Peace Monuments Vandalized or Attacked over the years

N.B.: Examples are shown in chronological order of vandalizaion (not in order of dedication).

Right click image to enlarge.

October 12, 1792 & 1964 - Vandalized August 21, 2017 - Columbus Obelisk, Herring Run Park, Harford Road at Walther Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland (USA). Main inscription (smashed in 2017): "SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF CHRIS. COLUMBUS OCTOB. XII MDCC VIIIC [___]." Inscription on side tablet: "COLUMBUS MONUMENT RE-LOCATED FROM NORTH AVENUE EAST OF HARFORD ROAD AND RE-DEDICATED OCTOBER 12, 1964. THEODORE R. McKELDIN, MAYOR" /// "First monument to Columbus in the USA (& in the world). Donated by the French Consul to Baltimore, Charles Francois Adrian de Paulmier, Chevalier d'Anmour. Initially erected on the consul's 50-acre estate [Villa Belmont] at the corner of North Avenue & Harford Road...In 1887, Belmont became the Samuel B. Ready School...It moved to West Baltimore in 1938 to make way for Sears Roebuck’s huge store, which is now the Eastside District Court...The Columbus obelisk was moved to its present location in northeast Baltimore near Herring Run park in 1964...The obelisk, considered too fragile to be moved, was left behind on what became a Sears parking lot...Moved to the present location near the Samuel Ready Institute on Columbus Day, 1964." /// "Smashed with a sledgehammer on August 21, 2017, in opposition to the 'culture of white supremacy,' according to reports. The narrator goes on to refer to such statues to Columbus as 'slap in the face...Racist monuments to slave owners & murderers have always bothered me. Baltimore’s poverty is concentrated in African-American households, & these statues are just an extra slap in the face. They were built in the 20th century [sic] in response to a movement for African Americans’ human dignity. What kind of a culture goes to such lengths to build such hate-filled monuments? What kind of a culture clings to those monuments in 2017?'" /// Click here for a more complete history of the THREE Columbus monuments in Baltimore.

1866 - Evicted c.1896 - Universal Peace Union (UPU), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Founded in 1866 by Joshua P. Blanshard, Adin Ballou, Henry C. Wright, Alfred H. Love, Lucretia Mott, and others, the UPU has been called "the most colorful & important peace organization to rise from the Civil War." It maintained its headquarters in Independence Hall (a national shrine) until c.1896. But UPU's opposition to the Spanish-American War unleashed a storm of passion against the organization, it was thrown out of Independence Hall, precious mementos were ruthlessly scattered, and UPU head Alfred H. Love was burned in effigy.

M U S E U M

B O A T

1925 - Destroyed in March 1933 - 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).

M E M O R I A L

June 21, 1936 - Vandalized in 1936 - "Anti-Air War Memorial," NW of Mornington Road & the High Road, Woodford Green, Essex, near London (England). Bottom image. Sculpted by Eric Benfield in the shape of a bomb for suffrigist (and onetime communist) Sylvia Pankhurst [1882-1960]. Rededicated on July 4, 1936, after being vandalized. "In October 1935, Pankhurst was outraged by Mussolini's assault on Ethiopia, the only part of Africa that remained independent and had joined the League of Nations. Unveiled that same month by a group that included Pankhurst and [Tesfaye] Zaphiro, the secretary of the Imperial Ethiopian Legation, the monument stood prominently outside Red Cottage [which Pankhurst shared with Italian anarchist Silvio Corio] along with a plaque dedicating it ironically to politicians who, at the World Disarmament Conference [which] opened in Geneva in February 1932, 'upheld the right to use bombing planes.'" One of 21 peace monuments named by the PPU website. Named in "A Peace Trail Through London" by Valerie Flessati (1998).

