The Bombing of Guernica

The infamous Bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the town of Guernica in Basque County, Spain that took place on April 26, 1937. The attack, which lasted three hours, was carried out by the German Air Force’s Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria, at the request of the Spanish National Government during the Spanish Civil War, often refered to as “dress rehearsal” for World War II. Although modern estimates range from 153-400 civilians killed in the raid on the Spanish town, the Basque government reported 1,654 deaths and Russian records from May 1, 1937 claim 800, not including those resulting from injury or bodies which were later recovered from the rubble. Guernica suffered one of the first raids carried out by an air force on a defenseless civilian population in modern times. The bombing and its aftermath were so horrific, the event went onto inspire Picasso’s anti-war painting ‘Guernica’ and was featured in a woodcut by German artist Heinz Kiwitz, who died while fighting for the International Brigades on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The Bombing of Guernica, code name “Operation Rugen”, was executed in 5 waves of air strike with at least 45 aircraft. During the first wave, twelve 110lb (50kg) bombs were dropped on the city, the following wave destroyed the bridge to the east of the town preventing citizens from escaping. Fighter pilots were given specific instruction to not bomb the town itself, only possible escape routes during the second wave. Still, 36 additional 110lb (50kg) bombs were dropped on the city during a 60 second pass over Guernica from north to south. The three following waves of attack on the city caused the most devastation, destroying 3/4 of the buildings.    

Josefinas Hospital was only one of many buildings destroyed in the bombing, when it was hit all 42 wounded militiamen inside the building were killed. Another 50 people, most of whom were women and children, were found trapped under burning wreckage. Those who tried to escape were shot and witnesses say there were thousands of bullets fired. Some did make it out of the town and hid in fields as far as 4 miles away from the burning city of Guernica. Even most who made it to these fields were shot down. One priest who survived, when asked what had happened in his town, pointed back towards Guernica and whispered, “Aviones… Bombas’… Mucho, mucho.” Which translates to, “Aircraft… Bombed… Much, much.”. People inside the city were hiding in shelters and praying. Aronategui, an elderly priest who was unable to make it out if the city was killed while rescuing children from a burning building. The flames engulfing the city could be seen from ten miles away and th fires lasted three days. Survivor accounts from inside the town after the attacks are horrific: a thick stench of burning human flesh, Basque soldiers sobbing and frantically trying to recover bodies from the rubble to no avail.

In the aftermath, approximately 100 survivors say in the town plaza in shock. Amazingly, the only things left of the city after the attack were The Santa Maria Church, a 600 year old tree which was a sacred symbol to the Basque people, and a small munitions factory on the outskirts of town.

George Steer of the New York Times visited Guernica shortly after the attack and reported on what he experienced there in his piece, The Tragedy of Guernica Town Destroyed in Air Attack Eye Witness Account published in The New York Times on April 22, 1937. Steer commented, “A sight that will haunt me for weeks was the charred bodies of several women and children huddled together in what had been the cellar of a house.” The Bombing of Guernica and its 7,000 citizens is still considered to be unparalleled in military history today.

  

Read George Steer’s New York Times Article The Tragedy of Guernica Town Destroyed in Air Attack Eye Witness Account from April 22, 1937 in its entirety 

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From the same demented mind that brought you The Post-Mortem Post: FREAK

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14 Most Violent Valentine’s Days

Most people observe the 14th of February as a day to celebrate love and romance, but those of us who are a bit twisted know all too well that the holiday has proven throughout history to be more murderous than mushy. Whether you’re celebrating Single’s Awareness Day alone or you’re cuddled up with your Suicide Girl and preparing to watch ‘Faces of Death’ this evening, if you are overwhelmed by the cheesiness of Valentine’s Day here are 14 morbid facts about February the 14th:

1. St. Valentine was a Roman Holy Priest who is known for marrying soldiers in secret during a time in which all marriages and engagements were strictly forbidden. The Roman Empire was building its army and felt family ties were a hindrance to active and potential soldiers. For performing these ceremonies, St. Valentine was sentenced to death. During his imprisonment, he formed a friendship with the jailer’s daughter. Before his execution, he left her a note and signed it “From Your Valentine”. On February 14th circa 270 (there are many years in which this may have taken place, no one is certain) St. Valentine was bludgeoned to death with clubs and decapitated.

2. King of England, Richard II died of starvation on February 14, 1400 while imprisoned in Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire. King Richard II, who was only 33 years old at the time of his death, was deposed by Parliament and succeeded by his cousin, Henry IV.

3. On February 14, 1779 Captain James Cook, an English explorer and navigator landed on the beaches of Hawaii with his crew. As they debarked, they were met by very angry natives who began hurling rocks at them. Cook tried to negotiate with native leader King Kalaniopuu. Unfortunately, those negotiations did not go over well after  Cook’s crew had shot a lesser chief of the tribe to death. A mob of natives attacked the Captain and his crew who retaliated with gunfire. Despite the superior weapons sported by Cook and his crew, they were engulfed by the Hawaiian natives. Captain Cook was killed in the battle, and only a handful of his men managed to escape the island and the wrath of its people.

