What event/circumstance was the above artwork intended to show? what other message did its artist intend to convey to the world?

This painting, entitled Guernica, by Pablo Picasso, is suppose to be an abstract painting of the anguished experienced by those individuals who experienced the Nazi German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso wanted to convey the horrors of war to the world, and provide a symbol against war and fascism.