September 4, 1938 - Dynamited on May 30, 1942 - Monument à la gloire des Américains / Monument to the Glory of the Americans, Point-de-Grave, Le Verdon, Mouth of Gironde River (France). Expressed gratitude for US help during World War I. 75 meters tall (vs. 45.5 meter Statue of Liberty). Cornerstone laid September 6, 1919, by French President Raymond Poincaré [1860-1934]. Dedication (lower left) attended by John F. Kennedy [1917-1963] representing his father, the US Ambassador in London. Lower right image shows a stele (plaque) about 10 meters high which was erected in 1947 to mark the spot. Its inscription reads: "Ici s'élevait le monument érigé à la gloire des Américains - Aux soldats du général Pershing défenseurs du même idéal de droit et de liberté qui conduisit en Amérique La Fayette et ses volontaires partis de ce rivage en 1777 - Le monument symbolisait la fraternité d'armes et l'amitié franco-américaine - Il fut détruit le 30 mai 1942 par les troupes d'occupation allemandes - Il sera réédifié par le peuple français - They have destroyed it, we shall restore it."

1929-Destroyed in 1940's - Peace Lighthouse, summit of Mount Lycabettus, Athens (Greece). "In honor of the meeting in Athens, Greece, of the [27th] Congress of Universal Peace... The dedication took place after the arrival of the members... At eight P.M. 600 Boy Scouts, carrying Venetian lanterns, started marching through the city and up to the summit of the mountain, where they lighted the Peace Lighthouse, which shone like an enormous star thoughout the sessions of the Congress. It was to be re-lighted each time the League of Nations was in session. [But] this monument was destroyed by the Germans when they moved into Greece in World War II." 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 40-41. Left image scanned from Baber. All information from Baber. NB: Baber dates this monument from 1930, but the conference took place October 6-10, 1929.

S H E L L

November 11, 1938 - Vandalized on August 23, 1943 - Peace Monument, in front of Lyman's Hall, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida (USA). German artillery shell made into a monument by Hamilton Holt [1872-1951], president of Rollins College. Dedicated on Armistice Day 1938. "Vandalized on Aug. 23, 1943. It was suspected that servicemen from the US Army STAR (Specialized Training and Reassignment) unit stationed on campus were responsible for the act, but investigation did not support that conclusion. The German shell on the stone pedestal was destroyed, but the plaque survived, was put in storage, and was rediscovered in the 1980's under President Thaddeus Seymour, who rededicated it in 1988 by the stairway of the Mills Memorial Building next to Holt’s statue. [Information courtesy of college archivist Wenxian Zhang 10Jan11]" The Plaque bears this inscription: Pause, passerby and hang your head in shame. This Engine of Destruction, Torture and Death Symbolizes: The Prostitution of the Inventor, The Avarice of the Manufacturer, The Blood-guilt of the statesman, The Savagery of the Soldier, The Perverted Patriotism of the Citizen, The Debasement of the Human Race. That it can be Employed as an Instrument of Defense of Liberty, Justice and Right in Nowise Invalidates the Truth of the Words Here Graven. —Hamilton Holt. Compare 1936 monument of Sylvaia Pankhurst in London, England (UK). Did Holt know about Pankhurst's monument?

M U S E U M

1930 - Destroyed March 15-16, 1946 - IJzertoren Museum of War, Peace & Flemish Emancipation, IJzerdijk 49, Diksmuide / Dixmude, Flanders (Belgium). IJzertoren / Yser Tower is is named after the Yser River which formed the frontline during most of World War I. The 84-meter tower was illegally demolished the night of March 15-16, 1946. The perpetrators were never caught but were thought to involve Belgian military and former resistance fighters in an atmosphere of post WW-II repression. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 38-39. Site of 4th International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP). Images show the rebuilt tower. Right image is brochure for the 4th INMP conference in 2003.

1955 - Vandalized on May 18, 1970 - “The Singing Mural,” Ballroom, University Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee (USA). By American muralist Marion Greenwood [1909-1970] who worked in Mexico. Depicts the music, dance, and folklore of Tennessee from the Mississippi on the left to the Appalachians on the right. Minority students complained that the Black cotton picker is a smiling slave. Mural vandalized on May 18, 1970. Has been covered since May 1972. Uncovered briefly March 15-17, 2006, when these photos were taken by the Knoxville News Sentinel.

October 4, 1990 - Vandalized after 1990 - Campana de la Paz / World Peace Bell, Parque Lira, Tacubaya, Mexico City (Mexico). One of 23 WPB's in 16 different countries. Enclosed by chain link fence to prevent further vandalism. Click here for air view. Left photo by EWL.

