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82 Peace Monuments
Related to World War II

Also click to see the following web pages:
Monuments in Germany related to desertion during World War II.
Monuments in Hiroshima. Hiroshima monuments not in Hiroshima.
Monuments in Nagasaki, Nagasaki monuments not in Nagasaki.
Monuments in Okinawa. Monuments on Pacific Islands.
Holocaust monuments. United Nations.

Right click image to enlarge.


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1925 - Anti-Kriegs-Museum (AKM) / Anti-War Museum on Parochialstrasse, Berlin. Opened by anarchist & pacifist Ernst Friedrich [1894-1967], whose 1924 picture book "Krieg dem Kriege! / War against War!" documented the horrors of WW-I (upper left image). Friedrich also owned the pleasure boat "Pax Vobiscum" on the River Spree. In March 1933, Nazi storm troopers (SA) destroyed the AKM and seized the "Pax Vobiscum." Friedrich was arrested, then emigrated to Belgium & France. In 1982 (15 years after the death of its founder), AKM was reopened by his grandson Tommy Spree (sic); its current address is Brusseler Strasse 21, Berlin. Lower image of "Pax Vobiscum" courtesy of Peter Nias who photographed it from Friedrich's 1935 book, "Von Friedens - Museum zum Hitler - Kaserne / From Peace Museum to Hitler Barracks" (upper right image)


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April 15, 1935 - Banner of Peace, Washington, DC (USA). The Roerich Pact was proposed by Russian artist and humanitarian Nicholas Roerich [1874-1947] in response to the destruction of World War I and the Russian Revolution. It was signed by 21 nations of the Americas in the White House, in the presence of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (and later by other countries) The pact calls for an internationally recognized Banner of Peace to protect monuments of cultural and historic imporance.

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1936 - Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built for the League of Nations. Since the 1950s, it has served as the home of the UN Office at Geneva.


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April 26, 1937 - Gernikako Arbola / Oak of Guernica, Guernika-Lumo (Spain). Unintentional monument. Survived the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937. Now used as a symbol of the city.


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1937 - Guernica, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid (Spain). Painted by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]. Commisisoned by the government of Spain for the Paris International Exposition. Full sized copy at the United Nations in New York City.


1938 - Peace Cairn, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, Scotland (UK). "Erected for the 1938 Empire Exhibition. Has numerous shaped blocks of stone within it, on which are engraved the names of the organisations & clans that attended the exhibition which were deeply concerned with the real possibility of war. The modern steel globe on top was added in July 2004 & features [the word] 'Peace' in different languages. It was designed by Elspeth Bennie, Ironhorse Studios, as part of the 'Grounds for Play' project."

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1939 - "Armillary Sphere," Ariana Park, Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Presented by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in memory of the founder of the League of Nations. The bulding is now used by agencies of the United Nations.

N.B. All monuments shown above were conceived before WW-II.

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1940 - Peace Tower, Heiwadai Koen / Park, 6146 Koshigasako, Shimokitakatamachi, Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki, Kyushu Island (Japan). 37-meter tower. Promotes "the unification of the eight corners of the world under one roof" (hakko ichiu) and celebrates the 2,600th anniversary of the mythological foundation of Japan. "Purportedly contains artifacts that once belonged to the first emperor. Pedestal made with stones donated by Japanese expatriates from all over the world. Copper door created with coins donated by Japanese children. It may seem ironic that a peace tower was erected at a time when Japan was busy colonizing much of Asia; [but] the intention was to show that the world could live peaceably, albeit with Japan as leader. Figures on the tower depict the guardians of fishery, agriculture, self-defense, and commerce." Ten Yen note shows Imperial chrysanthemum (no longer used on currency after WW-II).

1944 - Lidice Memorial, Phillips, Wisconsin (USA). "A tribute to the village of Lidice (Czechoslovakia). In 1942, the village was destroyed & nearly all of its citizens were killed by the Ordnungspolizei of Nazi Germany in response to Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich [1904-1942]. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006."



