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Peace Monuments
in Germany & Austria

Click here for "Sites of Memory: Markers, Memorials, Monuments & Cemeteries" by Mark R. Hatlie, Tübingen (Germany).

Right click image to enlarge / Zum Vergrößern auf das Bild klicken.

1181 - "Noah Receiving the Dove," Augustinian Monastery, Vindobona, near Vienna (Austria). Part of panel #15 of 17 tripartite paels known as the Altar of Verdun. Created during the short interval between the 2nd and 3rd crusades.
May 15, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony (Germany). This room and a similar room in Münster became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. The Osnabrück City Hall was built from 1487 to 1512 in late Gothic style. It is one of the major landmarks and influential buildings in the city of Osnabrück and is still used as a city hall building.


October 24, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). This room and a similar room in Osnabrück became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. Lower image is "Die Gesandten beschwoeren den Frieden zu Muenster / Ratification of the Treaty of Münster" by Gerard Ter Borch [1617-1681] which hangs in the National Gallery, London (England).

Circa 1713 - Feuerwerk am Tempel des Friedens / Fireworks in the Temple of Peace, Wilhelmshöhe Palace, Kassel (Germany). Engraving made on the occasion of the Peace of Utrecht (March-April 1713) by B. Picart, P. Roman & P. Loof.
1793 - "Goddess of Peace," Quadriga, Brandenburger Tor / Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Germany). Interpretation changed after the German victory over France in 1814 when the woman became Victoria, the goddess of Victory, by adding a Prussian eagle on an iron cross to her ensemble. Changed again to a symbol of the Third Reich when the Nazis reached power.
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1819 - "Congress of Vienna," Musee du Louvre, Paris (France). By Jean-Baptiste Isabey [1767-1855]. "The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815."

1848Revolutions in the German states

September 24, 1848 - Friedenskirche / Church of Peace, Marly Gardens on the Green Fence, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam (Germany). "Built according to the wishes and with the close involvement of the artistically gifted King Frederick William IV, and designed by the court architect Ludwig Persius. After Persius' death in 1845 the architect Friedrich August Stüler was tasked with continuing his work. After the cornerstone was laid on 14 April 1845 the dedication of the sacred building took place on 24 September 1848. The building work lasted until 1854. The structure resembles a High Italian monastery.
1850 - Paulskirche, Frankfurt (Germany). "Seat of course of the 1848-49 parliament [the first publicly and freely elected body of Germany], but also of the August 1850 international peace congress (of the peace movement). If I remember well, there are some reminders of this inside the building. I visited it at least once, when I received an invitation to attend the award of Germany’s most important peace prize, the one awarded by the German book trade (Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels). The annual ceremony is being held here. In my view, it comes second, after the Nobel, in terms of the elaborateness of the ceremony, the dignity of the occasion, the standing in the country, the documentation which is produced, etc. It follows the Nobel at some distance, but that is inevitable (no royalty involved, the prize money is less, the outside world hardly takes notice, etc.). It has interesting origins, not long after World War II."

1870-1871Franco-Prussian War



1871 - Friedenslinde / Peace Linden Tree, "Our Lady" Protestant Church, Town Square, Frickenhausen, near Stuttgart (Germany). Translation of plaque: "Nature Monument and Symbol of Peace / This linden tree is a protected natural monument. Primary purpose is securing and maintaining it as typical for the landscape. The top of the tree is of particular importance. / This linden tree was planted in 1871 in memory of the end of the war and peace with France. That is why it is called the 'Peace Linden.'" Photographer's commentary: "Perhaps I am too cynical, but I strongly suspect that the tree was originally a Siegeslinde / 'Victory Linden' and was only later, after WW-II, re-interpreted. But I am sending an e-mail to the local pastor. Maybe he can tell me more." Note: Many other linden trees were planted in Germany about this time to mark the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).


After 1871 - Friedensengel / Angel of Peace, on opposite side of Luitpoldbrücke over Isar River, Munich, Bavaria (Germany). "Rising above the terraces in the axis of the Prinzregentenstrasse is the 38-metre 'Angel of Peace,' which is the dominant feature of the park and is often regarded as a symbol of Munich. Created to mark the 25 years of peace after the 1871 Treaty of Versailles, it is mounted on a 23-metre column above a small hall, and is modelled on Athena, goddess of wisdom and peace, but also goddess of 'strategic' war, and she holds Nike in her hand, the goddess of victory. The Friedensengel provides a spectacular view of the city, and is sited above a superb terrace, which is unfortunately marred by heavy traffic." Date? - Temple of Peace?, Maximilian Park, Munich (Germany).
1899 - Friedens- und Siegesdenkmal / Peace & Victory Monument, Edenkoben, Pfalz, Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). "Commemorates the victorious war against France 1870-71. All the splendor of the fertile Rhine Valley offers a view from here. In good weather you can see the Odenwald and Heidelberg. 300 m further is the Strasbourg stone. From this monument has one if the weather has wonderful views to Strasbourg in Alsace (France). From there you could see at that time, the signals from Strasbourg that the 1870 war was won."

