one another. It reminds me very much so of how the Nazis treated the German citizenry through using the Gestapo to instill fear and distrust. Studying how the Gestapo turned German people against one another, Franco and his regime did very much so the same thing. Paraphrasing from the website, people basically had no rights, their rights as citizens were routinely violated by the regime, which is something that the website emphasizes repeatedly.

Now this struck me as rather peculiar. When Guernica is finally rebuilt, the town names Francisco Franco an honorary son of the town. It does not entirely make sense, because Guernica was destroyed by Franco in the first place. Since Guernica was destroyed so early into the reign of the regime, I wonder if Guernica was forced to acknowledge Franco in such a way as a sign of creating a prosthetic memory, going back to Landsberg. Franco was manipulating the media at the time, so by having the town make him an honorary son, this could have been a way of Franco working to cover his tracks. Having the government create this new memory of what actually happened, that Franco was not involved, and instead helped rebuild the town through providing political prisoners, it puts Franco into a more caring light.

Of course, this was all an act by the government, in an attempt to make themselves look better to the rest of the world. As time went on however, it became increasingly apparent that Franco was behind the bombing, yet what this website wants to emphasize that people from an outside perspective understood off the bat that Franco definitely played a role in the bombing.

I do wish that the website could have included sources from German and other Fascist news outlets, concerning their initial response to the bombing. Of course more liberal outlets would've taken sided against Franco, ensuring that everyone knew that Franco was behind the bombings. To provide a more balanced view of the bombing, it would have behooved the website to include some sources from countries which supported Franco. This is a private museum however, so they are much so allowed to promote their own political agenda.

Backing up of the previously made point that the Franco regime denies any involvement in having an outside MILITARY force bomb civilians, civilians who are not in any way connected to the countries utilized for the bombing. What this website does seem to make rather apparent is that the Franco regime truly did not care about its citizens, because those on the opposing side of Franco were not considered true citizens. Franco's reaction to the bombing, denying it, relates well back to the Aguilar piece about how the government struggled greatly with reparations to those on the "losing" side of the war, or just acknowledging mistreatment, period. Aguilar describes how the government took quite a long time to come to term with the issues of the past, so it shouldn't be too surprising that Franco reacted in such a way.

Interesting how the governments of the Euzkadi and Basque areas were the ones to break the news to the rest of the world instead of Franco's regime. This points to the Franco's regime repeated denial of wrongdoing on any front.

The juxtaposition of the two statements represent the two dueling sides on the issue of the bombings. With the Basque country being rather against the Franco regime, Aguirre ardently came out stating Franco organized the bombings on Guernica. Of course, Franco comes out in full force against Aguirre and the Basque county, saying 'the reds did it to themselves'. Each side worked to promote their own side of the story, yet Aguirre received far more support from outside of Spain. Furthermore, it would behoove the museum to continually paint Franco in a poor light. Since this is a private museum, it will only show one side of the story. It could have benefited from showing both sides of the bombing.