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September 2, 1945 (VJ Day) - USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor, Hololulu, Hawaii (USA). Became an unintentional monument with the signing on its deck in Tokyo Bay of the Japanese Instrument of Surender, thus ending World War II (1939-1945). Ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944, the Missouri (aka "Mighty Mo") was the last battleship built by the USA. It was opened as museum on January 29, 1999. Lower image shows the Japanese delegation on board the Missouri just prior to the signing.


VJ Day, 1945 - Fort William-Dudley Memorial & Peace Cairn, Summit of Ben Nevis, near Fort William, Scotland (UK). "At 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) above sea level, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It attracts an estimated 100,000 ascents a year. The summit features the ruins of an observatory, which was permanently staffed between 1883 & 1904." /// "Immediately prior to the John Muir Trust's purchasing Ben Nevis [in 2000], the Peace cairn was relocated & restored by the Peace Cairn Trust. JMT recognises its symbolic value & its place in universal aspirations for world peace; however it is also a focal point attracting further unwanted plaques & memorials. Ideally the JMT believes that a more appropriate site for this structure would be in Glen Nevis, a location that would be accessible to everyone."" See Peace Cairn in Hiroshima (Japan). 2001 - Monument to Bert Bissell, Coronation Gardens, Priory Road, Dudley, Black Country (England). "Bert Bissell [1902-1998] was holder of the Methodist peace prize, president of Vicar Street Bible class in Dudley & founder of the Peace Cairn on Ben Nevis mountain [on VJ Day, 1945]."

N.B.: All monuments shown below were constructed after WW-II.


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September 8, 1945 - Peace Stone, Nether Kellet, Lancashire (England). Inscription: "This tribute to a lasting peace was planted by T.C. Butler-Cole, Esq of Tunstall House and Mrs S.T. Whalan of this village at the Nether Kellet peace celebrations on the 8th Sept 1945 to commemorate the cessation of hostilities in the 2nd World War 3rd Sept 1939 - 15 Aug 1945."


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October 26, 1945 - Housmans Bookshop, Peace House, 5 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London (England). "London's premier radical bookshop." "Founded by the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) in the optimistic aftermath of WW-II to promote peace literature along with related issues of human rights, justice & the environment. Named in honour of pacifist writer & dramatist Laurence Housman [1865-1959] who formally opened its first premises in Shaftesbury Avenue." Has published Housmans Peace Diary (& World Peace Directory) since it was started by general manager Harry Mister [1914-2006] in 1953.

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1946 - Dutch National War & Resistance Museum, Liberty Park, Overloon (The Netherlands). "Presents the history of the Second World War -- how it came to be that, in a period of five years, more than fifty million people lost their lives. But also how the oppressed population managed to cope with restrictions and shortages in a resourceful way. Attention is given to the resistance in those days, but also to the persecution. And finally, of course, to the liberation, with special attention to the Battle at Oveloon [Sept. 30-Oct. 18, 1944]."


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1947 - Peace Statue, Castle Hill, Budapest (Hungary). Overlooks the city. 14 meter tall bronze statue atop a 26 meter pedestal. Female figure holds a palm branch overhead. Designed by Zsigmond Kisfaludi to commemorate the liberation of Hungary during WW-II by the Soviets and originally called Szabadság-szobor / Liberty Statue. Today a symbol of peace.

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1953 - Bridge of Europe, across Rhine River between Strasbourg (France) & Kehl (Germany). "Permanent artistic installation, a bond between two countries for which the border formerly seemed & wanted to be insuperable. According to Roland Ries, mayor of Strasbourg, 'Here, it is indeed Europe, because this bridge connects two countries that have been torn apart for a long time; the reconciliation of these two countries is today one of the surest supports of the European construction.'"


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1953 - October 21 Memorial Park, Desankin venac, Kragujevac (Serbia). At the site of the Kragujevac Massacre where 2,796 men, women and children were killed on October 21, 1941, by German occupation forces. Includes "Broken Wing" Monument (left image) & Genocide Museum (right image) which opened in 1976, Stanisa Brkic, curator. Click here for Wikipedia article. Info courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek.

