Peace & Other Monuments Using the Symbols of Hands & Handshakes

Right click image to enlarge.

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."

1910 - New York Peace Monument, Point Park, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA). Depicts soldiers from North and South shaking hands. Click here for other Civil War peace monuments. Built by State of New York.

1950 - German Democratic Republic. Anti-nuclear 12 pf 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].

About 1965 - Open Hand Monument, in "The Ditch of Consideration," Chandigahr, Punjab (India). Heavy copper hand 100 feet high rotates in the wind. Also looks like dove of peace. By French architect Le Corbusier [1887-1965] who said, "This sign of the Open Hand is a sign of peace and of reconciliation. [It] is meant to receive the created riches, and to distribute them to the peoples of the world. That should be the symbol of our epoch." Corbu made the overall plan for Chandigahr and designed some of the original buildings. Click here for air view.

August 1, 1964 - Flame of Peace, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Eternal flame designed by Kenzo Tange. Pedestal suggests the shape of a pair of hands with open palms. The flame Has burned continuously since 1964 and "will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation."

August 3, 1965 - Friendship Monument, Hiroshima (Japan). Depicts hand holding by people from all four quarters of the globe. Erected by Japan Association of Casualty Insurance Underwriters. Info from Pocket Peace Guide.

April 28, 1974 - "Hands in Prayer, World in Peace," Business Route 71, Webb City, Missouri (USA). "An inspirational piece that symbolizes the need for spiritual awareness. It was concieved and completely created by artist Jack (J. E.) Dawson. It stands well above its surroundings at thirty-two feet high and weighing 110 tons."

May 4, 1977 - Joods monument / Jewish Monument, Groningen (Netherlands). "Remembers the 3,000 Jewish people from Groningen who were deported and killed during World War II. Made by Eduard (Edu) Waskowsky [1934-1976] out of six hands each having their own expression. The first clearly depicts anger or resistance. The other hands all have their own meaning like fear, sadness, acquiescence, prayer, and blessing. In the fifth hand an opening for the menorah is seen. The seventh hand is uncompleted as the artist died premature. With one pedestal left empy, it is leaving an unintentional completeness to the monument."

1978 - Peace, Folk Art Collection, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Crayon & pen on paper by Nellie Mae Rowe [1900-1982]. "For Rowe, drawing was a form of worship. She said, 'I try to draw because [God] is wonderful to me. I just have to keep drawing until He says, "Well done, Nellie, you have been faithful." Then I will know that I have finished my work.' In Peace, Rowe represented her own industrious hands, which seem to invoke benediction for the blue animal just beyond."

1980 - Praying Hands, main entrance, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA). "Stand 60 feet high and weigh 30 tons, the largest bronze sculpture in the world. Evangelist Oral Roberts outsourced their casting to Juarez, Mexico in 1980. ...originally called 'The Healing Hands,' they stood in front of Oral's 'City of Faith,' a medical center devoted to faith healing. But the City of Faith declared bankruptcy in 1989. The hands were then moved to the entrance drive of the university. The City of Faith is now known as CityPlex Towers, and it houses corporate tenants. Its central tower stands 640 feet tall, which reportedly is the same height as the Jesus who appeared to Oral in a dream and told him to build it."

1980 - "The Awakening," Hains Point, East Potomac Park, Washington, DC (USA). A 70-foot five-part statue depicting a giant trying to free himself from underground. Created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and installed "temporarily" for the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition. Moved to National Harbor, Prince George's County, Maryland (USA), in February 2008. "To celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, the sculpture is now in Rome, near the Marconi Obelisk. On October 10, 2009, a second casting was unveiled in Chesterfield, Missouri (USA). The second sculpture is 70 feet long & 17 feet tall at its highest point."

1982 - Mandela Gardens, Millennium Square (SE corner), Calverley Street, Leeds (England). "Officially reopened" in April 2001 by Nelson Mandela. Feature a 16-foot bronze statue entitled "Both Arms" by Leeds-born sculptor Kenneth Armitage [1916-2002]. "The arms express a feeling of welcome and are envisaged as a monument to friendship."