1991 - Vandalized after 1991 - Monument to Viola Gregg Liuzzo [1925-1965], highway between Selma & Montgomery, Alabama (USA). "This brave [Unitarian] civil rights heroine of Detroit, Michigan, was killed by Ku Klux Klansmen, [two days] after the Selma-Montgomery March in 1965. Since Mrs. [Evelyn G.] Lowery established and dedicated this monument in 1991, it has been defaced and vandalized many times. But it still stands strong and tall as a testimony to the promise that 'We Shall Overcome!'" Monument is isolated on side of the highway where the murder took place. A fence has been constructed to protect it from further vandalism.

June 23, 1992. Vandalized in 1990's - Gay Liberation Monument, New York, New York (USA). "This sculpture by George Segal (1924-2000) honors the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) rights movement and commemorates the events at the Stonewall Inn opposite this park that gave rise to the movement." Thus reads the plaque at the Gay Liberation Monument in Christopher Park in the West Village. George Segal [1924-2000] is a well known sculptor and this work was inaugurated in 1992 after 12-year battle of controversy and opposition (a cast of the sculpture installed on Stanford University's campus in 1984 , faced a decade of vandalism and beatings). The Stonewall Inn is just out of view to the right in the photo." According to Segal, "The sculpture concentrates on tenderness, gentleness and sensitivity as expressed in gesture. It makes the delicate point that gay people are as feeling as anyone else."

T R E E

September 12, 1992 - Vandalized August 8, 1996 - WVU "Peace Tree," West Virginia University, Morgantgown, West Virginia (USA). "Commemorates the University's commitment to the rediscovery of America's Indian heritage. Chief Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho (Presiding Moderator) of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, & Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree, also a musician, artisan and storyteller, were invited to plant & bless the tree. On August 8, 1996, vandals cut down the Peace Tree. A second Peace Tree, which still stands today, was planted by Mohawk Chief Jake Swamp on October 19, 1996. /// According to Haudenosaunee oral tradition, the Creator sent a Peacemaker to unite the warring Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk & Onondaga Nations by planting the original Tree of Peace at Onondaga [New York] ca. 1000 A.D. The Tree marked the formation of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. As told by Chief Jake Swamp, when the Tree was planted, the Peacemaker told the first leaders: 'This will be the symbol that we will use. The white pine will be the symbol of peace. Now the greenery of this tree will represent the peace you have agreed to. Every time you look at this tree and its greenery, you will be reminded of this peace you agreed to because this tree never changes color the year round, it's always green, so shall be your peace.'"

1891 - Vandalized in June 2004 - Liberty Monument, near Canal Place, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA). "Near the foot of Canal Street, to the side of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas near the trolley tracks." From Wikipedia: "In 1891, a year after the Democratic legislature passed a new constitution that essentially disfranchised most blacks, the city government, by then representing only its white constituents, erected the Liberty Monument to 'commemorate the uprising' [of 1873-74]. In 1932 inscriptions were added to the monument which attested to its role in the white supremacist movement. In the late 20th century, the monument was seen as a symbol of racism by many in the black and Italian communities. After the monument had to be removed because of street work in 1989, many residents opposed its being restored and replaced. The city tried to negotiate removing the inscriptions. Some people argued for its being restored at the original location. The content of the inscriptions was seldom discussed; rather, the issues were dealt with on technical grounds. Historic preservation officials argued for its replacement; others argued this was history which did not deserve continued commemoration." /// From news story" "[In 2004?] Anti-Nazi messages are written on the 'Liberty Monument.' The monument honors the White League members who died in an 1874 armed attack against the integrated Reconstruction government of Louisiana. David Duke had planned a rally to occur at this monument on Sunday, May 30th but the event was cancelled, possibly due to the actions taken against the monument. The monument commemorates the deaths of militant racists' attempts to suppress the participation of blacks in post-Civil War Louisiana government. The monument has long been reviled as a celebration of the militant racists in the White League. The 'Battle of Liberty Place' [on Sept. 14, 1874] has been called the largest street fight in American history; 3500 White League members faced 3600 New Orleans police and black militia."

