73 Peace Monuments in France

Right click image to enlarge.

Paris & Vicinity:

1440-1445 - The Battle of San Romano, A set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello [1397-1475] depicting events that took place at the Battle of San Romano in 1432. Much admired in the 15th century. They are now divided between three collections, the National Gallery, London, the Galleria degli Uffizi and the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

1780 - "Peace Bringing Back Abundance", Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Oil on canvas, 40 3/8" x 52 1/8." By Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun [1755-1842].

1795-1814, 1830- - Place de la Concorde, 8th arrondissement, Paris (France) "Between the Champs-Élysées to the west & the Tuileries Garden to the east. Designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel & named Place Louis XV in 1755... During the French Revolution the statue of Louis XV was torn down & the area renamed Place de la Révolution. The new revolutionary government erected the guillotine in the square, and it was here that King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793. In 1795, under the Directory, the square was renamed Place de la Concorde as a gesture of reconciliation after the turmoil of the French Revolution. After the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, the name was changed back to Place Louis XV, and in 1826 the square was renamed Place Louis XVI. After the July Revolution of 1830 the name was returned to Place de la Concorde & has remained since."

1807 - Fontaine a la Paix, Allée du Seminaire, 6th arrondissement, Paris (France). "Originally in Place St. Sulpice, then in Marché saint Germain, now in the Allee du Seminaire, not far away. A neo-classical monument in a square basin, with allegorical figures representing the sciences, the arts, peace, commerce, agriculture & other figures. The statue was moved in 1937 to its present location... Detournelle, architect, Caraffe, Voinier, Jean-Joseph Espercieux & Marquois, sculptors." /// Click here for many photos.

About 1816 - Rue de la Paix / Peace Street, 2nd Arondissement, Paris (France). Connects the Place Vendôme (seen in lower image) to the Opéra de Paris (1875). Part of Napoléon's program to open the heart of the Right Bank, the street was constructed in 1806 and required the demolition of the ancient Convent of the Capucins. At first named Rue Napoléon, the name was changed at the Bourbon Restoration to celebrate the Peace of 1815, the treaty for which was signed on November 20, 1815. Now one of the world's most fashionable shopping streets, known above all for the shop opended by Cartier SA in 1898 at 13, rue de la Paix. (The column in the Place Vendôme celebrates Napoléon's victory at Austerlitz on December 2, 1805. Its veneer was made from cannon taken from the combined armies of Europe.)

1819 - "Congress of Vienna," Musée 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."

1828 - Place des Victoires-Nationaux / National Victories Square, Paris (France). With an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Designed as a memorial to the Treaties of Nijmegen concluded in 1678-79. "In 1793, the Place was renamed, & a wooden pyramid was erected on the site of the destroyed statue. In 1810, under the rule of Napoléon Bonaparte, a nude statue of General Louis Desaix replaced the pyramid. However, following the abdication of Napoléon, the statue was taken down, & its metal was used to create a new statue of Henry IV on the nearby Pont Neuf. In 1828, the restored Bourbon king, Charles X, commissioned the current equestrian statue, which was sculpted by François Joseph Bosio. Louis XIV, dressed as a Roman emperor, sits on a proud horse rearing on its hind legs. An iron fence encircles the 12-meter-high statue."

1836 - La Paix / Peace (also known as La Paix de 1815 / The Peace of 1815), Northwest Pillar (facing Avenue de la Grand-Armeé), Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, Place Charles de Gaulle (also known as the Place de l'Étoile), Paris (France).

Before 1859 - Statue of Peace, at the Entrance of the Rue de la Paix, Paris (France). Image shows "The Paris Fetes-Entry into Paris of the [French] Army of Italy, Genuine original antique engraving, 1859; approximate size 17.5 x 23.0cm, 6.75 x 9 inches" as sold on amazon.co.uk. (From the History of France: "The army of Italy, 60,000 in number, made a public entry into Paris, on Sunday, the 14th of August [1859], passing from St. Maur - under triumphal arches, and admidst trophies & decorations innumerable - down to the Faubourg St. Anoine, and along the Boulevards to the Rue de la Paix. The empress & the imperial family awaited the troops, in the balcony of the Hotel de l'Etat Major, on the Place Vendome; and the Place was coverted into an anphitheatre, for the accommodation of the three great bodies of the state, and other privileged persons. It was asserted, that it would receive 20,000 persons; and every seat was occupied....")

August 15, 1860 - Fontaine Saint-Michel, Place Saint-Michel, 5th arrondissement, Paris (France). A monumental fountain constructed by architect Gabriel Davioud [1824-1881] as part of the great project for the reconstruction of Paris overseen by Baron Haussmann [1809-1891] during the French Second Empire. In his 1856 plan, Davioud placed a feminine statue of Peace into the central niche. The 1858 plan called for replacing Peace with a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte. This provoked furious opposition from the opponents of Louis-Napoleon, so later in 1858 Davioud proposed that the central figure be the Archangel Michael wrestling with the devil. This was agreed, and construction began in June 1858."