1914-1918The Great War or World War I

November 11, 1918 - "International World War Peace Tree," Evansville, Indiana (USA). Press caption: "Charles and Beth Skeels stand under a shady linden, designated the 'peace tree' by German immigrants who planted it as a seedling on her family's property north of Evansville at the end of World War I."


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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).

1929 - Magdeburger Ehrenmal / Magdeburg Cenotaph, Magdeburg Cathedral, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). "Ordered by the city to be a memorial of World War I and expected to show heroic German soldiers fighting for their glorious country. But sculptor Ernst Barlach [1870-1938] depicted a fresh recruit, a young officer, and an old reservist standing in a cemetery, all bearing marks of the horror, pain and desperation of the war, flanked by a mourning war widow covering her face in despair, a skeleton wearing a German army helmet, and a civilian (the face is that of Barlach himself) with his eyes closed and blocking his ears in terror."

1931 - Neue Wache / New Guard House, north side of Unter den Linden, Berlin (Germany). Guard house constructed in 1816. Memorial to the victims of war and tyranny since 1931. Includes sculpture of "Mother with her dead son" by "the famous sociocritical artist" Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz [1867-1945].

Date? - Denkmal für Frieden und Völkerverständigung / Monument to peace & international understanding, Stadtpark, Prenzlau, Brandenburg (Germany). "On the steep slope at the NE end of the park... A monument for the suppression of the Herero uprising [of 1904] in German South West Africa was removed from this place after World War II and replaced with this monument."

1939-1945World War II



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1949 & ongoing - Memorial Stones, Pax Christi Kirche / Pax Christi Church, Essen-Bergerhausen (Germany). "1,100 names have so far been inscribed... 'from all peoples + tribes + nations + languages + religions,' hence names of Christians, Jews, Moslems, Believers and Non-Believers, soldiers killed in action, concentration camp victims as well as names of people who have been killed by the mafia, by terrorism or by violence of different kinds in wars, in the streets here and in houses today. The names are baked into clay tablets and inserted into the floor of the lower church (the church comprises two levels). There are also 80 names of countries and places... Belfast / Stalingrad / Biafra / Lhasa / Temesvar / München 1972 / Peking 1989 / Heysel-Stadion 1985 / Melanie and Karola Weimar / Hanns-Martin Schleyer and his driver Heinz Marcisz / John Lennon / Dietrich Bonnhoeffer / John F. Kenney [sic] / 900 people of the People’s Temple sect [of Jim Jones], driven to their deaths / Savonarola / Sophie und Hans Scholl / Edith Stein / Pater Alfred Delp / Erich Klausener / Nikolaus Groß / Maximilian Kolbe / Anna Göldin – the last witch to be executed in Europe / seven Trappists assassinated in Algeria in 1996 / girls and young women from Flanders, sexually abused and murdered in 1966 for the pornographic scene / names which conjure up a sense of horror and grief: Trebl.maripo.com/p_inmp.htm">International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

1951? - German Democratic Republic. Anti-nuclear stamp featuring a dove of peace. Probably issued in connection with the 3rd World Festival of Youth & Students for Peace (WFYS) which was attended by 26,000 participants from 104 countries. The fetival motto was "For Peace and Friendship - Against Nuclear Weapons."
August 1951 - Commemorative scarf of the 3rd WFYS, East Berlin (German Democratic Republic). By Pablo Picasso [1881-1973].
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, then 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.'"
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.
1958 - Konzentrationslager Buchenwald / Buchenwald Concentration Camp, Ettersberg / Etter Mountain, near Weimar, Thuringia (Germany). Stone memorial constructed in 1958.

1961-1989Berlin Wall (Cold War)

October 19, 1962 - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (Mauermuseum), Friedrichsstrasse 43-44, Berlin (Germany). "First museum of international nonviolent protest." Operated by Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13 August e.V / 13th August Study Group. Four permanent exhibitions: "The Wall," paintings of "The Wall," Berlin, and "From Gandhi to Walesa." At present location since June 1963. Click here for Wikipedia article.
1965 - Konzentrationslager Dachau / Dachau Concentration Camp, Dachau, Bavaria (Germany). First Nazi concentration camp. Now Gedenkstatte Dachau / Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.
April 30, 1967 - Protestant Church of Reconcilliation, Dachau (Germany). Designed by Helmut Striffler. Dedicated by the Rev. Martin Niemöller [1892-1984], one of the most famous prisoners in Dachau and the first sent to Sachsenhausen after he was convicted of treason for preaching against the Nazi government.