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1953-1957 - Birkenkopf / Rubble Hill, south west of Stuttgart (Germany). Plaque says, "raised 40.2 meters from 1953 to 1957 / by piling up 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble from Stuttgart which had been 45% destroyed by 53 air attacks during WW-II." There is a path going up to the cross at the top. Now a popular area for short hikes. Refered to locally as "Monte Scherbelino," a jocular Italian-sounding name based on the German word Scherbe, meaning "shard" - "Mountain of shards." Info & Image from Mark Hatlie.

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Date? - War Memorial, center of town, Bitche, Moselle Department (France). "Represents the military and civilian casualties of the three big conflicts to sweep through the town -- the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II. In the center are three comrades, lowering a mortally wounded soldier to the ground. To the left is the wife and family, mourning the soldier but also a symbol that life and the native village will live on. On the far left, is France liberated from her chains, a symbol of World War II, and next to her is Lorraine liberated during World War I. On the right [not visible in image] are symbols of the Citadel de Bitche resisting during the 1870-71 seige." Bitche was on the Maginot Line constructed after World War I.

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May 3, 1960 - Anne Frank Huis / Anne Frank House, Amsterdam (Netherlands). Hiding place of Anne Frank [1929-1945] and her family during World War II. The house was turned into a museum in 1960, and the museum was expanded in 1999.
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Date? - Statue of Anne Frank, near the museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands).

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1962 - USS Arizona Memorial Musuem, National Park Service (NPS), 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Oahu Island, Hawaii (USA). "The underwater USS Arizona serves as the final resting place for many of the battleship's 1,177 crew members who lost their lives on December 7, 1941." One of 27 US museums in "Museums for Peace Worldwide" edited by Kazuyo Yamane (2008).


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1966 - Monument to Eternal Peace Between Japan & China, Hanaoka, Nagano Prefecture (Japan). "In the 1950s, the Japan-China Friendship Association (Nit-Chu Yuko Kyokai) excavated remains of the forced laborers who died in Hanaoka, sent them to the People’s Republic of China, and built a monument to remember the victims and atone for the atrocity."

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1966 - Norway's Resistance Museum, Akershus Castle, Oslo (Norway). "Housed in an old protected building in Oslo, adjoining the memorial at the spot where Norwegian patriots were executed by the Germans during the second world war... Contribute to the presentation of a true and authentic picture of the occupation by means of objects, pictures, printed matter, etc., collected preserved and exhibited with a view to giving the young people of today and coming generations a true to life impression of the evil represented by occupation and foreign rule."



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October 15, 1967 - Friedland Gedächnisstätte / All Nations Peace and Reconciliation Memorial, Above Friedland, District of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, (Germany). Note persons standing at the foot of the monument! Friedland is situated on the river Leine, approximately 13 km south of Göttingen. Its seat is in the village Groß Schneen.

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July 1968 - "No More War Betwen Japan & China" Monument, Arashiyama Park, Arashiyama, Kyoto (Japan). Has lettering by Ryoei Onishi, head priest ot Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Money for monument collected by "Kyoto Committee for No More War Between Japan and China."

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July 20, 1968 - German Resistance Memorial Center, Bendler Block, Mitte District, Berlin (Germany). "Located in the former Army High Command, historic site of the attempted coup of July 20, 1944... A commemorative courtyard and further space in the first upper floor on Stauffenbergstrasse."


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May 1970 - South Pacific Memorial Peace Park, Yigo, Northern (US Territory of Guam). "On the site where Japanese General Hideyoshi Obata [1890-1944] constructed his underground command post during the waning days of WW-II. Centerpiece is a 50-foot tall monument that abstractly depicts hands clasped in prayer praying for peace. Beneath this monument lie the remains of Japanese soldiers. Built and is maintained by donations from Japanese citizens and serves as a symbolic gesture of peace."