1945 - Knocked over in September 2004 - Japanese Temple Bell, near Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens, Boston, Massachusetts (USA). "Cast in 1675 by Tanaka Gonzaemon under the supervision of Suzuki Magoemon, and dedicated to Bishamon, a Buddhist god of children and good luck. Contributed to the Japanese war effort in 1940 but ended up on a scrap heap in Yokosuka [naval base]. Sailors from the USS Boston (CA-69) salvaged the bell after WW-II and offered it to the city of Boston in 1945." In October 1953, Kyukichi Anzai, Representative of the Believers' Committee of Manpukuji Temple, Sendai (Japan), presented the bell to Boston "in order to create close friendship between the citizens of Boston and the citizens of Sendai as a link for the attainment of peace in the world." In 1993, "the bell was restored through funding from the Japan Foundation." In September 2004, the bell was knocked over by vandals, then taken to a park department warehouse for safekeeping and cleaning, but it was later restored to its pedestal in Back Bay Fens.

December 1924 - Vandalized in mid-2000's - The Temple of Peace, Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia). "Built by Richard Paul Carl Ramo in memory of his four sons, three of whom were killed in World War I. * Victor - killed at Messines in August 1915. * Henry - Died of wounds in Belgium in October 1915. * Gordon - killed at Gallipoli in November 1915. * (foster son) Ferdinand Christian Borell - died in Brisbane in November 1923. The body of Ramo's dog, which had been poisoned was also included in the memorial. Ferdinand Borell died on 28 November 1923 in the rear of Richard Ramo's store at 180 Roma Street, Brisbane, as a result of a gunshot wound. A dedication ceremony was conducted in December 1924 and was attended by several thousand people, many of them socialists, pacifists, and members of the Industrial Workers of the World. A band played "The Red Flag" as a coffin was placed in the memorial. /// Right image shows The Temple of Peace, boarded up after extensive vandalism in the mid-2000's."

December 31, 1999 - Vandalized About 2005? - Millennium Bell, Grand Circus Park, Detroit, Michigan (USA). On east side of the park. Ten ton bell celebrating the new millennium. Designed by Chris Turner & Matt Blake [1965-2008]. "One day, years ago, Blake discovered the ringer was missing. Different stories circulate about how & where he found the ringer. In any event, according to artist & friend Jerome Ferretti, Blake took the ringer to his garage & sent a 'ransom note' to the city, demanding that officials protect the ringer before he would return it. 'Matt was outrageous,' Ferretti says."

C A M P + M E M O R I A L 1976 - Vandalized in 2005 & 2009 - Memorial to the Deportation, Drancy (France). "Created by Israeli sculptor Shlomo Selinger to commemorate the French Jews imprisoned in the camp... On 20 January 2005, arsonists set fire to some railroad freight cars in the former camp; a tract signed "Bin Laden" with an inverted swastika was found on the place. On 11 April 2009, a swastika was painted on the train car used for the deportation of Jews, a permanent exhibit. This action was condemned by the French Minister for the Interior, Michèle Alliot-Marie."

August 6, 1990 - Vandalized in December 2005 - Sadako Peace Park, 40th Street & Roosevelt Way, NE, Seattle, Washington (USA). Initiative of conscientious objector Floyd W. Schmoe [1895-2001] who rebuilt homes in Hiroshima (Japan) & won the Hiroshima Peace Prize in 1998. Inscription: "Sadako Sasaki, Peace Child. She gave us the paper crane to symbolize our yearning for peace in the world. A gift to the people of Seattle from Fratelli's Ice Cream. Daryl Smith - Sculptor. 1990." Upraised arm cut off in December 2005 but repaired. Left image shows Schmoe & peace cranes. Right image shows hibakusha Ken Nakano of Kirkland, WA. Entry #1063 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1992 - Disappeared - La Paz (Peace Dove), HemisFair Park, San Antonio, Texas (USA). Sculpture of a dove with its wings wrapped around the world. Sculpted by Cuauhtemoc Zamudio. "I have a request in to our San Antonio Parks & Rec department to find out what they did with the lovely peace dove, a gift from our sister city of Monterrey, Mexico, that disappeared from HemisFair Park a while ago." /// Information courtesy of Susan Ives (San Antonio Peace Center).