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.
1972 - Das Deutsche Haus (Bando), Naruto, Tokushima (Japan). "The site of a World War I POW camp for German soldiers. Stone bridges & cenotaph built by the prisoners are on display, along with documents about life during those times. The German prisoners were free to communicate with the local people, and much German culture remains in the area to this day. The present-day German House was built in 1993."

May 3, 1975 - Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp, Mauthausen & Gusen (Austria). Center of a group of SS slave labor camps. Original inmates were largely Germans who had resisted the Nazi regime, notable communists, socialists, and religious dissenters. Thirty years after liberation Chancellor Bruno Kreisky officially opened the Mauthausen Museum. Many of the sub-camps near Gusen are now covered by residential areas built after the war. In February 2009 the memorial was vandalized by persons unknown, who defaced a section of the wall with anti-Islamic graffiti. Right image shows a 1978 East German postage stamp.
1975 - Grave of Hannah Arendt, Bard College, Annandale-on- Hudson, New York (USA). Hannah Arendt [1906-1975] was an influential German-Jewish political theorist. In 1959, she became the first woman appointed to a full professorship at Princeton University. See died December 4, 1975, in New York City & was buried at Bard College where her husband taught for many years.

Date? - Henri Dunant Denkmal / Henri Dunant Monument, H.R. Pippal, Karl-Seitz-Hof, Dunantgasse, Floridsdorf, Vienna (Austria). Henry Dunant [1828-1910] founded the Red Cross and received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
August 23, 1979 - Vienna International Centre (VIC), UN Office at Vienna (UNOV), Vienna (Austria). Includes headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), respectively in Vienna since 1957 and 1967.

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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. Affiliated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1980 - Friedens-Raeume, Lindenhofwe 25, Lindau/Bodensee (Germany). Former Friedensmuseum Landau / Landau Peace Museum. Operated by Pax Christi, Diocese of Augsberg. On Lake Constance. Affiliated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1981 - Antikriegshaus Sievershausen / Sievershausen Anti-War House & Peace Center, Kirchweg 4, Sievershausen (Germany). Between Kassel & Hannover. See Dankmal / Monument (1989). Affilated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1982 - Friedensmuseum der Kirchengemeinde / Peace Museum, Schulstrasse 2, Meeder (Germany). Operated by Lutheran Parish of Meeder, St. Laurentius. Promotes the peace tradition which emerged in this area in 1651 at the end of the Thirty Years War. Affiliated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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1982 - Anti-Kriegs-Museum (AKM) / Anti-War Museum, Brusseler Strasse 21, Berlin (Germany). Originally founded by anarchist and pacifist Ernest Friedrich [1894-1967] in 1925. In March 1933, Nazi storm troopers (SA) destroyed the AKM. Friedrich was arrested, then emigrated to Belgium & France. AKM was reopened in 1982 (15 years after the death of its founder) by his grandson Tommy Spree (sic). Affiliated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

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May 31, 1984 - Friedensbibliothek und Antikriegsmuseum / Peace Library & Anti-War Musuem, Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte, Greifswalder Strase 4, Berlin (Germany). Operated by Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg. Affiliated with International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

October 10, 1986-November 10, 1993 - "Mahnmal gegen Faschismus, Krieg, Gewalt - Fur Frieden und Menschenrechte / Memorial Against Fascism, War and Violence - For Peace and Human Rights," Rathaus Train Station, Harburger Ring, Hamburg (Germany). By Esther Shalev-Gerz & Jochen Gerz. "Started out as a pillar [12 meter stele] in 1986 and was gradually lowered into the ground over eight [or ten?] steps until 1993. Since then it has just been a plaque in the ground." Text on plaque quoted differently by different sources: "Denn nichts kann auf Dauer an unserer Stelle sich gegen das Unrecht erheben / Because nothing can permanently at our place to rise against injustice." "We invite the citizens of Harburg and visitors to the town to add their names here to ours. In doing so we commit ourselves to remain vigilant. As more and more names cover the 12-meter-tall lead column, it will gradually be lowered into the ground. One day it will have disappeared completely and the site of the Harburg monument against fascism will be empty. In the end it is only we ourselves who can rise up against injustice."