4. In 1929, six associates of the Northside Irish gang (run by Bugs Moran) and one car mechanic were ambushed and killed in an execution style shooting in a Chicago, Illinois warehouse (2122 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park). These murders have gone on to be known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”. While it is widely believed the attack was carried out by members of Al Capone’s Southside Italian gang, Deidre Capone, Al’s niece, defends her late uncle’s innocence. When police arrived, John May (mechanic), Albert Weinshank, Reinhardt Schwimmer, Adam Heyer, Albert Kachellek, and brothers Peter and Frank Gusenberg lying side by side along one wall. The objective of the attack was to take out Bugs Moran himself, but the unknown assassins mistook Albert Weinshank, who bore a striking resemblance to Moran, as the infamous mob leader. All were found dead except Frank Gusenberg who was barely clinging to life after being shot fourteen times. When police repeatedly questioned Frank as to who shot him he replied, “No one- nobody shot me.”, adhering to ‘omerta’, a rule of absolute silence within the gang.

5. On February 14, 1943, Frieda Reiss, an 11 month old baby deported from France was murdered in Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp.

6. Adolph Dubs, US ambassador to Afghanistan was on his way to the US embassy on Feburary 14, 1979 when his car was stopped by four men. The men forced the driver, at gunpoint, to drive to the Kabul Hotel where Dubs was held hostage in Room 117. His kidnappers had hoped to have Afghani prisoners in the US released, in exchange for the ambassador. Despite the United State’s wishes to hold off in order to ensure Dubs’s safety, Afgahnistan police forces stormed the hotel and opened gunfire on the room in which Adolph Dubs was being held captive. After a 40-60 second exchange of gunfire, Dubs was found slumped in a chair, killed by two shots to the head. Two of his captors were killed in the attack, as well.

7. Juan Manuel Navarro showed up at the home of Ignacia Manriquez, his ex-girlfriend, on Valentine’s Day 1993. The couple had three children together, but Manriquez had taken out a restraining order on Navarro after their break-up. One of their children, seeing his father outside, opened the door and allowed him in the house. Ignacia brought out the restraining order and told him to leave, but he refused. Navarro then followed his ex and their three children to the parking lot of a local supermarket in San Bernardino, California where witnesses say the two were engaged in an altercation outside Ignacia’s vehicle. Juan then shot Ignacia in the head at point blank range. As she fell onto the pavement of the parking lot, Navarro shot her again in the stomach and twice in the head while their four year old son watched. When the four year old boy was asked by police to recount the traumatic event he stated, “There is ketchup everywhere.”.

8. In 2000, three tornadoes unexpectedly touched down in Georgia between February 13th and 14th. Many were caught off guard as February is a highly unusual time of year for the Southern United States to experience tornadoes. It was the single deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States between June 1999 and October 2002, killing 18 total while injuring countless more and nearly destroying the Georgia towns of Camilla and Meigs.

9. 53 year old John Hamilton of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma came home on Valentine’s Day 2001 to find his wife of 14 years, Susan, lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of her own blood. She had been strangled with two of John’s ties and her head had been severly beated to the poin that parts of her brain were exposed. Blood on John’s shirt was found not to be from an attempt to recessetate his wife as he had claimed, but was consistent with blood splatters found when smashing someone’s head in. John Hamilton was later accused and imprisoned for his wife’s  murder.

10. A terrorist group known as  “The Nasra & Jihad Group in Greater Syria” detonated a truck bomb packed with an estimated 1,000 kg of explosives in Lebanon on Febrarary 14, 2005. The explosion, which took place in Beirut near the St. George Hotel, killed 21 people and injured approximately 220. Those killed in the attack include Bassel Fleihan, former Minister of Ecology in Lebanon and Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri.

11. Stephen Grant of Washington Township, Michigan reported his wife Tara’s disappearance to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office on February 14, 2007. Stephen claimed his wife had gone missing 5 days prior after she was overheard on the phone saying, “I’ll meet you at the end of the driveway” before getting into a “mysterious dark vehicle” and driving off. Police became suspicious, and during a search of the couple’s home found Tara’s torso in the garage. Later, other body parts were found scattered throughout the nearby woods. Stephen eventually confessed to his wife’s murder, telling investigators he had strangled her to death before dismembering her body.

12. On Febrary 14, 2008 the fifth deadliest school shooting in the United States took place at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The shooter, Steven Kazmierczak, shot and killed five students and injured twenty-one before taking his own life. The entire event occurred in only 6 minutes, between 3:05 and 3:11 pm.

13. South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius is a double-amputee (legs, below knee), Paralympic Champion who shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in their home on Valentine’s Day 2013. Pistorius, who claims he believed her to be an intruder, was recently convicted of culpable homicide and is currently serving a five year prison sentence.