June 30, 1862 - Café de la Paix / Peace Cafe, 12 boulevard des Capucines, 9th Arondissement, Paris (France). Designed by Charles Garnier [1825-1898] who also designed the nearby Opéra de Paris (1875). Opened as a cafe and a restaurant of the hotel with similar name which later was renamed the Grand Hotel. Served visitors to the Exposition Universelle in 1867. Famous customers included Jules Massenet, Émile Zola, and Guy de Maupassant. Once had a radio studio from which the program "This is Paris" was broadcast directly to the USA. Lower image is a menu hand dated 1969 which shows the opera and the dove of peace. Slogan today: "Discover the trendiest Second Empire atmosphere in the most classic of Paris landmark restaurants."

1914-1918The Great War or World War I

June 28, 1919 - Galerie des Glaces / Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Versailles (France). This room was constructed by King Louis XIV in 1678-1684. It became a an "unintentional monument" with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany ending the World War I (1914–1918).

1919 - "Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors," Imperial War Museum, London (England). By Irish artist Sir William Orpen [1878- 1931]. Norman Stone (2009) says this "captured the political wrangling and vainglory of the gathered politicians and statesman whom Orpen came to loathe but increasingly relied upon for his post-war portrait commissions. The peace-makers look extraordinarily pleased with them- selves as they pose for rather wooden immortaliation: silkiness of mous- tache, acuteness of gaze, dignity of stance. A Maharajah and a Japanese baron look on, evidence of the peace-makers' internationalism and benevolence. Clemenceau is said to have remrked that he was between a would-be Napoleon (Lloyd George) and a would-be Jesus Christ (Wilson)... Far above the delegates reads the legend 'Le roy gouverne par lui même,' a pointed reference to their endless squabbling."

1935 - "Les Fantômes / The Phantoms," Oulchy-le-Château (Aisne), Butte de Chalmont (France). "Monument commémoratif de la bataille de la Marne. Cet immense monument (8m x 8,60m x 4,30m) s’inscrit dans le paysage bouleversé de la guerre de 1914, artificiellement rétabli en un long trajet d’escaliers allant de la statue de la France, au bord de la route, vers ces morts que le sculpteur a souhaité « relever » des tranchées où il les avait vu étendus. Landowski mettra 15 ans mettre au point cette œuvre réalisée en granit de Bretagne et inaugurée en 1935."

1937 - Fontaine a la Paix, Exposition Internationale "Arts et Techniques dans la Vie moderne," Paris (France). Also called Exposition Spécialisée de 1937.

Before 1938 - Monument a la Paix, Paris (France). Where & what is this? Does it still exist?

1939-1945World War II

December 10, 1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). "Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris (France). The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the World War-II & represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions & laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, & the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights & its two Optional Protocols. In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law."

After 1948 - Place des Droits de l'Homme / Terrace of the Rights of Man, Palais de Chaillot, Trocadero, Paris (France). Also called Parvis des Droits de l'Homme. "The name of the palace square comes from the fact that Chaillot palace was the place where United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on December 10, 1948 [right image]." /// "This event is now commemorated by a stone, and the esplanade is known as the esplanade des droits de l'homme ("esplanade of human rights"). The Palais de Chaillot was also the initial headquarters of NATO, while the 'Palais de l'OTAN' (now Université Paris Dauphine) was being built." /// "La terrasse supérieure, baptisée 'Place des droits de l’homme,' est ornée, le long de ses bassins, de statues en bronze doré. Ces statues représentent sept femmes et un homme : La Jeunesse (Alexandre Descatoire), Flore (Marcel Gimond), Le Matin (Pryas), La Campagne (Paul Cornet), Les Oiseaux (Lucien Brasseur), Les Jardins (Robert Couturier), Le Printemps (Paul Niclausse), Les Fruits (Félix Desruelles)."

Circa 1949 - "Blue Dove with Yellow Sun" by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]. Lithograph 30 x 22 inches. Where is the original?

April 20-23, 1949 - Congres Mondial de la Paix / World Congress of Peace, poster by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973], Paris (France). Picasso drew many doves of peace during this period.

1958 - Jardin de la Paix / Garden of Peace, UNESCO Headquarters, 7, Place de Fontenoy, Paris (France). Designed by Isamu Noguchi [1904-1988]. "Donated to UNESCO by the Japanese government. The 1700 sq meter site occupies a large central courtyard. It is filled with 80 tons of stone (selected by Noguchi and brought from Japan), a stream, pond, concrete bridge, grass and stone covered mounds, magnolias, flowering cherries and plums, lotuses and bamboo... Directly behind the Peace Fountain is the Nagasaki Angel, jutting from the wall. This statue was originally part of the facade of the Urakami Church in Nagasaki. It was the only part that remained after the destruction of the church by the atomic bomb dropped on August 9, 1945. It was donated to UNESCO by the City of Nagasaki in 1978 and incorporated into the Noguchi space after that." Garden was restored September 1999-March 2000.