August 8, 1989 - "Hands of Victory," Baghdad (Iraq). Quote from site: "To celebrate his 'victory' over Iran, Saddam decided to build a triumphal arch. The concept of a triumphal arch is a European import, without precedent in the Middle East since Roman times. The colossal Hands of Victory monument has dominated Baghdad's skyline since the end of the Iran-Iraq war [1980-1988]. Built in duplicate, it marks the entrances to a large new parade ground in central Baghdad, towering 140 feet above the highway. The triumphal arch is shaped as two pairs of crossed swords, made from the guns of dead Iraqi soldiers that were melted and recast as the 24-ton blades of the swords. Captured Iranian helmets are in a net held between the swords. And surrounding the base of the arms are another 5,000 Iranian helmets taken from the battle field. The fists that hold the swords aloft are replicas of Saddam Hussein’s own hands. The German company that built the monument, H+H Metalform, said it was given a photograph of Saddam's own forearms to use as a model."

M E M O R I A L

February 1990 - Holocaust Memorial, Dade Boulevard at Meridian Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida (USA). Enlarge image to see victims covering the arm. Click here for reviews.

1990 - Peacemakers Monument, Federation of Peace and Conciliation, 36 Prospect Mira, Moscow (Russia). Commemorating the handshake between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev on December 7, 1987.

October 22, 1992 - Peacemakers Monument, Shenandoah University, Winchester,Virginia (USA). Commemorating the handshake between President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev on December 7, 1987.

March 23, 1991 - "Infinity," Peace Symbols Zone, Nagasaki Peace Park, Nagasaki (Japan). From Ankara, Republic of Turkey. "The figure of a man and woman joined hand in hand symbolized peace and peace and harmony among the entire human race."

1992 - "Hands Across the Divide" Statue, west end of Craigavon Bridge, Londonderry (Northern Ireland). Produced by Maurice Harron. An image of the statue illustrates the website and brochures of the "Ulster Project" in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (USA).

1996 - Jane Addams Memorial Park, 600 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois (USA). Honors Jane Addams [1860-1935], founder of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and first US woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (1931). Park includes black granite statue "Helping Hands" by Louis Bourgeois. Entry #272 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1996 - "A Landmark for Peace," MLK Park, one block west of 17th Street & College Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Marks the spot where presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy [1926-1968] announced on April 4, 1968, to a large, mostly Black audience that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [1929-1968] had just been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. (Kennedy was assassinated on June 6, 1968.) Designed by Indiana artist Greg Perry, the monument includes busts of King & Kennedy sculpted by controversial artist Daniel Edwards from handguns melted down after a police buy back program. Click here for a description by Rev. Chris Buice of Knoxville, Tennessee, including text of Kennedy's speech which helped prevent race riots as occured in at least 110 other US cities. Click here for a 2009 video about the event and monument. Click here for air view of the park & monument. A plaque credits Diane Meyer Simon and various Simon family interests as major contributors. The plaque also says that the monument is "Dedicated to the memory of Larry Conrad" but says nothing about Conrad (a local lawyer and Democratic politician who died in 1990). Visited by EWL 08Aug09.

Date? - "La paz en nuestras manos / Peace in our hands," Mexico City (Mexico). Adopted by the Movimiento Mexicano por la Paz y el Desarrollo / Mexican Mouvement of Peace & Development (MOMPADE) as a national symbol of peace. Image shows monument from above with its hands casting a shadow with the shape of a dove.

About 1996? - Peace Monument & White Rose, Courtyard, Palacio Nacional de la Cultura / National Palace of Culture, Guatemala City (Guatemala). Former National Palace. "They have a tradition concerning peace and a symbol of peace, the White Rose. To celebrate another day of peace in their country and the ever-fresh peace process, at about 11:30 AM, the Army Honor Guard, changes a white rose that has been placed on a monument in the court yard with another fresh white rose. The day old white rose, symbolizing 24 hours of peace, is then given to a guest of the country in a ceremony." NB: Guatemalan civil war lasted from 1960 until 1996.

Date? - Peace Monument, Haghtanak Park (Victory Park), top of Cascade, Yerevan (Armenia). "The park is named Victory Park in commemoration of Soviet Armenia's participation in the second World War. The park is a large forested area with an artificial lake, an amusement park, cafes, the Mayr Hayastan statue and museum, and sweeping views of central Yerevan ."

Date? - "Hands" statue, Abdi Ipekci Park, Ankara (Turkey). By sculpter Metin Yurdanur.

Date? - Hands sculpture, Lake Superior waterfront, Duluth, Minnesota (USA). Six pairs of cupped hands supporting a dove of peace.

Date? - Rotary Mural, Culiacan, Sinaloa (Mexico). Depicts the fight against polio. Includes dove of peace & handshake of friendship.