October 1986 - Denkmal für den unbekannten Deserteur / Monument to the Unknown Deserter, Gustav-Heinemann Büergerhaus, Bremen-Vegesack, Bremen (Germany). "A one meter high pedestal [and] a sculpture of a soldier's head, covered with a helmet and camouflage net. The inscription reads, 'For the unknown deserter'. The memorial was commissioned by a group called 'Gruppe Reservisten verweigern sich' / 'Group of resisting reservists.'" Gustav Heinemann [1899-1976] "was German Minister of Interior Affairs from 1949 to 1950, Minister of Justice from 1966 to 1969, and President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1969 to 1974. He was famous for being open-minded with respect to the student protests of 1968, and he tried to keep his office as down-to-earth as possible. In the Weimar Republic, Heinemann was member of the Christian Social People's Service (CSVD). After World War II he was one of the founders of the CDU and became mayor of the city of Essen. He was Minister of the Interior in the first cabinet of Konrad Adenauer. He left the cabinet in 1950 and the CDU in 1952 to form the All-German People's Party (GVP) with Helene Wessel and other CDU and Center Party members. In 1957 he, and most GVP members, joined the SPD. In the grand coalition (1966-69) he was Minister of Justice. In 1969 he became the first SPD member to be elected President of Germany since the death of Reichspräsident Friedrich Ebert (president since 1919) in 1925. The Gustav-Heinemann-Friedenspreis für Kinder- und Jugendbücher / Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize for Children's and Youth Books is awarded every year for a book judged to have best promoted the cause of world peace."

May 7, 1987 - Denkmal für den unbekannten Deserteur / Monument to the Unknown Deserter, Fuldaaaue, Kassel (Germany). "Near a memorial for the fallen of both world wars. Has the following inscription: 'In memory of the Kassel soldiers, who refused military service for the national-socialist violent dictatorship, and who were persecuted and killed as a result.' A decision for such a memorial had been made by the city's governing council on 4th February." Click here for "Erinnerung braucht einen Ort Zum Kasseler 'Mahnmal für die Opfer des Faschismus' von Hilde Dohmann." Click here for an overview of deserters monument initiatives in Germany (From Zeitschrift OHNE UNS - Zeitschrift zur Totalen Kriegsdienstverweigerung, Ausgabe 1/94, Februar 1994).

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August 1987 - A plaque for Michael Lerpscher, at the catholic church, Missen-Wilhams, Sonthofen district, Bravaria (Germany). This is the home community of Michael Lerpscher [1905-1940] who was a religiously motivated conscientious objector executed by the Nazis. Inscribed in German: "Laienbrüder der Christkönigsgesellschaft - Märtyrer für den Frieden Christi [Pax Christi]."

November 24, 1988 - Mahnmal gegen Krieg und Faschismus / Monument Against War and Fascism, Albertinaplatz, Vienna (Austria). This square is the site of a massacre in 145 when a bomb killed an unknown number of civilians taking shelter in the basement of a building.

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."

1989? - Carl von Ossietzky Monument, Ossietzky Strasse, Berlin-Pankow, East Berlin (Germany).Carl von Ossietzky [1889-1938] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935.
1989 - Dankmal / Monument, Sievershausen (Germany). "An arch of red sandstone Eifel, on the way to the anti-war musuem. Symbolizes protection and security, see the behind the persecuted him" [Google translation]. Between Essen & Hannover. See Antikriegshaus (1981).
Date? - Deserteur Denkmal / Deserter Monument, Sievershausen (Germany).

September 1, 1989 - Weltfrieden / World Peace Bell #5, Friedrichstain, Volkspark, Berlin (Germany). One of 20 WPB's installed in 16 different countries by the World Peace Bell Association (WPBA), Tokyo (Japan).

November 9, 1989Fall of the Berlin Wall (End of the Cold War)

Date? - Denkmal für den unbekannten Deserteur / Monument to the Unknown Deserter, Hannover (Germany).

Date? - Das Bonner Denkmal für die unbekannten Deserteure / Monument to the Unknown Deserters, Platz der Einheit, Potsdam, Berlin (Germany). Click here for second source of information. What does "Das Bonner" mean?

Date? - Ehrenmal für die Opfer des Faschismus / Memorial to the Victims of Fascism, behind the Murhardschen Library, Kassel (Germany).
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October 31, 1990 - Plaque for Michael Lerpscher & Josef Ruf, St. Ulrich Catholic Church, Graz (Germany). Michael Lerpscher [1905-1940] and Josef Ruf [1905-1940] were both religiously motivated conscientious objectors executed by the Nazis. Inscribed in German: "Laienbrüder der Christkönigsgesellschaft - Märtyrer für den Frieden Christi [Pax Christi]."