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April 8, 1975 - Friendship Tower, Bagac (Philippines). Built by Rissho Kosei-kai of Japan as a sign of friendship and peace between the Philippines and Japan. Helps mark the places where the Bataan Death March started in 1942 (one in Bagac and the other in Mariveles). Dedication coincided with date on which Rissho Kosei-kai celebrates the birth of the Buddha Shakyamuni, founder of Buddhism.


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1975 - Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots, Chiran, Kyushu Island (Japan). On site of the former Chiran Air Base.

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1977 - E. Stanley Wright Museum of World War II, 77 Center Street, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire (USA) "Preserves and shares the stories of America's Greatest Generation for the benefit of generations to come. As a one-of-a-kind non-profit institution, the Wright Museum collects and displays artifacts that illustrate the Second World War's significant and lasting impact on American life."

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1978 - Memorial for those lost on the Ukishima-maru, near Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture (Japan). Memorializes the 524 Korean forced laborers and 25 Japanese who were killed by the explosion of the Ukishima Maru on August 24, 1945.


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1980 - Friedensmuseum Brücke von Remagen / Bridge at Remagen Peace Museum, Ludendorff Bridge, Rheinpromenade, Remagen, Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). Occupies bridge built for war in 1916-1918 and conquered in war on March 7, 1945. Click here for Wikipedia article. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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May 19, 1985 - "Reunion of Honor" Monument", Iwo Jima Island, Ogasawara, Tokyo Prefecture (Japan). Inscription reads in English and Japanese, "On the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, American and Japanese veterans met again on these same sands, this time in peace and friendship..." Ogasawara is one of eight villages of Tokyo Prefecture.

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1985 - Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, 418 Shuiximen Street, Jiangdongmen, Nanjing (China). Expanded in 1995 and 2005-2007. Now 25,000 square meters. Click here for Wikipedia article. Has "academic cooperation agreement" with Kyoto Museum for World Peace. Whole building resembles a broken sword when seen from the side and a plow when seen from above.

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1985 - Verzetsmuseum / Dutch Resistance Museum, Plancius Building, Amsterdam (The Netherlands). "A permanent exhibition of full-wall images, reconstructed streets, and the atmosphere of the war years. Authentic articles, photos, documents, film, and audio clips tell the story of people in war time, stories about the extraordinary and the everyday."


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1985 - Hiroshima Peace Bell, Izumo Taisha Mission, North Kukui Street, Honolulu, Hawaii (USA). Said to be a replica of the Hiroshima Peace Bell. Hiroshima & Honolulu are sister cities. Both cities suffered from aerial bombardment during World War II.


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1987 - Japanese Peace Monument, Attu Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska (USA). Erected by Japan at site of only battle on US soil during World War II.

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July 6, 1987 - Museum of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Bejing (China). On the site where the Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place July 7-9, 1937. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1988 - Memorial pour la Paix de Caen / Caen Peace Museum, Esplanade General Eisenhower, Caen, Normandy (France). Principally about World War II but includes other themes, including a gallery of Nobel Peace Prize winners. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1988 - Changi Chapel & Museum (Singapore). "Dedicated to all those who lived and died in Singapore, in particular the Changi area, during the dark years of World War II. Also serves as an important educational institution and resource centre. As for the Prisoners-of-War (POW's) and their families, it is a site that allows for closure of the many emotional scars inflicted by the war years." Relocated in 2001.


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November 24, 1988 - Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus / Monument Against War and Fascism, Albertinaplatz, Vienna (Austria). This square is the site of a massacre on March 12, 1945, when a bomb killed an unknown number of civilians taking shelter in the basement of a building.


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April 20, 1989 - Hitler's Birthplace, Salzburger Vorstadt, Braunau am Inn (Austria). The former Gasthof zum Pommer or Gasthof des Josef Pommer. Original address was Salzburger Vorstadt 219 when Adolf Hitler was born here at 6:30 p.m. on April 20, 1889, Easter Sunday. House is is unmarked, except for a large stone of Mauthausen granite which was placed on 100th anniversary of Hitler's birth. English translation: "For peace, freedom and democracy, never again Fascism, millions of dead admonish."