Date? - Hands statue, Nathan Road (near the eastern entrance to Kowloon Park), Kowloon, Hong Kong (China). By Van Lau. Gift of Rotary Club of Kowloon West.

Date? - Hand Monument, in a desert, but where? (Bolivia or Chile). On "Desert Horizons" tour by Tucan Travel ("Take the adventure of a lifetime.").

Date? - Hands Monuments, Dili (East Timor). "Een monument in Dili, de hoofdstad van Oost Timor." The capital, largest city, chief port, and commercial centre of East Timor, Dili has approximately 150,000 inhabitants.

May 23, 1998 - "Prayer for Peace," National Peace Site, Peace Garden, Ragle Ranch Regional Park, Sonoma County, California (USA). "A spectacular sculpture created by world-renowned artist Masayuki Nagase." "Selected from 52 entries. Masayuki Nagase says,"The standing granite slabs represent hands, so that a person can stand between them while facing the third piece with carved water waves symbolizing the source of human spirit and consciousness." Entry #161 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

June 1998 - Peace Wall, 29th & Wharton Streets (southwest corner), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Mural by Jane Golden & Peter Pagast. Inscribed "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" from Matthew 5:9. Note children in foreground of the image.

June 2000 - "Hands & Molecule," Royal Esplanade, Eastcliffe, Ramsgate, Kent (England). Broze "millenium sculpture" by David Barnes. Sponsored by Pfizer Ltd. (the famous pharmaceutical company). A landmark on the "National Cycle Network" which links Ramsgate to other cycle paths all over the UK.

2000 - "Our Hands," Municipal Center Building, 411 Main Street, Chico, California (USA). Twelve-feet tall. "A $65,000 Chico public art project by artist Donna Billick" of Davis, Caliornia.

Date? - Hands, Statue Park, Budapest (Hungary).

September 12, 2002 - "Handspan" (Wanganui Culture of Peace Sculpture), Wanganui, North Island (New Zealand). A double-spiral pathway whose walls are covered with more than 4,000 clay hand casts. Created by "Peace Through Unity," an international NGO based in Wanganui. Designed by local artist Ross Mitchell-Anyon.

September 2003 - Halabja Martyrs Monument & Museum, Halabja (Iraq). A 100-foot-tall modern structure with a museum inside. Honors the thousands of people killed in 1988 when Saddam Hussein's army infamously attacked the town with chemical weapons. Opened just six months after the US invasion of Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell & other US dignitaries attended opening ceremony and were received by cheering crowds in the streets. Demonstrators set the monument on fire March 16, 2006, in protest against lack of government assistance. .

October 8, 2005 - Tree of Life Memorial, St. Martins in the Bull Ring, Birmingham (England). Statue of a pair of hands holding the world sculpted by Lorenzo Quinn. Dedicated to the victims of the Blitz in Birmingham during World War II. "They suffered hundreds of air raid warnings and over 70 direct bombing raids."

May 2008 - Hand Sculpture, Sculpture Park, Governors Island, New York City, New York (USA). Most of Governors Island was transfered from federal to state control on January 31, 2003.

May 2008 - "Healing Hands," St. Peter & St. Paul Cathedral, Ennis, County Claire (Ireland). Pair of hands sculpured from Threecastles limestone by local artist Shane Gilmore. Six plaques give various interpretations, e.g. peace ("marking a new era of peace on the island of Ireland"), welcome ("acknowledging the presense of immigrants..."), cooperation, healing, and faith, and quoting Isaiah 49:15 ("I will not forget you. I have carved your name on the palm of my hand."). Info courtesy of Julie Obermeyer.

August 2008 - Monumento a la Sardana / Monument to the Sardana, La Sardana Circus, Montjuic, Barcelona (Spain). Statue of dancers holding hands by Josep Cañas. "La Sardana is a typical Catalan dance, and this is its monument." There must be a very similar monument on the beach (right image).

Future? - "Building Peace One Piece at a Time," Studio of David Fichter, 20 Worcester Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA). Project by students of muralist David Fichter. Intended for permanent installation?

Future - "Peace Offering," Artist's studio, Hopkinton, Massachusetts (USA). Bench in form of a dove with outstretchd hands and the tail of a hawk (representing hostility). By Michael Malfano. "This sculpture represents some of the many aspects of attaining peace. It is a expression of Michael's Soka Gakkai Buddhist practice, with the intention of contributing to peace and culture." (5'7" x 2'9" x 1'7" Bronze, $25,000, Ltd. Ed. of 25, Resin, $6,000, Ltd. Ed. of 100)