October 17, 1987 - Commemorative Stone, Place des Droits de l'Homme, Palais de Challot, Trocadero, Paris (France). "In response to the call of Joseph Wresinski [1917-1988] - founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World - 100,000 defenders of human rights gathered in Paris to honour the victims of hunger, violence & ignorance, to express their refusal of extreme poverty & to call on people from all walks of life to unite to ensure respect for human rights. A commemorative stone proclaiming this message was inaugurated on this occasion on the Plaza of Human Rights and Liberties - where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948. Since then, on the 17th of October each year, people from all walks of life, gather throughout the world to express their solidarity & commitment to ensure that everyone's dignity & freedom are respected. On 22nd of December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 17th October the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. There are now over 30 replicas of the original stone now located around the world [where?!]. These sites have become places of honour for people living in poverty in the world, places where people gather to reject the inevitability of poverty & social exclusion & places of friendship & solidarity where people from all backgrounds can gather together.

1989 - Monument des Droits de l'Homme / Monument of the Rights of Man, Champs de Mars (face à la Rue de Belgrade), Paris (France). Masonic monument "installed on the 200th anniversary of 'La Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen.'" // "Inutile de chercher une quelconque indication ou un historique sur son implantation. Il n’y en a pas. On est discret ou on ne l’est pas. Ce monument se devait d’être là et il n’a besoin d’aucune publicité touristique…"

March 1995 - "Symbolic Globe," UNESCO, Paris (France). "Since November 1995 situated on the piazza of UNESCO in Paris, surrounded by the flags of all nations, pointing out that this is the headquarters of the international organization. Originally conceived for the UN Summit on Social Development, March 6-12, 1995. During the Summit it was built in the centre of Copenhagen by the delegates, who had come from every corner of the earth. It is inspired by the logo of the UN and formed as a minimal structure, 15 meters in diameter. Conceived by Erik Reitzel [1941-2012]. The Danish Ministry of Culture financed its realization."

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

March 30, 2000 - Mur Pour la Paix / Wall for Peace, Champs de Mars, Paris (France). Between the École militaire and the Eiffel Tower. Designed by Clara Halter who also designed the Peace Tower in St. Petersburg (2003), the Gates of Peace in Hiroshima (2005), and the Tents of Peace in Jerusalem. Click here for article from NY Daily News (15Aug11) about moves to remove this "temporary" monument.

February 15-December 31, 2008 - ""Entre guerres et paix: l'Arc raconte l'Histoire / Between wars and peace: the Arc recalls History," Arc de Triomphe, Paris (France). According to Paris-based artist Maurice Benayoun, the massive structure, finished in 1836, has become a symbol of war and a tribute to fallen soldiers. But Napoleon said his war would be the last one, and on the Arc de Triomphe, there is a sculpture called "Peace" (qv). So Benayoun titled his design “Between War and Peace” [sic]. At each end of the room stand two monitors: The red monitor shows images only of the monument’s wartime uses; on the blue, images of the monument used in peacetime. In front of each monitor is a joystick. Museum visitors can pick a joystick and control the display speed of the images. They can compete between war and peace.

Remainder of France:

1895 - Les Bourgeois de Calais / The Burghers of Calais, Calais (France). Bronze casting by Auguste Rodin [1840-1917] in 1884-86. Depicts six leading citizens who offered their lives in 1347 to King Edward III of England as ransom for the protection of other townsfolk. A copy was erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, London (England) in 1913 (qv). Other copies are in Bâle (Switzerland), Basel, Canberra, Copenhagen, Mariemont (Belgium), New York City, Paris, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington.

1913 - Les Bourgeois de Calais / The Burghers of Calais, Victoria Gardens, Parliament, London (England). Bronze casting of a sculpture made by Auguste Rodin [1840-1917] in 1884-86 and installed in Calais (France) in 1895. Depicts six leading citizens who offered their lives in 1347 to King Edward III of England as ransom for the protection of other townsfolk. One of 21 peace monuments named by the PPU website. One of 309 London monuments in Kershman (2007), page 87. 1 of 45 monuments in "Peace Trails through London" by Valerie Flessati (2012), page 8.

1914-1918The Great War or World War I

Date? - "PAX" (le calvaire et la tour du parc de la paix), Boissy-la-Rivière, Département de l'Essonne, Île-de-France (France). Au lieu-dit "Le camp de la paix."

Date? - Poster (France). l'Emprunt de la Paix / the Peace Bond. Filled with symbols of peace & prosperity, including a breast feeding mother & many belching smokestacks.

1920 - Poster (France). Emprunt de la Paix, PAX / Peace Bond, PAX. Another mother & infant, this time with a farmer.

