The Spanish Civil War was an early example of total war, with the full force of mechanized weaponry turned on the civilian population. Women and children were often the principal victims of the indiscriminate bombing of cities by the Nationalists, and images of traumatized mothers and dead children featured prominently in Republican propaganda. There were atrocities committed on both sides, but the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by German and Nationalist forces on April 26, 1937, became the most notorious of many attacks on the defenceless civilian population, inspiring numerous posters, newspaper articles, films, and, most famously, Pablo Picasso's painting from that year, all of which were intended to stir the conscience of the outside world. This poster was published with titles in French and English.
Gallery label from Designing Modern Women 1890-1990, October 5, 2013–October 19, 2014.