November 14, 1990 - Fridenszeichen / Peace Monument, Lake Konstance (Bodensee), Lindau, Bravaria (Germany). According to Peter van den Dungen, "Very near to where the Friedensmuseum Landau (Friedens Raeume / Peace Rooms) is located. Sculpted by Dietrich Foerster, the winner of a competition organised by the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste in Munich. A bronze plaque explains that it was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Coventry cathedral, and concludes with "Dona Nobis Pacem."
1991 - Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg / Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg (Germany).

October 13, 1991 - Friedensdenkmal / Peace Monument, Taben-Rodt (Germany). German War Graves Commission and the US 94th Infantry Division Association. Duplicate plaques in German and English. Rededicated October 16, 1994.

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1992 - Memorial stone for Josef Ruf, next to the Maria Geburt / Mary's Birth Catholic Church, Hochberg, Bad Saulgau-Hochberg, Sigmaringen district (Germany). Placed by Pax Christi. Born in Hochberg (now part of the city of Bad Saulgau), Josef Ruf [1905-1940] was a religiously motivated conscientious objector executed by the Nazis. German inscription says, "Lived for peace, died by violence."


1992-2008 - "Walking to the Sky." (#1) 1992 "Man Walking to the Sky," Kassel (Germany). (#2) "Woman Waking to the Sky," Strasbourg (France). (#3) 2004 "Humanity Walking to the Sky," moved from Rockefeller Center, New York City, & Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas. 2006 Carnegie-Mellon University, Warner Hall, Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pensylvania (USA). (#4) 2008 Kiturami Homsys Company, Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul/Yonhap (South Korea). Sculptures by American Jonathan Borofsky. The sculpture in Seoul features people of different ages and ethnicities, including three Asian people. The pole is angled at 75 degrees, because "the idea is to walk to the sky, not to the building across the street,'' Borofsky joked.

1992 - Platz der Vereinten Nationen / United Nations Square, Friedrichshain, Berlin (Germany). Named Landsberger Platz 1864-1950 and Leninplatz 1950-1992. The square contained 19 meter Lenindenkmal / Lenin Monument (upper image) designed by Nikolai Tomski (president of the Academy of Arts, USSR) from 1970 until 1991 when the district of Friedrichshain voted 40 to 13 to demolish it. On 13 November the 3.5-ton head was removed, as depicted in the film Good Bye, Lenin! 129 parts were buried in the sand pit at Seddinberg at Berlin- Müggelheim. A fountain (lower image) designed by Adalbert Maria Klees replaced the monument in 1994.
1992 - Steinwache Memorial Centre, Dortmund (Germany). Prison built in 1906 and operated by the Gestapo after 1933.

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1993 - Erstes Osterreichisches Friedensmuseen / First Austrian Peace Museum, Heimatkreis Wolfsegg, Schulstrasse 18, Marktgemeinde Wolfsegg, Wolfsegg (Austria). Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).


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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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April 17, 1994 - Third International Peace Garden, 4th District, East Berlin (Germany). Gift from Warsaw (Poland) to Berlin honoring fall of Berlin Wall. One of several International Peace Gardens in different countries.

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1994 - Schulschiff / Training Ship, Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium 'Bertha von Suttner' (GRG 21), anchored in the Danube River, Vienna (Austria). "Two boats with 36 classrooms and administrative offices. The gym is located on a third float." Named for Baroness Bertha von Suttner [1843-1914] who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905. The Donauturm / Danube Tower & Vienna International City (VIC) are visible in the backround of the image.

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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.

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Date? - Hermann Stöhr Community Center, Angerburger Allee 56, Berlin (Germany). Municipal office, a worship room, and nursery named tor Christian martyr Dr. Hermann Stöhr [1898-1940], a German pacifist and resistance fighter against the Nazis, who was beheaded in Plötzensee Prison.

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Date? - Plötzensee Memorial Wall, Gedenkstätte Plötzensee / Plötzensee Memorial Center, Charlottenburg, Berlin (Germany). In Plötzensee Prison. Commemorates the victims of National Socialism. From 1933 to 1945, nearly three thousand people unjustly sentenced to death by the Nazi judiciary were executed here. Today, the execution chamber is a memorial. The exhibition in the room adjoining it documents the practice of the Nazi judicial and penal systems.