1998 - Destroyed by Police in April 2006 - Monumento de la Memoria, Comunidad de Paz, San José de Apartadó, Uraba (Colombia). "The Community was established on Palm Sunday, March 1997, the villagers declaring themselves neutral in the Colombian armed conflict." /// "In 1998, we constructed a monument to our assassinated members, built of painted stones with the names of those murdered." /// "The San José de Apartadó massacre was a massacre of five men & three children perpetrated by members of the Military of Colombia and United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia between February 21–22, 2005." /// "Founded by displaced people, the Community itself was displaced last year [2005] when the government installed a police post inside Community grounds - against the Community's wishes & its internal rules that prohibit the carrying of weapons or cooperation with any armed actor." /// "When we had to leave the Community last year [2005], we had to leave the monument... This April [2006], the police destroyed the monument in full view of members of the Community. That tells us that they do not want to have any communication with the Community, and that they don't want us to have our memory - they want to take everything away."

October 20, 2006 - Collapsed December 29, 2006 - "Spaceship Earth," Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia (USA). "A 175-ton quartzite & bronze sculpture made by a Finnish-born artist Eino. Questions abound over whether vandals destroyed the sculpture, or whether a combination of substandard adhesive & rain caused it to crumble in the middle of the night on December 29, 2006, in a collapse the campus police said they felt from their offices around the corner. Just three months old, the $1 million globe, made of 88 chunks of Brazilian quartzite adorned with raised bronze signifying land masses, lies disintegrated [right image] outside a new academic building praised for its eco-friendly attributes. A bronze statue of David Brower [1912-2000], a conservationist who was the first executive director of the Sierra Club, had stood atop the 15-foot globe and is now partly crushed. A steel time capsule intended to be opened in 3006 is exposed amid the rubble."

Date? - Descecrated February 18, 2007 - Holocaust Memorial, Odessa (Ukraine). "Erected at the site where thousands of Jews were killed & burned by the Nazis between 1941-1944." /// "Unidentified people desecrated the Holocaust monument in with red swastikas and with an inscription: 'Congratulations on the Holocaust.'" /// "Depending on the definition, "Odessa Massacre" can either refer to the events of October 22–24, 1941, in which between 25,000 and 34,000 Jews were shot or burned alive, or to the murder of well over 100,000 Ukrainian Jews in the town and nearby areas."

W A L L

August 2005 - Removed in December 2007 - Peace Grafitti on the Israeli Separation Wall, Bethlehem (Palestine). In August 2005, [anonymous British grafitti artist] Banksy painted nine images, including an Israeli soldier inspecting the papers of a donkey. "Some Palestinian locals found [the donkey mural] offensive and painted over it [sic]. 'We're humans here, not donkeys. This is insulting. I'm glad it was painted over,' said restaurant owner Nasri Canavati. 'Comparing someone to a donkey in Palestinian society is like calling them an idiot.'" Carefully removed & preserved by owner; see "Against the Wall" (2010) for photos of the removal.

2006 -- Vandalized January 2007 - Peace & Memorial Garden, Central Park, London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Essex (England). "The designs are based on the themes of Persecution, Despair & Hope. The Garden, Gates and Seats have been designed by artist/designer Anuradha Patel in collaboration with London Borough of Barking & Dagenham design team. Colour, as a universal visual language, is a very important aspect of the designs, ranging from purple to yellow. This colour scheme conveys a passionate range of emotions from that of despair and pain to that of optimism & hope." /// "A memorial garden to remember victims of oppression, torture & brutality was defaced as the country marked Holocaust Memorial Day. Borough dignitaries expressed dismay & disgust after learning the peace & memorial garden near Dagenham Civic Centre had been sprayed with graffiti. Deputy Mayor Cllr Marie West, who opened the garden last year when she was Mayor, said: 'I’m so distressed that anyone could even contemplate doing such a thing. I can’t understand the mentality. I’m very upset.'"

May 27, 2008 - Vandalized on April 17, 2008? - Presseandrang bei der Eröffnung des Denkmals für die im Nationalsozialismus verfolgten Homosexuellen / Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism, Berlin-Tiergarten (Germany). "Designed by artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. On the front side of the concrete cuboid is a window, through which visitors can see a short film of two kissing men. The work is the third of its kind in Germany following Frankfurter Engel (1994) in Frankfurt and Kölner Rosa Winkel (1995) in Cologne." Vandalized on April 17, 2008.

