Peace Monuments Dedicated in 1955-1959 (10 years since Hiroshima & Nagasaki)

Right click image to enlarge.

1955 - Gandhi Memorial Museum, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Tammukkam, Madurai (India). Housed in the historic Tamukkam Palace of Rani Mangammal of Nayak dynasty built about 1670 AD. Listed in UN directory "Peace Museums Worldwide" (1998).

1955 - International Peace Grove, Tilden Park (via Inspiration Point), Berkeley, California (USA). A project of Rotary International.

1955 - World Peace Prayer Society, founded in Japan by Masahisa Goi [1916-1980]. Society moved to Wassaic, New York (USA), but when?

1955 - Goddess of Peace, Town Hall, Great Square, Karlstad (Sweden). Marks the 50th anniversary of the peaceful dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway. Sculpted by Ivar Johnson [1885-1970], "who luckily for his reputation is better known for his 'Woman by the Sea' [right image]." "Since it shows a woman with her foot on a soldier's head and he appears to be grimacing in pain, it seems a somewhat surprising artistic creation to symbolize peace." "Must be one of the ugliest monuments in Europe. Worms emerge from a helmeted skull which is trampled to the ground by a woman breaking a sword in two, symbolising the triumph of peace over war."

1934 - Sjömanshustrun / Seaman's Wife, Maritime Museum, Gothenburg (Sweden). Also known as "Woman at Sea." Recalls the Swedish sailors who died during the First World War.

1955 - "Guernica," UN Headquarters, New York City, New York (USA). Full-sized tapistry version of original commisisoned by the government of Spain for the Paris International Exposition and painted in 1937 by Pablo Picasso [1881-1973]. Original is in Madrid (qv).

1955 - “The Singing Mural,” Ballroom, University Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee (USA). By muralist Marion Greenwood [1909-1970]. Depicting 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 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.

August 5, 1955 - Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). A vault lies under the mound and contains the ashes of roughly 70,000 victims. #09 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour. Photo by EWL.

August 9, 1955 - Nagasaki Peace Park, Matsuyama-machi, Nagasaki (Japan). "With the adoption of the Nagasaki International Culture City Law in 1949, the site of the prison was allotted for the construction of the Peace Park." Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims and Urakami Cathedral are nearby.

August 9, 1955 - Prayer Monument for Peace (Peace Statue), Nagasaki Peace Park, Matsuyama-machi, Nagasaki (Japan). 9.7m tall bronze peace statue symbolizing a universal prayer for world peace and for the consolation of war victims. Created by Nagasaki-born Seibo Kitamura. The statue's right hand pointing upwards symbolizes the threat of the atomic bomb. The left hand stretching horizontally symbolizes peace. And the lightly closed eyelids convey the idea of an ardent prayer for the souls of the war dead.

August 9, 1955 - Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, 7-8 Hirano-machi, Nagasaki (Japan). Originally built as multi-purpose facility named Nagasaki International Cultural Hall. Entire structure converted into the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in August 1975. New building dedicated in August 1995 on 50th anniversry of the bomb. One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. Click here for Wikipedia article.

August 24, 1955 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, 1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima (Japan). At site of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. New museum building (left) + original building (center) + conference center (right). One of 3 institutions hosting 6th International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) in October 2008. One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. #27 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour. Click here for Wikipedia article. Click here for other peace monuments in Hiroshma.

September 11, 1955 - Statue of Shinran Shonin, 331 Riverside Drive, New York City, New York (USA). Shinran [1173-1263] is founder of the Jodo Shinshu (Pure Land) school of Buddhism. This statue was in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Presented to the USA by Seiichi Hirose of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, as "a testimonial to the atomic bomb devastation and a symbol of lasting hope for world peace."

After 1955? - Cordell Hull Birthplace & Museum State Park, 1300 Cordell Hull Memorial Drive, Byrdstown, Tennessee (USA). "Hull was given the sobriquet 'Father of the United Nations' by President Roosevelt." Cordell Hull [1871-1955] received the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize.

