22 Peace Monuments Related to
the Cold War (1945-1991)
Also click to see the following web pages:
Cold War (Wikipedia article). Monuments related to World War II. United Nations Monuments.Right click image to enlarge.
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H1951 - Berlin Airlift Memorial, Platz der Luftbrücke, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin (Germany). Three arching “prongs” represent the three official air corridors (Luftkorridore) used on flights between West Berlin and West Germany. Displays the names of the 39 British and 31 American airmen who lost their lives during the operation. A matching monument stands at the other end of the “air bridge” at the Rhein-Main air base in Frankfurt, completing the airlift arch.
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EJanuary 14, 1990 - "Maailman Rauha / World Peace," Hakaniemi Square, Helsinki (Finland). "Total socialist realism" /// "A reminder of cold war in Helsinki. It was 'given' by the city of Moscow just before the collapse of Soviet Union. If Helsinki would have refused the 'gift,' relations with the big neighbour would have suffered." /// "The artist's name is Oleg Kirjuhin. The statue is actually a copy. Similar copies have been placed in cities around the former Soviet Union. Helsinki might be the only city outside the former Soviet Union that has it's own." /// "The World Peace sculpture at Hakaniemi Square has been a focus of controversy. 'It is a passionate, clear & concrete appeal on behalf of peace & friendship,' declared Mayor Raimo Ilaskivi as he unveiled the statue in 1990, when two months had passed from the fall of the Berlin Wall, and as the Soviet Union was coming to an end. Later Ilaskivi said that the City of Moscow had offered Helsinki a statue of Lenin; in that respect, World Peace was a 'defensive victory.'"
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November 9, 1990 - "Breakthrough," Latshaw Plaza, adjacent to Winston Churchill Memorial, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri (USA). By British-born artist (and Churchill granddaughter) Edwina Sandys. "Where Churchill first coined the historic phrase the 'Iron Curtain.' It has been called the most significant monument to be constructed on American soil since the Vietnam War Memorial. Created from eight massive sections of the Berlin Wall. Features male & female forms cut out from the wall’s concrete surface, symbolizing a passage through the wall to freedom."
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SOctober 22, 1992 - Peacemakers Monument, Shenandoah University, Winchester,Virginia (USA). Commemorating the handshake between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev on December 7, 1987.
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K1994 - Sculpture Park, Budapest (Hungary). "Contains Cold War Era monuments. A place where all the pro-Soviet and pro-Communist monuments accumulated throughout Budapest during the Cold War have been relocated and preserved instead of being destroyed. What a gift to the world! Also referred to as the 'Statue Graveyard.'"
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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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EJanuary 20, 2000 - Cold War Memorial, Camp Taylor Memorial Park, Louisville, Kentucky (USA). Commemorates Pilot Norman A. Schwartz "who gave his life for the preservation of peace" and recognizes "all men and women who seved during the Cold War period 1945-1991." Schwartz was killed in 1952 during a secret Cold War flight inside Jilin Province in northeast China.
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LAugust 25, 2000 - Wings of Peace & Freedom Park, Dixon, Illinois (USA). ''Gifted by Nick Tanev, a native of Bulgaria who immigrated to the USA and prospered. Symbolizes the hope that East & West would come together & live in peace & freedom." Includes replica of Berlin Wall (largest words: PEACE & FREIHEIT). On Ronald Reagan Trail. Dixon is the childhood home of President Ronald Reagan.
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TDate? - Cold War Memorial, Devin (Slovakia). "Built to honor thousands who escaped or died trying to escape from Soviet tyranny in eastern Europe."
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TDate? - End of Cold War Monument, St. George's Bay, Birzebbuga (Malta). "This monument marks the end of the cold war, Mr G. Bush (USA) and Mr M. Gorbachev had met here in 1989."
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About 2001 - Berlin Airlift Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum (NMA), Alrewas, Staffordshire (England). "The first memorial many visitors see on arriving at NMA." "Fruit trees behind planted for each of the 39 British personnel that lost their lives on the operation." Similar to arches in Berlin and Frankfurt (Germany), but with added eagle..
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EJune 12, 2007 - "Goddess of Democracy," Victims of Communism Memorial, Washington, DC (USA). "A tribute to more than 100 million people who died as a result of revolutions, wars and atrocities committed by various communist regimes."
August 25, 2015 - "Cold War Horse," Arvada, Colorado USA). "The horse is dressed in a red HAZMAT suit, goggles & a respirator, and catches the eye." /// "[It was] created to acknowledge the history of Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant, its workers & the surrounding community. During its operation Rocky Flats manufactured parts for nuclear bombs; an estimated 70,000 plutonium triggers were produced at the plant beginning in 1952. Over the years Rocky Flats experienced many routine & accidental releases [of radioactivity] into the air, soil & water, many of which eventually became public. In 1989 the FBI raided the plant because of suspected environmental crimes. Rockwell International, who operated the plant at the time, plead guilty & was ordered to pay an $18 million fine. In 1992 the plant was closed, and remediation began on what was now an EPA superfund site. Cold War Horse was created by Jeff Gipe, whose father worked in the plant." This is "Monday's Monument" #126.
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