October 19, 1919 - La Délivrance / Delivrance, Jardin Vauban, Lille (France). 16-foot statue in bronze of a naked woman holding a sword aloft. Created by Emile Guillaume [1867-1942] to celebrate the First Battle of the Marne when the German army was stopped from capturing Paris in August 1914. Le Matin announced that 11 copies of the statue would be offered to 11 great cities of France and Belgium occupied or destroyed by the Germans: Amiens, Brussels, Colmar, Liège, Lille, Metz, Reims, Mézières, Saint-Quentin, Strasbourg, and Verdun. The first was unveiled in Lille, but the statue's nudity caused trouble, and, in 1929, Lille's copy was given to the city of Nantes, where it still stands today. Another copy (qv) is in London (England) where it has a number of local names including 'Dirty Gertie' and 'The Naked Lady.' Image shows dedication in England in 1927 (qv).

Year? - La croix de la Paix / Cross of Peace, Col du Wettstein, Orbey, Haut-Rhin, Alsace region (France). The cross is labeled "PAX aux morts du Linge." In a World War I military cemetery. FYI, "Le Linge" is a First World War (1914 - 1918) battlefield, where one of the bloodiest confrontations of the war took place between July 20th & October 15th 1915, resulting 17,000 deaths."

Late 1920 - Un statue pour la paix, Saint-Mamert-du-Gard, Languedoc-Roussillon region (France). "C'est en fin d'année 1920 que fut inauguré le monument aux morts de Saint-Mamert-du-Gard, commémoratif d'une Grande Guerre qui avait fortement endeuillé le village. Louis Bouet avait 7 ans à l'époque et se souvenait : 'J'étais assis avec ma mère devant l'estrade officielle. Sur nos bancs cette l'inscription : « réservé aux affligés ». A voir la tristesse de ceux qui nous entouraient, je compris que ce mot, que je ne connaissais pas, n'était guère synonyme de gaieté.' Dès le printemps de 1919, l'idée d'ériger ce monument fut lancée. M. Puech, percepteur à la retraite, fut choisi comme président du comité chargé d'ouvrir une souscription publique, de décider du monument et de son emplacement. Le 28 janvier 1920, le préfet adressait une circulaire offrant à toutes les mairies la possibilité d'obtenir des trophées de guerre, en l'occurrence des canons. Le conseil municipal en sollicita deux pour les placer de part et d'autre du monument mais n'obtint pas satisfaction, la préfecture honorant en priorité les communes plus importantes. C'est en présence de Gaston Doumergue, futur président de la République, du maire Gaston Teissonnier, du conseil municipal et des membres du comité que fut découverte la statue dressée près de la poste et cachée jusqu'alors sous un drap tricolore, après que les noms des dix-huit enfants de Saint-Mamert morts pour la France et gravés sur le socle aient été prononcés. Quatre noms supplémentaires viendront malheureusement s'ajouter à la liste de victimes de guerre après 1945. La réalisation en avait été confiée à la société Mérignargues de Nîmes. Nulle symbolique guerrière dans l'attitude de cette femme de marbre blanc représentant la Patrie coiffée de lauriers et tenant une couronne mortuaire. C'est un monument de paix, il en existe une soixantaine seulement en France." Sources : "Saint-Mamert-du-Gard de la Révolution à nos jours" de Louis Bouet." WW-I 1920'S

Date? - Equeurdeville (France). Inscription: "Que Maudite Soit la Guerre. Aux enfants d'Equeurdreville morts pendant la guerre 1914-1918 / That War Be Cursed. To the children of Equeaurdreville who died during the war 1914-1918." "This monument is unusual in that it shows mother & children as victims, rather than primarily as mourners."

1922 - Monument aux morts / Pacifist War Memorial, Gentioux, Creuse Department, Limousin Region (France). "After World War I, some towns in France set up pacifist war memorials. Instead of commemorating the glorious dead, these memorials denounce war with figures of grieving widows & children rather than soldiers. Such memorials provoked anger among veterans & the military in general. The most famous one is located in Gentioux. Below the column which lists the name of the fallen stands an orphan in bronze pointing to an inscription 'Maudite soit la guerre / Cursed be war.' Feelings ran so high that the memorial was not officially inaugurated until 1990, & soldiers at the nearby army camp were under orders to turn their heads when they walked past."

Date? - Anti-war monument, village de Strümpfelbach, commune de Weinstadt (Germany). Near Stuttgart. "Le monument dressé après la Première Guerre comportait l'inscription « Nie wieder Krieg !» (Plus jamais la guerre!). Le texte "Nie wieder Krieg" était à l'origine gravé sur l'arrière du monument. Au moment de la montée du national-socialisme [in 1933], l'ordre a été donné de faire disparaître cette inscription. On peut encore voir l'emplacement, en creux. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les autorités communales décidèrent de faire graver à nouveau la même sentence, cette fois-ci sur le devant du monument." /// NB: This website contains "73 monuments pacifistes, 68 pleureuses, 53 monuments humanistes, 9 Piétas, 27 soldats agonisants & 21 gisants," mostly in France.

1929 - La Délivrance / Delivrance, Ile de Nantes, Nantes (France). 16-foot statue in bronze of a naked woman holding a sword aloft. Created by Emile Guillaume [1867-1942] to celebrate the First Battle of the Marne when the German army was stopped from capturing Paris in August 1914. Unveiled in Lille, but the statue's nudity caused trouble and led to its withdrawal. In 1929, Lille's copy was given to the city of Nantes, where it still stands today.

