In 1937, the Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, allied with the Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, bombed the city of Guernica for over three hours. Guernica was the center of Basque culture, which explains why it had been targeted. It is also said that Franco bombed Guernica in order to break the Basque's spirited resistance. One-third of the population had been killed during the bombings and fires that had engulfed the city burned for three days. This marked the beginning of the Basque conflict that would be carried on for many more years, earning the title of being the longest enduring conflict in Western Europe.

     After the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco became the dictator of Spain. Under his rule, the Basque culture was oppressed and the Basque language was banned. An example of how extreme the strictness against Basques was: if a person said “hello” in the Basque language (“kaixo”) they could be beaten by police and/or put in prison.

     In retaliation to Francisco Franco’s oppression, the Basques formed the terror group ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or “Basque Country and Freedom”) in the summer of 1959. This terror group was used to fight for the independence of the Basque Country. The first victim of ETA lost their life near Tolosa. ETA is now responsible for more than 800 deaths, hundreds of people wounded, as well as kidnappings and numerous threats.

     The conflict continued even after the death of Franco in 1975 and as Spain transitioned from a dictatorship to a constitutional monarchy. However, there was an announced ceasefire in 2006 that was later discarded in 2007. Conflicts between ETA and Spain are still going on today.