March 1956 - Hypocenter Cenotaph, Nagasaki (Japan). Replaced several previous cenotaphs. See one example above. Note reconsructed southern wall of Urikami Cathedral at far right in the scond image.

1956? - Ruined southern wall of Urikami Cathedral with statues of the Madonna and John the Apostle. Moved to the Hypocenter and rebuilt. Middle image shows the two statues at the ruined cathedral before restoration.

1956 - "Life out of chaos," Narvik (Norway). Also known as "The woman on the square." One of three peace sculptures in Narvik. Dedicated in 1956, 1995 and 2006. Narkik is known as a city of peace.

1956 - Sarcophagus of Woodrow Wilson, Washington National Cathedral, Cleveland Park, Massachusetts & Wisconsin Avenues, Washington, DC (USA). "Woodrow Wilson [1856-1924] was the 28th President of the US and winner of the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. Only president buried in the District of Columbia proper. Originally buried in the Bethlehem Chapel in the crypt of Washington National Cathedral. In 1956, celebrating the centennial of his birth, the Cathedral arranged for his removal to this sarcophagus in the south aisle of the nave proper. It is decorated with symbols of Princeton University (of which he was president), the state of New Jersey (of which he was governor), and the Seal of the US. Windows of the Wilson Bay depict war and peace, commemorating his service as president during the WW-I, as does the sword on the top of the sarcophagus."

1956-1969 - Peace & Justice Murals, Third Unitarian Church, Mayfield & Fulton Streets, Chicago, Illinois (USA). 24 murals depicting "saints of liberalism." Painted by artist Andrene Kauffman [1905-1993] over a 14 year period. The "saints" (in alphabetical order) are: Jane Addams, John Peter Altgeld (governor 1893-1897), Susan B. Anthony, E.T. Buehrer (minister 1941-1969), Albert Camus, William Ellery Channing, Confucius, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mohandas Gandhi (left image), Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln (right image), James Martineau, Thomas Paine. Theodore Parker; Joseph Priestley, Siddhartha Gautama, Socrates, Harriet Tubman. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Walt Whitman, Roger Williams & Woodrow Wilson.

1957 - Friendship Monument, Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan (Russia). Celebrtes the friendship alliance established some 450 years ago between the Bashkirs and the Russians

August 4, 1957 - "Unfortified Boundry" Monument, Mile 1223, International Border, (US & Canada). One of about 30 such monuments placed by Kiwanis International over a number of years. Inscription: "This unfortified boundary line between the Dominion of Canada and the United States of America should quicken the remembrance of the more than a century old friendship between these countries, a lesson of peace to all nations. Erected August 4 1957, Kiwanis International."

January 2, 1958 - Polio Wall of Fame, Founder's Hall, Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Warm Springs, Georgia (USA). Also called the "Polio Hall of Fame." Assembles busts of 14 men and one woman who were instrumental in polio research and treatment, plus Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his close aide Basil O'Connor. (The first four are from Germany, Sweden, and Austria.) Designed by sculptor Edmond Romulus Amateis [1897-1981] who also sculpted the "Great Frieze of War and Peace" in Kansas City, MO (qv).

February 21, 1958 - Peace Symbol, Trafalgar Square, London, England (UK). Designed by Gerald Holtom [1914-1985] who combined semaphore signals for "N" and "D" (Nuclear Disarmament). Used by the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) during its April 4 march to Aldermaston. Adopted as its badge by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain. Now used worldwide. Click here for Wikipedia article.

March 1958 - Vault for the Unclaimed Remains of Victims, Peace Park, Nagasaki (Japan). Contains the skeletal remains of atomic bomb victims collected from Nagasaki City and nearby towns First dedicated in March 1958 for the repose of the victims' souls. New structure completed in June 1994.

May 5, 1958 - Children's Peace Monument, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). The monument is topped by a statue of Sadako Sasaki. Dedicated on Children's Day. Popular place to deposit origami peace cranes. #16 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour..