March 20, 1995 - Denkmal zur Erinnerung an die Bücherverbrennung / Book Burning Monument, Bebelplatz, near Unter den Linden, Berlin (Germany). At site of Nazi book burning in 1933 near St. Hedwig's Cathedral. The underground memorial consists of a window on the surface of the plaza, under which vacant bookshelves are lit and visible. A bronze plaque quotes German poet Heinrich Heine [1797-1856]: “Where books are burned in the end people will burn.”
Date? - Erich Kästner Monument, Dresden, Saxony (Germany). "Erich Kästner [1899-1974] was a children's book author and political satirist in the 1930's. He wrote the book upon which 'The Parent Trap' was based, and attended a book burning in Berlin [in 1933] where his own books were being burnt."
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.

1995 - Denkmal für den unbekannten Wehrmachtsdeserteur / Monument for the Unknown Deserters of the German Wehrmacht, Citadel Petersberg, Erfurt (Germany). "Memorial for the victims of the German military justice in Second World War – To all who resisted the Nazi regime. Designed by artist Thomas Nicolai."
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1995 - United Nations Peace Bell, Vienna International Centre (VIC), Vienna (Austria). Cast in Japan.

1995 - 2nd International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) at the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), Rochusplatz 1, A-7461 Stadtschlaining (Austria).
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Memorial Day 1997 - “Gathering, Lasting Friendship, 1847-1997,” Vereins Kirche, Fredericksburg, Texas (USA). Dedicated as a part of the city's 150th anniversary celebration. Commemorates the signing of the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty in 1847. "The early German settlers became the only immigrant group to successfully negotiate peace with the Indians. It is said to be the only treaty between white settlers and Native Americans that was never broken." "Irene Marschall King, John Meusebach’s granddaughter, brought the original Meusebach-Comanche treaty document from Europe in 1970. She presented it to the Texas State Library, where it is now on display." Info courtesy of John Wilkins.

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October 12, 1997 - Friedenslocke des Alpenraumes / Peace Bell of the Alpine Region , Hotel Habhof, Moesern bei Seefeld, Upper Inntal valley (Austria). Second image shows spectacular view from the bell of the Inntal Valley.

January 4, 1998 - Hermann Stöhr Memorial, Hauptbahnhof, Berlin (Germany). Seven-ton boulder with a commemorative plaque. Dr. Hermann Stöhr [1898-1940] was was a German pacifist and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was sentenced to death as a conscientious objector, but the sentence was annuled, one of the rare times this happened in Nazi Germany. Memorial dedicated on Stöhr's 100th birthday.


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1998 - "The Day the Wall Came Down," Allied Museum, near Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Germany). Given by the US government to the German people. Dedicated to freedom. A twin of the original bronze at the George H. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas (USA).
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1997 - "The Day the Wall Came Down," George H. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas (USA). Dedicated to freedom. Features five Mustangs jumping a crumbling Berlin Wall. A copy is at the Allied Museum, near Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Germany). Sculpted by Veryl Goodnight (who lives in San Juan National Forest in Colorado).

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1998 - Friedensmuseum Nürnberg / Nürnberg Peace Museum, Kaulbachstrasse 2, Nürnberg (Germany). Documents the German peace movement. Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

Global Stone, near the near the Lawengruppe / Lions’ Group, Tiergarten Park, Berlin (Germany). Five stones, each weighing between 10 and 40 tons and corresponding to a “sister stone” on one of the five continents. The pairs of stones represent the five steps towards peace. Once a year on 21st June the light of the sun connects all ten stones by reflection. Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld, sculptor and around the world navigator, began the Global Stone Project in 1997 in Venezuela.
February 1999 -
America (Love). 1st of 5 stones. Resembles a whale. From Gran Sabana National Park (Venezuela).
January 4, 2001 -
Australia (Peace). 2nd of 5 stones. From Mount Magnet sheep station (Australia).
April 25, 2007 -
Europe (Awakening). 3rd of 5 stones. From Ekaterinen (Russia).
December 3, 2007 -
Africa (Hope). 4th of 5 stones. From Bertanie Quarry (South Africa). Placed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Future? -
Asia (Forgiveness). 5th of 5 stones.

1999 - "Reconcilation," Kapelle der Versöhnung / Chapel of Reconcilation, Berlin Wall Memorial, Berlin (Germany). Statue by Josefina de Vasconcellos. One of 5 in the world. See Bradford & Coventry (England), Belfast (Northern Ireland) & Hiroshima (Japan).

