Whenever we spoke amongst colleagues about the bombings during the Spanish Civil War and foreign involvement – particularly Italian involvement – the same comment always came up: “How little has been discussed, written or translated in Spain – and even less so in Italy – on this subject! We have to do something.”
With this idea, and spurred on by two Italians with close ties to Gernika (Carlo and Valentina Ridolfi), the need to come together arose. Colleagues from numerous associations and organisations in the Basque Country, Catalonia (Spain) and Italy, breaking down language barriers, began to consider how we could come together to bring to the table what we had each been working on for years, to highlight just how much still needs to be done and to address the subject from various perspectives (historical, diplomatic, research, archival, legal, educational, social…) in both countries.
Consequently, the Gernika Peace Museum offered to organise, coordinate and host this first event at its premises in Gernika, in collaboration with the European Memory Observatory (EUROM) and Granollers Town Council. But we were not alone on this journey, as numerous colleagues and associations from both countries were keen to collaborate (Gernika Gogoratuz, the Gernika Cultural Centre, Durango 1936 Kultur Elkartea, Lobak, Gernika Garretan, Gernika Batzordea, Scuola di Pace Monte Sole, Istoreco, Rete di cooperazione educativa) and so this first two-and-a-half-day meeting took place in December 2022.
This book aims to document all the work carried out and to highlight that we are at the beginning of a long journey of collaboration.