Date? - La Délivrance / Delivrance, Nantes (France). "Le 29 mars 2008 à l’Hôtel des ventes des Salorges, la Ville de Nantes a acquis pour 21000€, le bronze d’une statue de la Délivrance, une statue dédiée aux Alliés de la première Guerre mondiale et à Aristide Briand [1862-1932], alors Président du Conseil des Ministres de la France."

May 28, 1933 - Hungary Mourns Her Lost Children," Debrecen (Hungary). "In an act of reconciliation, the statue was carved by Frenchman Emile Guillaume [1867-1942] & offered to Debrecen by British Viscount Lord Rothermere." Guillaume also sculpted La Délivrance (qv) & Aristide Briand (qv).

1930 - "Monument aux morts / Monument to the Dead," Suippes, Marne (France). L'œuvre su sculpteur Félix Desruelles. Au centre de la commune, au carrefour de la RD 31 et de la RD 77. "A woman brings in the harvest alone, sadly gazing at all that's left of her husband, his helmet." /// "Ressemble étrangement à celui de Maxime Réal Del Sarte, à Compiègne."

S Q U A R E February 3, 1931 - Place L. Zamenhof / L. Zamenhof Square, Boulogne-sur-Mer (France). Plaque is inscribed "PLACE L. ZAMENHOF (3-2-31) To recall the First Universal Esperantist Congress (August 1905) and the memory of the creator of the Esperanto Language. (Federal Esperantist Congress 26-7-31)." Pole Ludwik Zamenhof [1859-1917] created Esperanto, the most successful constructed language designed for international communication.

1934 - Statue of Aristide Briand, Cocherel, Normandy (France). "A la sortie de Cocherel en direction d'Hardencourt. Statue en bronze de l'habitant le plus célèbre du village, exécutée par Émile Guillaume [1867-1942]. Une belle patine recouvre l'oeuvre, mais elle a disparu du dessus des doigts, preuve que l'apôtre de la paix ne manque pas de visiteurs qui viennent lui serrer la main. Aristide Briand est assis 'en méditation' non loin de l'Eure. Dans ce lieu rendu célèbre par une bataille sanglante, il est juste qu'une colombe se soit posée." /// Aristide Briand [1862-1932] was prime minister of France & received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize together with Gustav Stresemann of Germany for the Locarno Treaties.

Date? - Pax, National Assembly, Paris (France). Dedicated to Aristide Briand [1862-1932], several times prime minister of France, who received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize together with Gustav Stresemann of Germany for the Locarno Treaties. (Austen Chamberlain of the UK had won a share of the Peace Prize a year earlier for the same agreement.) A 1927 proposal by Briand and US Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg for a universal pact outlawing war led the following year to the Pact of Paris, aka the Kellogg-Briand Pact."

May 29, 1935 - Statute of "La Paix / Peace," "Garden of Normandie," Pinelawn Memorial Park (aka Long Island National Cemetery), Framingdale, Long Island, New York (USA). "Thirteen feet tall gilded statue of a toga-clad woman, one arm raised & offering an olive branch, by Louis Dejean [1872-1954]. [Originally] dominated the center of the [305-foot long] first class dining room of the French liner Normandie [1935-1942]" -- which sank in New York City during World War II. "The sculpture survived & was acquired [when?] by the cemetery after being discovered dismantled in a Brooklyn churchyard." (Bronze medallions from two doors of the Normandie are still in use at Our Lady of Lebanon Marionite Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY.)

July 26, 1936 Rededicated April 9, 2007 & April 9, 2017 on 90th & 100th anniversaries of the battle. - Statue of Peace, Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy (France). Uppermost sculpture on the memorial. "At the front of the monument [is] a woman, cloaked and hooded, facing eastward toward the new day. Her eyes are cast down, & her chin is resting on her hand. Below her is a tomb, draped in laurel branches & bearing a helmet. This saddened figure represents Canada - a young nation mourning her fallen sons. This figure was carved from a single, 30-tonne block of stone - the largest piece in the monument. Turning from this figure to look up at the pylons, you will see at the highest points, Justice and Peace [and Hope?]. Arranged below them are other figures representing Truth, Knowledge, Gallantry and Sympathy. Around these figures are shields of Canada, Britain and France." /// Red circle shows enlargement of new Canadian $20 bill. Click here for "'Three topless women & the Twin Towers: Canadians baffled by picture of WW-I memorial on their new $20 dollar bill. Banknote shows the Vimy Memorial - a statue in France representing the bravery and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers in the First World War. Concern from focus groups during 5-year consultation over design."