1958 - Jardin de la Paix (Jardin Japonais) / Garden of Peace (Japanese Garden), UNESCO Headquarters, Paris (France). 1,700 square meter masterpiece by Japanese-American landscape architect Isamu Noguchi [1904-1988]. Restored in 2000. Noguchi also designed a bridge in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

1958 - Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), Polhøgda, Lysaker, just outside Oslo (Norway). "Research arm of the Fridtjof Nansen Foundation. Established in 1958 to conduct research within the interest areas of Fridtjof Nansen & to maintain Polhøgda, Nansen's home." Fridtjof Nansen [1861-1930] was a Norwegian scientist, explorer & humanitarian. He received the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize, and the Nansen International Office for Refugees received the 1938 Nobel Peace Prize.

July 17, 1958 - Peace Monument, Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power House & Dam, St. Lawrence-Franklin Deleno Roosevelt Power Project, St. Lawrence River between Massena, New York (USA), and Cornwall, Ontario (Canada). The dam's 32 turbine-generators are divided equally by the international border, with the two sections operated independently by the New York Power Authorty (NYPA) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Queen Elizabeth II dedicated the monument on the international border inside the power house.

September 14, 1958 - Nationale Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Buchenwald / Buchenwald Memorial, Ettersberg / Etter Mountain, near Weimar, Thuringia (Germany). Site of Konzentrationslager (KZ) Buchenwald / Buchenwald concentration camp which was established in July 1937 and was one of the first and the largest Nazi concentration camp on German soil. From 1945 to 1950, the camp was used by the Soviet occupation authorities as an internment camp (NKVD special camp number 2). From 1958 to 1990, this was the "Red Olympus," the "holiest shrine of the German Democratic Republic." Chairman of the prewar German Communist Party Ernest Thälmann [1886-1944] was murdered here. Click here for a guide to Buchenwald's many Communist monuments, including Bell Tower & sculpture by Fritz Cremer [1906-1993] depicting Buchenwald resistance fighters (upper image) & Street of Nations honoring victims from 18 different countries (lower image). [Ian Buruma (1994), "The Wages of Guilt," pp. 209-17.]

January 3, 1959 - Conscientious Objectors Memorial Plaque, Peace Pledge Union (PPU), 1 Peace Passage, London (England). Names 70 of the 81 British CO's known to have died during World War I. Carved by Dorothy Stevens in 1923. First erected in Berlin (Germany) at the headquarters of the Bund der Kriegsdienstgegner, the German section of the War Resisters International (WRI),. Taken to south Denmark in 1933. Hidden in Sweden in 1940. Now on permanent loan to the PPU, principal British section of the WRI. One of 21 peace monuments named by the PPU website.

1959 - Statue of Mary Dyer, Massachusetts State House, Boston, Massachusetts (USA). By Quaker sculptor Sylvia Shaw Judson "The Massachusetts legislature enacted a law that every Quaker in its jurisdiction should be banished on pain of death. Mary Dyer [c1611-1660] was hanged in May 1660 for re-entering that colony, rather than abandon the principles of freedom of speech and conscience." Copies are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, & Richmond, Indiana.

1959 - Urakami Cathedral, Urakami, Nagasaki (Japan). Largest Catholic church in East Asia when completed in 1914. At ground zero of the atomic bomb. Restored in 1959. Had Western style bell. Ruined southern wall & statues of the Madonna and John the Apostle were moved to the Hypocenter and rebuilt. See above.

1959 - Museo Internazionale Della Croce Rossa / International Museum of the Red Cross, Via Garibaldi n.50, Castiglione delle Stiviere (Italy). Operated by the Italian Red Cross.

1959 - "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares", United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Bronze statue sculpted by Evgeniy Vuchetich to represent the human wish to end all wars by converting the weapons of death and destruction into peaceful and productive tools that are more beneficial to mankind. Donated to the UN by the Soviet Union.