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1990 - Musée de la Mémoire et de la Paix, Clerval (France). "Les scènes reconstituées mettent en valeur l'esprit de sacrifice partagé par les acteurs des tragédies du XXème siècle, les épreuves vécues par la FRANCE, surmontées par les femmes et les hommes animés par un idéal républicain source d'espérance et la foi dans leur patrie."


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1991 - Osaka International Peace Center (Peace Osaka), 2-1 Osaka-jo, Chuou-ku, Osaka (Japan). Three primary themes: Osaka air raid, the 15-Year War [1931-1945], and Aspiration for Peace. One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1992 - Musée de la Résistance, Lyon (France). Also called the Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, Commemorates French resistance to Nazi occupation, in which Lyon played a central role. Located in what used to be the offices of the Gestapo and Klaus Barbie [1913-1991]. Contains exhibits and historical documents related to the Resistance."


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1992 - Kawasaki Peace Museum, 1957-1 Kizuki Sumiyoshi-cho, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki (Japan). Shows two films, one about the Kawssaki air raids during WW-II & one about all meanings of "peace." One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. Oval image shows peace statue in front of the museum. Visited by EWL 10/08.

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1993 - Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Strelnieku laukums 1, Riga (Latvia) "Shows what happened to Latvia, its land and people under two occupyng totalitarian regimes from 1940 to 1991. Reminds the world of the crimes committed by foreign powers against the state and people of Latriva. Remembes the victims of the occupation, those who perished, were persecuted, forcefully deported or fled the terror of the occuption regimes."



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October 24, 1993 - Straße der Menschenrechte / Way of Human Rights, Germanisches Nationalmuseum /German National Museum, Nuremberg (Germany). "Sited on the street between the new and old buildings of the musuem, connecting Kornmarkt Street and the medieval city wall. Consists of a gate, 27 round pillars made of white concrete, two pillars buried in the ground showing only a round plate, and one columnar oak, for a total of 30 pillars. Engraved in each pillar is one article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Part of Nuremberg's efforts to shake off its Nazi-era reputation as the 'City of the Party Rallies' and reinvent itself as a 'City of Peace & Human Rights.'" "By Israeli sculptor Danny Karavan. See similar use of stone pillars by Karavan at Nitzana Settlement in the Negev Desert (Israel).

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March 21, 1994 - India Peace Memorial, Tiddim Road, Red Hill, Maibam Lokpa Ching, Manipur State (India). "A hillock about 17 kms. south of Imphal City was an action-packed location where a fierce battle took place between Allied and Japanese forces in World War II. Japanese war veterans constructed a monument at the foot of this hill ,and it was significantly named 'India Peace Memorial.'"


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May 8, 1995 - Gedenktafel / Plaque, Bad Waldsee, (Germany). Commemorates "50 years of peace" (1945-1995). May 8, 1945, was Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day or VE Day), the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.


On May, 8 1995 - Gingko Boom / Gingko Tree, Kriegsgräberstätte / Germany War Cemetery, Timmermannsweg 75,Ysselsteyn, Province of Limburg (Netherlands). "A so-called Gingko tree was planted at the entrance area of the graveyard on the occasion of the 50th remembrance of the end of World War II. This was a signal against war & violence. This kind of tree was the first that begun to blossom again after the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 1945. That way it became a symbol of hope - hope for peace in a better world... Close to the German border, this is the only German military cemetery in the whole Netherlands. 85 killed soldiers from the First World War & almost 32.000 from the Second World War are buried here on a territory of 28 hectares. For each killed soldier one cross has been placed. The data (name, grave location, dates of birth and death, rank - if known) have been written on the crosses with white color. There are approximately 5000 unknown soldiers buried on this cemetery. These are buried in graves with crosses on which it reads "Ein Deutscher Soldat". Information courtest of Peter van den Dungen 18Nov2014.


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June 6, 1995 - Peace Memorial, Stratford-Upon-Avon (England). Sculpted by Brent Hayward. Dedicated by the Bishop of Coventry. Inscription on front: "Peace I Give To You." Inscription on back: "Commemorates 50 years of peace between the nations of Western Europe 1945-1995."

