Peace Monuments in France

Click here to see "Monument pacifistes dans le monde," Monuments aux morts pacifistes. Jean Jaurès: "L'humanité est maudite si pour faire preuve de courage, elle est condamnée à tuer éternellement."

Right click image to enlarge.

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

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," Musee du Louvre, Paris (France). By Jean-Baptiste Isabey [1767-1855]. "The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815."

	S Q U A R E	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).

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."

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.

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

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

H A L L

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).

P A I N T I N G

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."

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).

	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 and offered to Debrecen by British Viscount Lord Rothermere." Guillaume also sculpted La Délivrance (qv) & Aristide Briand (qv).
	1934 - Statue of Aristide Briand, Cocherel, Normandy (France). "A la sortie de Cocherel en direction d'Hardencourt, on peut voir la statue en bronze de l'habitant le plus célèbre du village, exécutée par Émile Guillaume. 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."
	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."
	September 4, 1938, to 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 meters for the Statue of Liberty). Cornerstone laid September 6, 1919, by French President Raymond Poincaré [1860-1934]. Dedication (lower left image) 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."

	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.
	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.
	Date? - War Memorial, center of town, Bitche, Moselle Department (France). "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.
	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.

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
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.'"
	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.

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

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.

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.

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.")