1938 - Monument à la Paix, Rue de Rome, Marseille (France). " Statues féminines aux yeux bandés, tenant les portraits des victimes... Erigé en 1938 en mémoire de l'attentat du 9 octobre 1934 à Marseille qui coûte la vie au ministre des Affaires étrangères Louis Barthou [1862-1934] et au roi Alexandre 1er de Yougoslavie [1888-1934]." /// Inscription: "PAX -- La JUSTICE et le DROIT la LIBERTE et le TRAVAIL a l'ombre de la force des deux peuples s'unissent dans le souvenir du Roi Alexandre 1 et du President Barthou tombé pour la paix." 1938 YUGOSLAVIA

June 21, 1941 - Monument à la Paix, Marseilles (France). Antoine Sartorio Louis Botinelly & Élie-Jean Vézien sculpteurs. "Aux victimes de l'attentat du 9 octobre 1934 à Marseille qui coûte la vie au ministre des Affaires étrangères Louis Barthou (1862-1934) et au roi Alexandre 1er de Yougoslavie (1888-1934)." -- WHICH DATE IS CORRECT -- 1938 OR 1941?

September 4, 1938, to May 30, 1942 - Monument à la gloire des Américains / Monument to the Glory of the Americans, Point-de-Grave (mouth of Gironde River), Le Verdon (France). Thanked US for help during World War I. 75 meters tall (vs. 45.5 meter Statue of Liberty). Cornerstone laid Sept. 6, 1919, by French President Raymond Poincaré [1860-1934]. Dedication (lower left image) attended by John F. Kennedy [1917-1963] representing his father, US Ambassador in London. Lower right image shows a stele (plaque) about 10 meters high erected in 1947. 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." Simultaneous 70th anniversary of Pershing's arrival & 210th of LaFayette's departure observed here in 1987.

1939-1945World War II

August 9-20, 1947 - Jamboree Mondial de la Paix / World Jamboree of Peace (France). "Premier grand rassemblement d'après guerre des scouts du monde. Ce jamboree sera appelé 'Jamboree de la paix' et sera placé sous l'égide, le patronage du fondateur et chef éternel du Scoutisme Lord Robert Baden Powell, décédé à Niéry au Kenya en 1941... Seul rassemblement Scout mondial à s'être déroulé en France, à Moisson. Ce fut le VI Jamboree Mondial, dix ans après celui organisé en Hollande." Attended by 24,152 scouts. /// Note giant globe.

1962 - Allegory of Peace, Parc Richelieu, Rue Richelieu, Calais (France). "Behind the war memorial. Portrays an allegory of Peace with an olive tree branch pressed to her bosom. The duck pond and the layout of this lovely park attracts adults and chidren alike. 'I Held the Hand of Peace who Held the Olive Branch.'" /// "Gravement endommagé par les bombardements sous l’Occupation, ce monument a été remplacé en 1962 par un nouveau mémorial, oeuvre d’Yves de Coëtlogon qui réunit le souvenir des disparus des deux guerres en un unique hommage. Une allégorie de la Paix presse un rameau d’olivier sur son sein. Aménagé à partir de 1862 sur l’emplacement des fortifications de la vieille ville, le jardin Richelieu a été redessiné en 1956."

November 11, 1967 - War Memorial, center of town, Bitche, Moselle Department (France). "En calcaire, il est élevé devant l'Hôtel de ville en 1967 par Bonnand, sculpteur à Metz, et inauguré le 11 novembre 1967. Dédié aux victimes des guerres de 1870, 1914-1918 et 1939-1945, il représente les armoiries de la ville ainsi que des allégories profanes." /// "Represents the military and civilian casualties of the three big conflicts to sweep through the town -- the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II. In the center are three comrades, lowering a mortally wounded soldier to the ground. To the left is the wife and family, mourning the soldier but also a symbol that life and the native village will live on. On the far left, is France liberated from her chains, a symbol of World War II, and next to her is Lorraine liberated during World War I. On the right [not visible in image] are symbols of the Citadel de Bitche resisting during the 1870-71 seige." Bitche was on the Maginot Line constructed after World War I.

M U S E U M

1967 - Musée Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Museum, 8 route de Munster, Gunsbach, Département de Haut-Rhin, Alsace (France). Operated by the Centre Internationale Albert Schweitzer. "Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] fit construire cette maison en 1928 avec l'argent du Prix Goethe de la ville de Francfort." Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. 1952

M O N U M E N T

1969 - Monument d'Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Monument, Le Kanzrain, Gunsbach, Alsace (France). "A cinq minutes à pied de la maison se trouve le Kanzrain, un rocher du haut duquel on jouit d'une magnifique vue sur la vallée de Munster. C'est là qu'a été érigé, en 1969 le monument que le disciple de Rodin, Fritz Behn a taillé dans la pierre rouge des Vosges. En 1958, Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] écrit à ce sujet : "C'est la-haut que taillé dans la pierre, je voudrais pouvoir accueillir mes amis, c'est la qu'ils voudront bien avoir une pensée pour moi et écouter le murmure de la rivière qui a, si souvent, accompagné le vol de mes pensées. C'est la qu'est née ma philosophie culturelle, c'est la que j'ai compris Jésus en son temps. C'est la que je me sentais totalement chez moi." 1952

T R A I L

Date? - Sentier Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Footpath, Gunsbach, Alsace (France). "A footpath for walking and meditating about the thought of Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] . It starts at the old presbytery, 3 rue du docteur Albert Schweitzer, and leads us across the village of Gunsback to the Albert Schweitzer house [museum], 8 route de Munster, passing by the rock of Kanzrain. It is lined with 16 panels [in German & French], which recall important moments in the life of the doctor. The whole route is approximately 920 m, the walking time takes about one hour." 1952

1976 - Vitrail de la paix / Peace Window, Chapelle des Cordeliers, Sarrebourg (France). Créé par Marc Chagall [1887-1985]. Compare Chagall's peace window at the United Nations in New York City (USA).