1985 - Vandalized in 2008 - "Three Minutes to Midnight," Seminole Avenue, Little Five Points, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Also called the "Seminole Peace Mural." First US mural painted by David Fichter of Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Painted as part of a cultural festival for nuclear disarmament called 'Three Minutes to Midnight' which organized several events around the city in October 1984." First image is close up of Martin Luther King, Jr. [1929-1968]. Second image shows Leó Szilárd [1898-1964] & 70 other atomic scientists petitioning for a demonstration of the atomic bomb before using it on human beings, US officials playing deaf and dumb, and three weeping "Hiroshima maidens". Click here for article & slide show about Fitcher's visit to the endangered mural on December 5, 2008.

F E N C E

Mother's Day 2007 - Destroyed in June 2008 - "Peace Fence," Ashland, Oregon (USA). Jean Bakewell's idea to transform an unsightly chain link fence that runs along railroad tracks. The panels express each contributor's vision about the human spirit & hopes for peace. There are intricate quilts and beautifully sewn works, oil paintings on canvas, collages, batik and tie-died works, hand painted signs and statements... In [June] 2008, the entire Peace Fence was destroyed by vandals. But [it] is neither gone nor forgotten." See the Peace Wall.

W A L L

September 21, 2010 - "Peace Wall," Ashand Public Library, Ashland Oregon (USA). Successor to the vandalized Peace Fence (qv). "Artist Kay Cutter is transferring photographic images of every Peace Fence panel (over 200 of them) onto ceramic tiles."

M E M O R I A L

1984 - Vandalized in Nov. & Dec. 2008 - Holocaust Memorial, California Palace of the Legion of Honor (art musuem), San Francisco, California (USA). Overlooks San Francisco Bay. Created by artist George Segal [1924-2000] out of white painted bronze. One of the bodies in the sculpture resembles Christ; another is of a woman holding an apple. Both symbolize the connection between Jews & Christians. The only standing man is thought to be the sculptor's representation of the famous 1945 Life Magazine photo from Buchenwald by Margaret Bourke-White [1904-1971] (image at right). The memorial was vandalized with sparay paint in November & again in December 2008. See Video & Website.

S C U L P T

March 22, 1980 - Vandalized in December 2008? - Georgia Guidestones, Elberton, Georgia (USA). aka "The American Stonehenge." Four giant granite stones engraved with 10 "Guides" or commandments in 8 different languages setting forth the basic principles of the establishment of the governance of a one world order with a unified world court of law where populations and reproduction are controlled, a unified "living new" language, whose philosophical foundation is built on "spirituality" & man’s environmental responsibility to live in harmony with nature. Built by "R.C. Christian" whose true identity remains unknown.

July 3, 1938 - Vandalized on January 8, 2009 - Peace Light Memorial, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (USA). Dedicated by President Franklin Deleno Roosevelt on 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in presence of elderly veterans from both sides of the Civil War. Also known as Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Vandalized on January 8, 2009.

June 15, 2007 - Vandalized in January 2009 - MLK Memorial & Statue, Central Park, Mansfield, Ohio (USA). Right image shows snow & some of the yellow paint poured on the statue by vandals in January 2009.

C A M P

M U S E U M

May 3, 1975 - Vandalized in February 2009 - 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. Lower image shows a 1978 East German postage stamp. See Video & Website.

M U S E U M

April 22, 1993 - Attacked on June 10, 2009 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC (USA). Attacked June 10, 2009 by James Wenneker von Brunn, and one security guard killed. Entry #967 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). One of 27 US museums in "Museums for Peace Worldwide" edited by Kazuyo Yamane (2008). See Video & Website. Click here for Wikipedia article.

October 28, 2009, "Keep Religion OUT of Government" billboard, 2600 block of North Avenue, Grand Junction, Colorado (USA). "The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) today announced it is offering a $1,000 award to anyone coming forward with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s) of a hate crime directed against the Foundation and gays. The Foundation's billboard was defaced, apparently last weekend. A vandal X'ed out the word "religion," and painted in the word "fag." "This is a hate crime directed both at the nonreligious and at gays—it's a perversion of our message honoring a precious constitutional principle," said Foundation Co-President, Annie Laurie Gaylor."

2007 - Vandalized in May 2010 - Air India Monument, remote corner of Humber Bay East Park, Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). "A vandalized monument that honours 329 victims of an Air India terrorist bombing [on June 23, 1985] will be restored in time to mark next month’s 25th anniversary of what was Canada’s worst air disaster. Members of the East Indian community are outraged that someone has stolen a stainless steel 'gnomon' or 'shadow caster' that produces a shadow on a memorial sundial when lit by the sun. The thieves also used black paint to spray graffiti on the face of the sundial."