14. TODAY, Feburary 14th, 2015, Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath (23), Randall Steven Shepherd (20), an unidentified 23-year-old American female and 19-year-old Canadian male had planned to shoot as many people as possible in the Halifax Shopping Center before killing themselves. This shopping center is the largest regional shopping mall in Canada and could have resulted in multiple murders. The unidentified 19-year-old Canadian was found dead in his home, presumably as a result of suicide. The other “Murderous Misfits”, as they are being called, are in police custody.

From the same demented mind that brought you The Post-Mortem Post: FREAK

Victims of Terror

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder truck, rigged to explode, outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 168 people were killed in this attack, and until September 11, 2001, which killed 2,977 people, it was the largest terrorist attack on American soil. Understandably, for those involved, the events of that day will never be forgotten, as is the case with 12 year old, Carson, and 7 year old, Cade. You may be wondering how these children could possibly be survivors of attacks which occurred before their birth- they are not survivors, they are both victims, reincarnated.
When Carson was 5 years old she was sitting at the kitchen table painting when she said, “Okla-Oklahoma” she then turned to her mother and asked, “Do you remember the man who acted nice, but was really mean, and he drove his truck into the building?”. She showed her mother the picture she had been painting and explained, “This is the building, and you can go out here on the top.”. The painting she showed her mother was of the Murrah Building, complete with its prominent rooftop exit. Not knowing what else to think, her mom, Beth, asked Carson’s older sisters Chloe and Claire if they had told their little sister about the Oklahoma City Bombings. Not only did they not tell her, they had no idea there had ever been a bombing in Oklahoma City until Carson began recalling memories of her past life. Gradually, Carson’s memories became more specific as she informed Beth that at the time of the bombing, she was in the “baby part” of the building, referring to the America’s Kids Day Care Center which was located on the 2nd floor, and that the building caught on fire and “it all fell down”. 16 children and 3 day care employees died that day in the attack, and although Carson does not remember her name from her last life, it is likely she was one of those 19 people. Carson stated, “I just remember I missed my mom. Not my mom now, my mom from Oklahoma and how I missed her a lot.” Carson has always wanted to visit Oklahoma City, and recently she visited the memorial there with her mother. Since returning from the trip, Carson hasn’t mentioned her past life and how it ended, finally finding closure, her mother hopes.
At 2 years of age, Cade was using complex words and was capable of holding intelligent conversations with adults. By the age of 3, the topic of many of those conversations was his traumatic death in the World Trade Center attacks. His parents, Rick and Molly, became concerned when their son began crying in the middle of the night and would wake up from nightmares, screaming. He had recurring dreams that he was working in an office in a tall building where he could see the Statue of Liberty from his window. Then, something hits the building and he falls down, along with the building. It was around this time he informed his grandmother, Fae, “If you’re falling a long way, you can hear your insides rattle.”. As his dreams became increasingly vivid, he told his parents that whatever had hit the building he was working in exploded, and that when he fell, he saw himself from above, hitting the ground and described seeing his brains come out of his head before being covered in rubble adding, “I didn’t feel it because I died”. Cade had not yet begun school, his family had no connections to anyone involved in 9/11 in any way, nor had he ever even visited New York. Rick and Molly were baffled by their son describing events he was unaware had ever taken place, and they were beginning to believe he may have been a victim of the terrorist attack. In addition to the nightmares, he is scared of planes flying overhead, worrying they will fall out of the sky, a fear which began long before he had seen video of a plane crash, or had even learned planes could crash. Tall buildings also make him uncomfortable and he hates going into downtown areas. In a video of Cade driving through an urban area with his family, he is seen cowering in the backseat of the car, staring down at the floorboard and shaking his head. Momentarily looking up at the buildings he says, “It feels creepy. I just don’t like to look up. I would not like to go in that tall building, oh no… That big, shiny one looks just like the twin tower. It brings back a lot of memories. I’m not going in, okay?”. He has even insisted to his mother that his name is not Cade, and he doesn’t like it. When he asked her to change his name and told her what he’d like to be called, Molly did some research. Sure enough, it was the name of a man killed in 9/11 whose details match up exactly to Cade’s description of his past life and how it ended. His parents have not attempted to contact the man’s family. They do not want to risk damaging his family’s grieving process and do not know how to tell them they believe their son is his reincarnation. While Caleb’s nightmares about his death continue, he says he “feels more and more comfortable being 7 years old.”.
It is widely believed that because children are so uninhibited, they are more likely to remember and share memories of a past life; However, as with most theories about what happens when we die, there is no way to prove or disprove reincarnation. So many young children have recalled detailed memories of past lives, which they would have absolutely no way of knowing, unless they experienced it themselves. It is it difficult to believe all the claims are false. Aside from ridicule, there is not much to be gained from faking a reincarnation story. Whether this phenomenon is real or not, thousands of children believe they have been here before, and are traumatized by memories of their death. Unfortunately, many of them are discouraged from speaking about how they died before they were born again and with age, lose these memories; Therefore, they are unable to resolve fears left over from another lifetime. Despite what you believe, if your child believes they were reincarnated, at least do them the courtesy of allowing them to share what they remember. Often, in order to truly begin living their current life, they must feel they’ve received closure from the last.

Read the update on Cade’s story.

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