1981 - Musée Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Museum, 126, rue du Général de Gaulle, Kaysersberg, Alsace (France). "Ce lieu présente l'œuvre hospitalière du docteur à Lambaréné (Gabon) de 1913 à nos jours. " Next door to Schweitzer's birthplace. Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. 1952

Date? - Memorial to René Cassin, Forbach, Moselle (France). René Cassin [1887-1976] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968. 1968

1985 - Monument du souvenir et de la paix, Saint Gely du Fesc, Hérault department, Languedoc-Roussillon region (France). Hauteur 5 m, pierre.

About 1986 - "Banquet de l’Humanité," Agropolis-Museum, Agropolis International, 951 avenue Agropolis, Montpelier (France). Displays how each one eats according to one’s income, food resources and cultural background. /// This musuem for peace no longer exists?

1986 - Lochnagar Crater, La Boisselle, near Albert (France). "On 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme (the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front), British Royal Engineers dug under German trenches & detonated 27 tons of high explosives, opening a massive crater & killing more than 6,000. The site was purchased in 1978 by Englishman Richard Dunning who erected a memorial cross on the rim of the crater in 1986 using reclaimed timber from a Tyneside church. Dunning explains: “Lochnagar...symbolises the eternal pain, loss & sorrow of millions of grieving people throughout Europe. I urge you to commemorate those who fell there...not simply by remembering them, but by seeking to make the world that they were so cruelly denied a much more peaceful, forgiving & loving place.'" NB: Scottish troops used "Lochnagar," a town in Scotland, as a code name for the secret tunnel. /// This is "Monday's Monument" #63.

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

Date? - "Non-Violence" by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, Memorial de Caen, Caen, Normandy (France). Click here for other examples of the same sculpture, including the orignal at the UN in New York City.

1990 - "Passage Inachevé / Incomplete Passage," Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Texas (USA). "This skeletal house commemorates the Bicentennial [of the French Revolution]. The images embedded in the gables abstractly reflect issues of human rights, freedom of expressions [sic], contemplative ideas, elements of history & contemporary concerns." /// This is "Monday's Monument" #20.

1992 - Historial de la Grande Guerre / Museum of the Great War, Péronne (France). "Near the heart of the Somme battlefields. Looks mostly at WW-I & the years just before & just after. Strives to place war in a social context, stressing 'the common suffering of the combatants' & 'the civilians, who were equally mobilised by the war effort.' Additionally, it has two major permanent specialist exhibits: Prisoners of War & Children in World War I."

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.

T R E E

May 5, 1994 - Small oak commemorating the "hope for peace," Clairière de l'Armistice / Glade of the Armistice, Forêt de Compiègne, Oise (France). Dug up from the destruction site in Crawinkel (Germany) & transplanted to Compiègne. Caption of upper image: "Hitler (hand on side) & German Military officers staring at WW-I French marshall Maréchal Foch's memorial statue before entering the railway carriage where will be signed the armistice of June 21, 1940." After the Armistice, German forces took numerous memorials from the forest as prizes to Crawinkel. These included the actual railway carriage where both armistices were concluded. In 1945, the car was dynamited and its pieces buried. Since German reunification in 1989, numerous artifacts have been recovered & returned to France. On 7 May 2005 the historic site in Crawinkel was dedicated. Caption of lower image: "Au milieu la dalle monumentale, à gauche l'emplacement où se trouvait le wagon-salon du maréchal Foch, ou furent signés les deux armistices. Au fond, l'allée qui mène à la route et au monument des Alsaciens-Lorrains."

1994 - Centre Mondial de la Paix, des libertés et des droits de l'Homme, Palais Épiscopal, Verdun, Lorraine (France). Implanté dans le superbe palais épiscopal dessiné en 1723 par Robert de Cotte, premier architecte du roi, et classé monument historique, il délivre une note d'espérance à Verdun, aujourd'hui 'Capitale Mondiale de la Paix.'"

2000 - Monument de la Paix, espace public, boulevard François Mitterrand, Saint Herblain 44800 (France). Concrete statue created in situ.

June 1996 - "Ensemble pour la Paix et la Justice" / Group for Peace and Justice," Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon (France). Cette sculpture a été réalisée par Xavier de Fraissinette à l’occasion du G7 de Lyon, les 27, 28, 29 juin 1996."

2003 - Statue de la Paix, Fonsorbes, Haute-Garonne (France). "Sculptée dans le tronc d’un cèdre en 2003." Also called "Colombe de la Liberte"?

