Archive · 28 Nov 2025
German President Visits Guernica Bombing Site
The German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is visiting Guernica, a town in Spain.
A long time ago, in 1937, German planes bombed this town during a war.
This was one of the first times planes were used to bomb regular people.
The German President wants to remember this sad event and say sorry for what happened.
He is going to put flowers at a special place where many people who died are remembered.
He also said it's important for Germans to remember this history.
Before this visit, another German President said sorry in 1997.
The President also looked at a famous painting about the bombing with the Spanish Prime Minister.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Guernica, the site of a 1937 Nazi bombing, making him the first German head of state to do so.
Steinmeier acknowledged Germany's guilt in the bombing, calling it a warning to stand up for peace and human rights.
He will lay a wreath at a cemetery housing a mausoleum for hundreds of bombing victims, accompanied by Spain's King Felipe VI and Basque regional president Imanol Pradales.
The visit comes amid rising support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has sparked debate about political cooperation with them.
Steinmeier previously warned about the growing danger from right-wing extremist forces, ruffling feathers within his own party.
- Who
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, King Felipe VI, Basque regional president Imanol Pradales
- What
- Visit to Guernica, site of 1937 Nazi bombing
- When
- Friday (specific date not mentioned)
- Where
- Guernica, Basque Country, Spain
- Why
- To acknowledge and remember the historical event and express German guilt
- Date of Bombing
- April 26, 1937
- Location
- Guernica, Basque Country, Spain
- Perpetrator
- Nazi Germany's Condor Legion
- German President
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Accompanied By
- King Felipe VI and Basque regional president Imanol Pradales
- First German Head of State to Visit
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Previous Apology
- 1997 by German President Roman Herzog