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1995 - "The Allies", Bond Street, London (England). Statues of Franklin Delano Roosevelt & Winston Churchill. Sculpted by Lawrence Holofcener. Commorates 50 years of peace in Europe. Omits Joseph Stalin. One of 309 London monuments in Kershman (2007), page 258.

1995 - Peace Garden, Pinner Memorial Park, Pinner, Middlesex (England). Marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009.


1995 - St. Thomas's Peace Garden, St. Thomas Church, Bath Row (off Broad Street), Birmingham (England). "Grounds laid out in 1955 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II & redesigned in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of WW-II." /// "Built around the tower & west porticos of a church which was half demolished by enemy action in 1940 & never restored. Garden created when "The Colonnade" was moved to St. Thomas Church from what is now Centenary Square. Railings with doves of peace sculpted by Anuradha Patel." Left image shows Gate of Peace.

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1995 - Rosenstrasse Monument, in a park on Rosenstrasse, old Jewish quarter, Berlin (Germany). "A group of sculptures commemorating the German women who successfully freed their husbands [during WW-II] through non-violent protests. More than 1,700 Jewish men were rescued after being held by the Gestapo to be deported. Sculpted in the mid-1980's by Ingeborg Hunzinger who named it Block der Frauen / Block of Women. Moved to the park in 1995." Click here for an essay about this monument.

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August 26, 1995 - "Prayer for Peace" Monument, Side of Mt. Sobo, Takachiho, Kyushu Island (Japan). Marks site of crash on August 30, 1945, by B-29 attempting to drop relief supplies at Miyata POW Camp #12.

September 5, 1995 - Liberation Square, St. Helier (Isle of Jersey). "Developed to mark the 50th Anniversary of Jersey's Liberation. To the north of the square stands the Pomme D’Or Hotel, which was used by the Nazis as their Headquarters during the Occupation. The hotel's original balcony was the focal point for celebrations when the island was liberated by British forces on May 9, 1945. At the centre of the square is Philip Jackson’s sculpture depicting a group [of 7 figures] holding the Union Flag at the centre of a fountain. Twelve water jets in the pool symbolise Jersey's 12 parishes. As the island celebrated "Liberation 60" on May 9 2005, Surgeon Captain McDonald, the man who originally draped the Union Flag from the Harbour Office in 1945 (now the Jersey Tourism Office), again unfurled Great Britain's colours from the same window as he had 60 years previously. It was also from the rear of the Tourism Office that in 1942 over 1,000 people were deported to civilian internment camps in Germany. Most of the deportees were destined to be held at the Bad Wurzach camp in southern Germany for the remainder of the war. Today, St. Helier is twinned with Bad Wurzach & participates in a programme of cultural visits & exchanges designed to promote friendship, understanding & reconciliation. A plaque can be seen on the Esplanade (northern) side of the building commemorating this event." Information courtesy of Prof. Jeffrey Jackson 16Oct17.


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May 3, 1996 - International Friendship Bell, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Represents 50th anniversary of the City of Oak Ridge. Paid for in part by contributons by the people of sister city Naka-Machi (Japan). Only inscriptions on the bell are PEACE, INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP, and the dates of Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and VJ Day. Bell cast by Sotetsu Iwazawa in Kyoto (Japan). Pavilion designed by Professor Jon Coddington. The uranium for the Hiroshima bomb was secretly separated in Oak Ridge.


September 21, 1997 - Pax-Stien / "Pax" (Peace Memorial), near Lindesnes, Vest-Agder (Norway). At southernmost point of the Norwegian mainland. "On 21st October 1942, M/S Palatea, a German ship carrying prisoners of war, was torpedoed off Lindesnes lighthouse. 915 Russian prisoners & 71 Germans perished." /// "Unveiled by King Harald V of Norway, the memorial monument was designed by sculptor Arne Vinje Gunnerud [1930-2007]. It consists of a Common Buzzard in bronze with unfolded wings, on a platform of natural rock. A 986-strong choir, one singer for every life lost on the ship, sang at the unveiling of the monument." /// "The statue is of 'Russian bird' of the kind woodcut by so many russian prisoners-of-war during the war [sic]."

