Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If there is a national piece of art today for the European Union, it is Picasso's Guernica,
because it reminds Europe of the reality of war. It's easy to overlook the fact that “collat-
eral damage” is real people.
After World War I, Europe was awakening to the destructive power of aerial bombard-
ments. During the Spanish Civil War in 1937, Hitler jumped at a chance to help his fellow
fascist, General Francisco Franco, by bombing the Basque town of Guernica. Surveying
the rubble of that town made it clear that technology had taken the destructive power of
war to new heights. This inspired Picasso to create his greatest work. His mural
Guernica
memorialized the first city destroyed by an aerial bombardment and gave Europe a pre-
view of the horrors of its fast-approaching war with frightening accuracy.
In 1947, in the rubble of a bombed-out Europe, Euro-visionaries assembled and
agreed that they needed to overcome the hell that they were bringing upon themselves
every couple of generations with these wars. Their solution was to unite. Of course, a uni-
on is nothing without people giving up some measure of real sovereignty. Since 1947, pro-
ponents of a European Union have been convincing the people of proud and independent
nations to trade away bits and pieces of their independence. It's a tough sell. But in a fitful
evolution—two steps forward and one step back—over the last seven or so decades, they
have created a European Union.