M U R A L

1985 - Painted over in Fall 2010 - "Three Minutes to Midnight," Seminole Avenue, Little Five Points, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Also called the "Seminole Peace Mural." First US mural painted by David Fichter of Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Painted as part of a cultural festival for nuclear disarmament called 'Three Minutes to Midnight' which organized several events around the city in October 1984." First image is close up of Martin Luther King, Jr. [1929-1968]. Second image shows Leó Szilárd [1898-1964] & 70 other atomic scientists petitioning for a demonstration of the atomic bomb before using it on human beings, US officials playing deaf and dumb, and three weeping "Hiroshima maidens". Click here for article & slide show about Fitcher's visit to the endangered mural on December 5, 2008. /// "In December 2008, artist David Fichter & paintings conservator James Squires visited the mural to document the mural's condition, meet with neighborhood leaders & develop a plan to restore it. However, in fall 2010, it was illegally painted over by a graffiti mural."

2008 - Demolished in April 2011 - Monument to Humanity, Kars (Turkey). "For Naif Alibeyoglu, the former mayor of Kars whose idea it was, supposed to represent the victory of peace over enmity, its flood-lighting visible from neighbouring Armenia, 40 kilometres away. In Kars, opposition was led by Oktay Aktas, local head of the Nationalist Action Party, or MHP. “Why is one figure standing with its head bowed, as if ashamed," Aktas asks. Today, it stands unfinished. Its three-metre high hand, supposed to join the two figures, was never attached. It lies fingers up in the gravel in front. /// Reuters 12Jan 11: " The row centres on the prime minister's right to demand the removal of an artwork on aesthetic grounds. His comments come at a time when rapprochement between Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia is at a standstill. Erdogan's comments have been seized on by Turkish nationalists who condemn the monument's message of understanding. A bid to normalise ties between neighbouring Turkey and Armenia suffered a blow last April when Yerevan froze ratification of a US-brokered peace accord. /// Armenian Weekly, March 11, 2011: "The demolition began on April 26 while Armenians worldwide commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In the presence of riot police, the heads of the statues were dismounted & trucked away. Thus, a conciliatory symbol has itself become a target of intolerance - a fate sculptor Mehmet Aksoy has likened to the destruction of Buddhist relics by the Taliban.""

July 15, 2009 - Defaced in 2011 - Peace Monument, Kampala & Juba Road, Gulu (Uganda). To commemorate education’s importance in ensuring peace, The Dutch Embassy commissioned a sculpture conisting of three destroyed guns at the feet of a girl and boy reading a pile of text books. After speaking at length about education’s role in a post-conflict environment, the Dutch Ambassador, Jeroen Verheul, celebrated the sculpture’s unveiling by hosting a lunch for local community leaders. The books, Verheul noted, portrayed education as a pillar of knowledge, an instrument of reconciliation and a basis for moral building. /// "For example, in Gulu town, [election] posters have almost defaced the peace monument in the centre of town. This monument was expensively commissioned to symbolise the end of the conflict and the beginning of peace in northern Uganda. Is this how Uganda takes care of its monuments?"

May 4, 1977 - Damaged by fire May 25, 2011 - "Reconcilation,", J.B. Priestley Library, University of Bradford, Bradford (England). Original statue by Josefina de Vasconcellos [1903-2004]. Unveiled by 1974 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Seán MacBride [1904-1988]. Originally called "Reunion." Click here for air view. Four copies (paid for by Sir Richard Branson) are in Belfast, Berlin, Coventry & Hiroshima (qv). /// Paraphrase of notification from the dean's office: "The 'Reunion' statue by Josefina de Vasconcellos, which has historic significance for Peace Studies, was unfortunately damaged by fire on Wednesday night. Security have CCTV footage of what appears to be an arson attack by students and are intending to take further with the police. It is made of a kind of resin rather than metal so did suffer. Prompt action limited the damage though the tops of the figures' heads has suffered [sic]."