1999 - Central Monument to Escape & Expulsion 1945, Konig Strasse, Nuremberg (Germany) "The Solid Copper Gate (500x400x100cm) Is A Sign Of Hope. A Reminder Of Life Regained And A Positive Perspective On The Future. The Solid Copper Plate (400x100x16cm) Set Flush In The Ground, Yet Permanently Visible, Symbolizes The Fateful Experience Of Losing One's Homeland. The Two Separate Elements Standing 18 Metres Apart Are Connected By A Four Metre Wide Paved Area. Artist: Joachim Bandau."
Date? - Freiheit Männlich-Weiblich / Male-Female Freedom Statue, Platz der Verfassungsfreunde, Offenburg, near Rammersweier, Baden-Württemberg (Germany). Die 20 m hohe Aluminiumskulptur des amerikanischen Künstlers Jonathan Borofsky. "Commemorates the role Offenburg played in the democratic development of Germany. Composed of two intersecting 65 foot tall silhouettes (1 male and 1 female), each 'drawn' in 10 inch diameter aluminum pipe. As the viewer walks around the sculpture, the image changes from male to female and back again, and of course, one of the most interesting aspects of this sculpture is that you can see and walk right through it."
Date? - Friedensglocke / Peace Bell, Rathaus, Dessau (Germany). Ein Denkmal für die politische Wende 1989 in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Sie wurde aus den Waffen der Kampfgruppen gegossen." The Peace Bell is a monument to the political changes of 1989. Made from 1250 assault rifles, 174 light machine guns, 87 anti-tank rifles and 171 pistols in an iron foundry Dessauer molten steel arms of the battle groups of the GDR, with the help of donations means that 4.2 t heavy cast bell.

November 2000 - Synagogue Memorial, "Synagogenplatz," Gartenstrasse, Tübingen (Germany). At site of Tübingen's former synagogue. From the large metal box to the metal column on the street, there is a narrow channel for water to flow under metal plates bearing the names of victims and down this simple waterfall in the foreground. Commemorates not only the building and its destruction, but also all the Jews of Tübingen who were murdered in the Holocaust. The synagogue was burned down during the Reichskristallnacht of November 9, 1938. Tübingen Nazis threw the Torah rolls into the Neckar, arrested five Jews and sent them to Dachau, and set the synagogue ablaze. After the war, Tübingen courts sentenced three of those involved to prison terms of 20 to 32 months. Info & Image from Mark Hatlie.
Date? - Segnende Hände der Kohanim auf einem Grabstein, Baisingen (Germany). "On Jewish tombstones you will sometimes see a symbol showing two hands arranged for the Priestly Blessing like the example here. This is a symbol of the Kohen or Cohen (Hebrew for priest). The plural form is Kohanim or Cohanim. Kohanim are assumed to be direct male descendants of Aaron, who was the first Kohen and the brother of Moses. Some Jewish surnames frequently associated with this symbol are Conn or Cohn (Kohn), Cahn (Kahn), and Cohen (Kohen), but you will find the symbol on the grave markers of people with other surnames."
June 2001 - Peace & Friendship Monument, Arlington Park, Bad Königshofen (Germany). Celebrates sister city relationship with Arlington, Texas (USA).

July 12, 2003 - International Peace & Friendship Monument, Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas (USA). Similar monument in sister city Bad Königshofen (Germany).

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2001 - Europäische Museum für den Frieden / European Museum for Peace, Burg Schlaining, Rochusplatz 1, Stadtschlaining, Bergenland (Austria). "An offshoot of the Provincial Exhibition on 'War or Peace.'" Associated with the Österreichische Studienzentrum für Frieden und Konfliktlösung (ÖSFK) / Austrian Study Center for Peace & Conflict Resolution (ASPR). Member of International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).
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September 11, 2001 - Jüdisches Museum Berlin/Jewish Museum Berlin, Berlin (Germany). Museum director is German-American W. Michael Blumenthal, and the newer of the museum's two buildings was designed by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind.
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September 11, 2001 - Holocaust Tower, Jüdisches Museum Berlin/Jewish Museum Berlin, Berlin (Germany).

Date? - Friedensstupa / Stupa for World Peace, Kamalashila Institute, at a castle thirty kilometers west of Bonn and Cologne (Germany).

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2002 - Garden of Peace, Vienna (Austria). "Oil on canvas by Werner Horvath. Depicts Hannah Arendt [1906-1975], Mahatma Gandhi [1869-1948], Bertha von Suttner [1843-1914] & Immanuel Kant [1724-1804]." Bertha von Suttner [1843-1914] was an Austrian novelist, radical (i.e. organizational) pacifist, and the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1905).

March 12, 2004 - Peace Marker Germany, Point of Peace #3, Lord Mayor's Offce, Kassel (Germany). One of eight Worldwide Peace Markers.