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December 12, 1997 - Plaque for 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan, Hotel Tallyrand, Paris (France). George C. Marshall [1880-1959] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

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1999 - National Showa Memorial Museum, Kudanshita District, Tokyo (Japan) "An interactive museum dedicated to depicting the life or ordinary Japanese people during the war time years and the early postwar years."

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Date? - "Nigdy Wiecej Wojny / Never Again War," Westerplatte Peninsula, Gdansk (Poland). Where the German war against Poland began on September 1, 1939. Seventieth anniversary ceremony here notably lacked high-level US representation.

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December 13, 2000 - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Ginling Girls College, Nanjing (China). Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], was an American missionary renowned for saving the lives of many women during the Nanjing Massacre. Click here for chronology of Ginling College & Minnie Vautrin.
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Date? - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Secor Community Building, Secor, Illinois (USA). Bench & plaque memorializing Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], an American missionary born in Secor, IL (population 379).


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March 9, 2002 - Centre of the Tokyo Raid & War Damage, Kitasuna 1-5-4, Koto-ku, Tokyo (Japan). Documents the fire bombing of downtown Tokyo (Shitamachi) by some 300 American bombers on March 10, 1945. Director is Katsumoto Saotome. Right image shows "Children's World Peace" statue.

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2002 - Fondazione Scuola di Pace di Monte Sole / Peace School Foundation, Parco Storico, Monte Sole (Italy). Site of the Marzabatto Massacre by Waffen SS troops in October 1944.

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December 12, 2003 - Grand Peace Bell, "Memorial Hall for Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre," Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (China). Dedicated one day before the 66th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre.
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December 13, 2003 - Model of the Grand Peace Bell, Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Kyoto (Japan). Presented by the museum in Nanjing. Placed in exhibit on the Jugonen Senso / Fifteen-Year War (1931-1945).

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2004 - Jeju Peace Musuem, Jeju Island (South Korea) "Sits on the site of Gamma Oreum. A lasting memorial to life under occupation and those forced labourers who constructed the tunnels that sprawl away for kilometres underground. From this location Japanese forces would direct any defence against a foreign invasion armada. However, an invasion never came and no defence was ever made."


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2005 - Mutchan Peace Sculpture, First Floor Lounge, Kyoto Musuem for World Peace, Kyoto (Japan). "Mutchan was a young girl who starved to death in an air-raid shelter where she had been quarantined because she had tuberculosis. A newspaper article about her death evoked a huge response. Funds poured in for Heijin Murakami to make the sculpture and place [the original] in a park in Oita City."
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Date? - Wadatsumi-zo, Stairway, Kyoto Musuem for World Peace, Kyoto (Japan). "The centerpiece of the museum's art collection. Created by Shin Hongo [1905-1980] to depict the 'Sighs, Anger and Pain' of college students drafted into the armed forces during the student mobilization of October 1943."


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2005 - Peace monument, Coppins Green School, Clacton-on-Sea (England). "Concrete and blocks using the themes of Seek Peace, Stop War, and Love Life." Note by sculptor Ray Brooks: "I was asked to create a War Memorial, part of a commemoration for the end of the 1939-45 war in Europe. As I am still, as ever, a peace loving old hippy, I did not feel I could do this, but did offer to build them a 'Peace Monument.' This resulted in some very moving and powerful work, during the days following the London Underground bombings, with over 800 kids and staff at Coppins Green School, and a number of war veterans, British Legion, local politicians and councillors."

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Summer 2005 - Women's Active Museum on War & Peace (WAM), 2-3-18 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku,, Tokyo (Japan). "The pictures, names and experiences of over 150 women victims of the Japanese Military Sexual Violence (as March, 2008). The chronology of the history of 'Comfort Women' before, during and after the War."