October 2011 -"Defaced by Shvuel Schijveschuurder, 27. He was caught pouring paint over the square memorial & daubing it with graffiti demanding the release of Mr Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir. He told police he was protesting against the release of a woman involved in the bombing of a Jerusalem pizzeria in 2001 that killed his parents & three of his siblings. Ahlam Tamimi, who drove the suicide bomber to the restaurant, is one of the 27 female Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody being released as part of the deal that will see Mr. Gilad Shalit freed. She was serving 15 life sentences – one for each of those killed in the attack."

About 1996 - Rabin Memorial, Rabin Square (former Kings of Israel Square), Tel Aviv (Israel). Sculpture by Yaël Artsi (a resident of kibbutz Sdot-Yam). Stone inscribed, "Peace Shall Be His Legacy." "Âgé de 73 ans, Yitzhak Rabin [1922-1995] est assassiné de trois balles le 4 novembre 1995 juste après avoir prononcé un discours lors d'une manifestation pour la paix sur la Place des Rois de Tel Aviv... Dix ans après son assassinat, deux cent mille Israéliens se sont rassemblés le 5 novembre 2005 à Tel Aviv sur la place, rebaptisée à son nom désormais symbole de paix, où il avait été abattu en 1995." Click here for protest on Jan. 6, 2008. "Near the north end of the square is Holocaust memorial by Israeli artist Yigal Tumarkin (qv)."

December 14, 2010 - Inukshuk, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario (Canadqa). On St. Lawrence River. "The first anniversary of the passing of the Olympic torch in Cornwall was celebrated on December 14 with the unveiling of a commemorative Inukshuk & plaque beside the Clock Tower at Lamoureux Park. The Inukshuk was the welcoming symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On December 14, 2009, the Olympic Flame came to Cornwall as thousands of citizens gathered at Lamoureux Park to witness the final bearer, Rik Saaltink, who lit the cauldron in honour of his daughter Heather. The Inukshuk symbolizes friendship, hope, hospitality, energy & team spirit. 'It will continue to remind us of the wonderful event we shared,' said Cornwall Mayor Bob Kilger during the ceremony. The City of Cornwall partnered with the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for the Inukshuk & plaque." /// May 2011 : "An Inukshuk placed in Lamoureux Park to commemorate the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay has been destroyed. All that stands of the symbolic statue are two cement blocks. 'It's a horrible thing,' says Pam Maloney, co-chair of the Torch Relay task force. 'It's disheartening that something that was symbolic of a really wonderful day for our community has been destroyed in this way.' Maloney says she is unsure as to how the Inukshuk was destroyed. 'Vandalism doesn't really prove anything,' she says. 'I'm sure we'll replace it. The memory of that event will carry on, no matter what. It sounds like it was just irresponsible people getting their kick.'"

August 6, 1952 - Defaced January 4, 2012 - Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Also called "Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace." Has Inscription composed by Prof. Tadayoshi Saika: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil." "The stone chest in the center holds the registry of the names of persons who died from the bombing, regardless of nationality. As of August 6, 2001, the registry comprises 77 volumes that list a total of 221,893 names." Restored 1984-85. #20 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour. /// "Found defaced with what appears to be golden paint in the early hours of Wednesday, police said. Paint was sprayed over part of the cenotaph's inscription, according to the police, who are treating the incident as damage to property. A security guard rushed to the cenotaph shortly before 1 a.m. after someone entered the monument site and set off an alarm, according to the police."

October 21, 2012 - Desecrated October 30, 2012 - Jerusalem-Friedensstein/Jerusalem Rock of Peace, Bensheim-Hochstädten, near Frankfurt (Germany). "On the European long-distance hiking trail high above E8 cities." Inscribed "Wo sich Staub zu Licht wandelt"/"Where dust to light converts." /// "'Jerusalem is everywhere where there is beauty. And now Jerusalem is also in Bensheim near Frankfurt.'" - this is the message that the Frankfurt Rabbi Andrew Steiman conveyed in his greeting at the inauguration of the Rock of Peace. But Jerusalem did not stay in Bensheim for long. Only nine days after the inauguration, the Jerusalem Rock of Peace was desecrated. Thomas Zieringer, the initiator of the monument, said that this site also stood for the idea that remembrance should not be reserved for the past, but should signify that we are moving forward into a new concord in peace. The intention had been to build a monument for peace that links the idea of outer peace with that of inner peace."