October 2004-July 5, 2005 - Checkpoint Charlie Monument, Berlin (Germany). Commemorated the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Consisted of over 1,000 crosses adorned with the names of those murdered attempting to escape Communist East Germany for freedom during the Cold War. Torn down on July 5, 2005: "Berlin's Shame: We Will Never Forget! We really don't have much left to say about this outrage. The anger inside all of us right now is simply too much. Even we believed that the city government and the bank would have the good sense to seek a compromise...but they didn't."
May 12, 2005 - Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas / Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin (Germany). "Field of Stelae" has 2,711 stelae.
2005 - "Non-Violence" by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, Federal Chancellery, Berlin (Germany). Click here for similar monuments in France, Luxembourg, South Africa, Sweden, Switerland, UK and USA.
November 19, 2005 - Memorial to Deserters, Lehrertal entrance, university botanical garden, Ulm (Germany). Creation of Hannah Stuetz Menzel. Memorializes men who deserted the Wehrmacht during World War II. (15,000 were executed.) Information courtesy of Mark Hatlie.

April 24, 2006 - "Der moderne Buchdruck / The Modern Book Printing," Bebelplatz, ner Unter den Linden, Berlin (Germany). A stack of 17 books more than 12 meters in height (40 feet) and 35 tons in weight. Commemorates German writers, poets, and especially Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the modern book printing process about 1450 at Mainz.
2006 - Friedensdenkmal / Peace Monument, Auerstedt. Thuringia (Germany).

August 8, 2006 - Franz Jägerstätter Park, Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria (Austria). Franz Jägerstätter [1907-1943] was an Austrian conscientious objector sentenced to death and executed by Nazi Germany during World War II. He was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church on October 26, 2007, in Linz (Austria). Park identified by Gerard Lössbroek (Pax Christi) who attended the opening ceremony. 2006.

Date? - Gedenktafel für Jägerstätter / Jägerstätter Memorial Plaque, Reichskriegsgericht, Berlin (Germany). At site of the former German military court. Franz Jägerstätter [1907-1943] was an Austrian conscientious objector sentenced to death (at this place) and executed by Nazi Germany during World War II. He was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church on October 26, 2007, in Linz (Austria).
2006-2007 - John Lennon - Peace Altar, Vienna (Austria). Oil on wood, 100 x 261cm, by Werner Horvath. Click here
2007 - Solar Peace Sculpture, Saarbrüken (Germany). Sponsored by Matter of Trust (San Francisco). Sculpted by Fred George (Saarbrüken & New York City). "Appeals to the global citizen as well as politicians around the world. Symbolically, in addition to the commentary on current wars, this piece represents a call to the world to embrace alternative energies. Standing 50 feet tall Constructed of 120 oil barrels, with a solar energy panel mounted on each barrel. The solar energy produced from the panels will feed into the electrical grid of the city, with the monthly proceeds donated to various local charities. Current proposal locations include Saarbrüken, New York City, and Shanghai."

August 30, 2007 - Memorial to Deserters, Theaterhaus, Stuttgart (Germany). Smaller "postive" figure in front of larger "negative" figure. Awaits a more permanent location in downtown Stuttgart. NB: More than 15,000 men were executed for desertion by the Nazi regime. This monument was opposded by all political parties. The federal government argued that "Deserters are people who avoid their responsibility to the community." Info & Image from Mark Hatlie.

October 7, 2007 - Denkmal "PeaceWomen," Stadt Soltau, Lower Saxony (Germany). Friedensskulptur / Peace Sculpture by Christin van Talis. Related to the Peace Women Across the Globe (PWAG) project, Peace Women Worldwide, and the Women's Interntional Legue for Peace & Freedom (WILPF).
Future - Vienna Peace Trail, Vienna (Austria). In formation. No information yet available on-line. Will undoubtedly include the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15, Bertha von Suttner [1843-1914], Alfred Fried [1864-1921], and the inauguration of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in 2005. Information courtesy of Peter van den Dungen.

Future - Monument to the unknown deserter, Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). "FI Nottuln plans a monument to the unknown deserter. For many years, FI Nottuln [has been interested in] the issue of desertion. This is a reclamation of a historical theme -- desertion in World War II -- also known as resistance against National Socialism. And it deals with desertion today -- the still existing obligation [of being] forced to kill. It is [also] about the so-called military service."
Future - Platz der Vereinten Nationen / United Nations Square, near the "UN Campus," Bonn (Germany). Image shows model of future design.
Future - Peace Trail in "Attersee Region of Peace," Attersee Region (Austria). "Between St. Gilgen & Wolfsegg (Peace Abbey & Peace Museum). With many peace stations -- peace pole, peace labyrinth, peace stone, etc. [and] peace communities surrounding Lake Wolfgangsee (Mayors for Peace), a peace regatta, etc." Information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek.

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