September 21, 2003 - Temple pour la Paix / Temple for Peace, Normandy (France). A construction project of the congregation Vajradhara-Ling in Normandy started in 2003 to promote peace. Being built in the same style as the Samye monastery, the first temple built in Tibet that was founded by Padmasambhava in the 8th CE century. Consecrated by the 14th Dalai Lama on August 14, 2008,

June 6, 2004 - World Peace Statue, Memorial de Caen, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy (France). Ten meter statue of world peace dedicated on 60th anniversary of the D-Day landing in World War II. Donated "au peuple de Normandie" by China.

B R I D G E

2004 - Passerelle des Deux Rives / Gateway of the Two Banks, 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.'" Not to be confused with the Bridge of Europe which is a highway bridge a few hundred meters downstream (right image).

S C U L P T U R E 2007 - Leon Blum memorial, Kibbutz Kfar Blum, Hula Valley, Upper Galilee (Israel). Founded in November 1943 primarily by Jews from the UK, South Africa, the USA & Baltic countries, the kibbutz was named for Leon Blum [1872-1950], socialist theoritician & 3-time prime minister of France who was tried during World War II & imprisioned in Germany.

2007 - "Conversation à Nice," place Masséna, Nice (France). "Jaume Plensa inaugure sur la place emblématique de Nice le long du parcours du nouveau tramway un groupe de sculptures intitulé Conversation à Nice. Il s'agit de sept personnages assis ou accroupis à la manière des scribes de l'antiquité (et assimilés souvent à tort à des bouddhas) disposés sur des perches métalliques d'une dizaine de mètres de hauteur, et réalisés en résine blanche opaque qui s'illuminent la nuit et prennent alternativement, progressivement et de façon aléatoire les couleurs les unes des autres. En effet, les statues symbolisent les sept communautés des sept continents et les variations d'éclairage leurs échanges réciproques, porteurs de richesse et de beauté."

September 21, 2007 - Olivier - Arbe de Paix, Collège Vincent Scotto de la Capelette, Marseille (France). A honorer la Journée Internationale de la Paix, fixée au 21 septembre par l’Organisation des Nations Unies.

Date? - Monument, Place 16th. Juin 1944, Allemagne-en-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France). "I had parked right next to the monument in the picture, which was unusual for its anger. Those remembered were not only “morts pour que vive la France” (Dead so that France could live) as one sees on many such monuments and plaques, but they were “tués pars les hordes Nazies et leurs valets.” (killed by the Nazi hordes and their lackies – presumably French collaborators.) We had never seen anything quite so angry before. You probably can’t read it (possibly on the Facebook link below?) but the last several all died on June 18, 1944. Two “fusillé,” two “abattu,” and one “assassiné.”" Information courtesy of Dave Gurd.

M U S E U M

January 27, 2011 - Le musee memorial des enfants du Vel d'Hiv, Orléans (France). Inaugurated by Jacques Chirac (in image). "Evoque le 'calvaire' de plus de 4.400 enfants juifs internés dans les camps de Pithiviers et Beaune-la-Rolande (Loiret) en 1942 avant d'être séparés de leur mère, puis envoyés à la mort à Auschwitz." ("The "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup" was a Nazi decreed raid and mass arrest in Paris by the French police on July 16-17, 1942. 13,152 victims were arrested and held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver (Vel d'Hiv) and Drancy internment camp nearby, then shipped by railway to Auschwitz for extermination.") Information courtesy of Peter van den Dungen.

P L A Q U E

May 23, 2011 - Plaque, William Penn Square, directly behind the Protestant Church, Saumur, Maine-et-Loire (France). "A series of events in May 2011 will commemorate the presence of William Penn [1644-1718] as a student in Saumur [1662-1664]. A square directly behind the Protestant church – a scheduled national monument – on the edge of the old town near the quarter where the Protestant Academy used to be located is to be named after William Penn. There will be a public day of lectures, readings and other activities culminating in the naming." ("Saumur saw its climax during the 17th century as it became one of the centres of Protestantism.")

M U S E U M

October 1, 2011 - Museum, Maison forestière de l'Ermitage / Ermitage forester's house, Bois-l'Évêque, Ors, Nord (France). Where English soldier poet Winfred Owen [1893-1918] spent his last night. Transformed by Turner Prize nominee Simon Patterson into a white sculptured memorial to Owen & his poetry. Ors is on the Sambre-Oise Canal where Owen died exactly seven days before the end of World War I.

June 1993 - "Symmetry" (Wilfred Owen Memorial), Shrewsbury Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire (England). Sculpture by Paul de Monchaux. Inscribed "I am the enemy you killed, my friend" from " Strange Meeting." "Wilfred Owen [1893-1918] [is] best known for his angry poetry on the supposed nobility and glory of war. But while he was compassionate to those around him, he was not self-pitying and earned the Military Cross for his bravery... [He] was killed leading his men across the Sambre-Oise canal in northern France just seven days before the peace was signed." One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009.