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November 3, 2005 - Centre Européen du Résistant Déporté (CERD), Natzweiler, Alsace (France). "A quelques mètres de l'entrée de ce qui fut le Konzentrationslager Natzweiler... Présente l'histoire des Résistances qui, dans toute l'Europe, se dressèrent contre la domination fasciste et nazie et montre l’implacable organisation de mise à mort du système concentrationnaire nazi."

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2006 - "John Rabe & International Safety Zone Memorial Hall," Nanjing University, Nanjing (China). Contains "John Rabe International Research & Exchange Center for Peace and Reconciliation." John Rabe [1882-1950], "the good Nazi," was a German businessman who is best known for his efforts to stop the atrocities of the Japanese army during the Nanking Massacre.

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2007? - Peace Bell, City Hall, 500 Donald Street East, Thunder Bay, Ontario (Canada). "Thunder Bay & Gifu City (Japan) have had a formal Sister City relationship since 2007. On July 9 every year, the anniversary of the day in which air raids occurred in Gifu, the Peace Bell is rung in the hope of creating a world of mutual harmony & prosperity,” Shigemitsu Hosoe, [Mayor of] Gifu City, said in a statement. 'I hope that you & those in your city can share our wish, and that the ringing of the Peace Bell opens up an opportunity to tell the future generations of the importance of peace.' /// Commented Mayor Keith Hobbs [of Thunder Bay], 'Every year, we celebrate [the sister city] relationship, as well as call for world peace, during this ceremony, held at the same time in Thunder Bay & Gifu City. As our peace bell rings throughout our downtown south core, the tolling of Gifu City’s peace bell sounds throughout their streets, as well.'"


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May 18, 2008 - Agat Peace Memorial Monument, Agat (US Territory of Guam). "A pacifist organization of Japanese nationals living on Guam [Peace Ring of Guam] has erected a cenotaph to commemorate the deaths of tens of thousands of people there during World War II... It is engraved with the kanji for 'wa,' meaning peace, rendered by the late Shoichi Yokoi [1915-1997], a Japanese soldier who hid in the jungle on Guam until 1972 without knowing the war was over. It also bears the message 'Peace is everything' in the Chamorro language."

December 14, 2011 - Peace Monument, near the Japanese Embassy, Seoul (South Korea). "Will mark the 1,000th demonstration of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan which has staged rallies in front of the Japanese embassy on Wednesday of every week. Japan has asked South Korea to block the plan. It will be difficult for the South Korean government to block it because setting up the monument does not require approval from the government. The council demands that the Japanese government apologise for & pay direct compensation to the victims, euphemistically called 'comfort women.' Japan has acknowledged that its wartime military used sex slaves but refuses to directly compensate the victims individually, arguing that the issue was settled by a 1965 normalisation treaty with South Korea."


June 2016 - "Embracing Peace," Memorial Park, Woodward & 13 Mile, Royal Oak, near Detroit, Michigan (USA). "...a sculpture depicting the famous Life Magazine cover photo taken on VJ Day (August 15, 1945) in Times Square, New York City, of a sailor dipping a nurse & planting a kiss for all time. The statue, on loan for six months, is intended to draw attention to a $3 million fundraising campaign for a permanent Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial..." /// "The statue is one of four by artist Seward Johnson; the others are permanently in Sarasota, Florida.; San Diego, California; and Normandy, France. This piece was previously in New York City for the 70th anniversary of V-J Day.

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April 2017 - Benjamin Ferenczpad/path, Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands). "Deputy Mayor Saskia Bruines travelled to Washington, DC, to symbolically present the street sign to the war crimes prosecutor & advocate for global justice. ‘You are a role model for people all over the world, & especially for the young generation, also in the future. This is why we are naming this beautiful path after you.’ Ferencz may be flying to The Hague to attend the official unveiling of the street sign, which will take place in the coming months." Benjamin Ferencz [b.1920] was born in Hungary, moved as a child to USA, served as US Army Prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen Trial in Nuremberg at age 26 & was outspoken advocate of International Criminal Court in The Hague. Information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek.

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