36 Peace Monuments Dedicated in 1995 (50 years since Hiroshima & Nagasaki)

Right click image to enlarge.

February 28, 1995 - National 228 Monument, Taipei (Taiwan). Result of an international design competition. Stands in the center of the 228 Peace Memorial Park. Dedicated by president Lee Teng-hui who apologized to the victims of the 228 Incident in 1947.

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."

M U R A L

May 5, 1995 - Cesar Chavez mural, San Francisco State University, Malcolm X Plaza, San Francisco, California (USA). Lead artist Carlos (Cookie) Gonzalez. Dedicated about seven months after the SFSU Student Union was renamed after Chavez. The United Farm Workers (UFW) logo of an eagle was taken [by Cesar Chavez [1927-1993] & his brother Robert] from the Mexican flag. (The UFW was the first successful farm workers union in US history with a membership of 100,000 at its peak.) Logo colors represent hope (white), struggle of workers (black) & sacrifice (red). In his left hand Chavez holds a dove, which symbolizes his belief in non-violent resistance. Also present in the mural are the “Grapes of Wrath,” which resemble skulls to signify the harmful effects of pesticides on farm workers. The grapes also represent the first consumer boycott of the UFW, the 1965 Delano strike.

May 8, 1995 - Gedenktafel / Plaque, Bad Waldsee, (Germany). Commemorates "50 years of peace" (1945-1995). May 8, 1945, was Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day or VE Day), the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

On May, 8 1995 - Gingko Boom / Gingko Tree, Kriegsgräberstätte / Germany War Cemetery, Timmermannsweg 75,Ysselsteyn, Province of Limburg (Netherlands). "A so-called Gingko tree was planted at the entrance area of the graveyard on the occasion of the 50th remembrance of the end of World War II. This was a signal against war & violence. This kind of tree was the first that begun to blossom again after the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 1945. That way it became a symbol of hope - hope for peace in a better world... Close to the German border, this is the only German military cemetery in the whole Netherlands. 85 killed soldiers from the First World War & almost 32.000 from the Second World War are buried here on a territory of 28 hectares. For each killed soldier one cross has been placed. The data (name, grave location, dates of birth and death, rank - if known) have been written on the crosses with white color. There are approximately 5000 unknown soldiers buried on this cemetery. These are buried in graves with crosses on which it reads "Ein Deutscher Soldat". Information courtest of Peter van den Dungen 18Nov2014.

May 18, 1995 - Museum of Peacekeeping Operations, Dzerzinsky Street 20–57, Solnechnogorsk (Russia). Image shows planting of a Peace Tree at the museum.

June 6, 1995 - Peace Memorial, Stratford-Upon-Avon (England). Sculpted by Brent Hayward. Dedicated by the Bishop of Coventry. Inscription on front: "Peace I Give To You." Inscription on back: "Commemorates 50 years of peace between the nations of Western Europe 1945-1995."

1995 - National Monument for Peace, Narvik (Norway). Also known as "Trinigon." Erected by the Norwegian government on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Norway. One of three peace sculptures in Narvik. Dedicated in 1956, 1995 and 2006. Narkik is known as a city of peace.

1995 - United Nations Peace Bell, Main Plaza, Vienna International Centre (VIC), Vienna (Austria). Cast in Japan.

1995 - Peace Window, St. Monica's Cathedral, Cairns, Queensland (Australia). Two flanking panels each 1.7 metres x 11 metres, and a central overhead panel of 3.5 metres x 7 metres. Commissioned to commemorate 50 years of peace in the Pacific region since the end of World War II. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Battle of the Coral Sea, fought due east of Cairns between the 4th and 8th of May in 1942.

1995 - Oka Masaharu Memorial Peace Museum, 9-4 Nishizakacho, Nagasaki (Japan). Founded by private citizens to bring Japanese aggression to light. Located close to the central train station and just next to the memorial for the "26 Saints of Japan".

1995 - Seventh International Peace Garden, Ljubljana (Slovenia). One of many International Peace Gardens in different countries. Presented to Ljubljana by Strasbourg (France).

1995 - "Heroes of Freedom, Justice and Peace," 175 Concord Street, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Mural by Craig Davis. Depicts eight peacemakers. Maintained by El Burrito Mercado.

1995 - Vietnamese-American Peace Park, 30 miles north of Hanoi (Viet-Nam). A project of the Madison Quakers. Image shows Dove Mound, inspired by the Native American mound at the Highground Veterans Memorial Park, Neillsville,Wisconsin (USA).

1995 - Children's Bell Tower, Bodega Bay, California (USA). By Bruce Hasson, founder of the "Bell Project" which promotes world peace by using melted-down firearms to cast bells which incorporate images of nonviolence and environmental concerns.

1995 - Children's Peace Statue, Plaza Resolana, 401 Old Taos Highway, Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA). A project of Arroyo del Oso School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Proposed for Los Alamos but turned down by County Council. The statue is a popular venue for the deposition of origami peace cranes. Moved from Plaza Resolana? Entry #618 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1995 - "Universal Links on Human Rights," Amiens Street & Memorial Road, Dublin (Ireland). On a traffic island close to Busáras & the Customs House. "A sphere of welded interlinked chains and bars, 260 cm in diameter, housing an eternal flame in its center, powered by natural gas from the Kinsale Head gas field. Commissioned by Amnesty International in 1995 & designed by Tony O'Malley. Represents the jails holding prisoners of conscience."

1995 - "Friendship Globe to the Children of the World," A.K. Bissell Park, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (USA). Donated to the city by the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club (ORBRC).

1995 - "Votes for Women," Tennessee historical marker NHC 94, Capitol Boulevard at Union Street, Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Text: " VOTES FOR WOMEN. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th [& last]state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, thereby giving all American women the right to vote. After weeks of intense lobbying by national leaders, Tennessee passed the measure by one vote. The headquarters for both suffragists, wearing yellow roses, & anti-suffragists, wearing red roses, were in the Hermitage Hotel. Donamed in mrmory of Carleen B. Waller. The Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. No. 94. Erected 1995." /// PS: Carleen Batson Waller was a Nashville leader interested in public housing. She died in 1991. Commemorative plaque at right is probably at the Carleen Batson Waller Manor home for the elderly.

1995 - Statue of Sadako Sasaki, United Nations Peace Plaza, Lexington Avenue & Walnut Street, Independence, Missouri (USA). Near auditorum where President Truman declared the creation of the United Nations. Maintained by Community of Christ (Reorganized Mormon Church). Click here for air view.

1995 - Children's Peace Pavilion, in Community of Christ Auditorium building, 100 West Walnut, Independence, Missouri (USA). Click here for the Wikipedia article.

1995 - 2nd International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) at the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), Rochusplatz 1, A-7461 Stadtschlaining (Austria).

1995 - Tour de la Paix / Peace Tower, Beirut (Lebanon). Concrete tower embedding old guns and tanks. "Accumulation de chars et de canons dans du béton, 32 m de haut et d'un poids de 6 000 tonnes. La plus grande sculpture faite par Arman [1928-2005] à ce jour. Une des plus grandes sculptures contemporaines dans le monde."

1995 - Cornerstone of Peace, Mabuni, Okinawa (Japan). Site of bloodiest battle in human history. Trys to list all the names (both military and civilian) from all countries involved in the battle. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names. Click here for the Wikipedia article.

1995 - St. Thomas's Peace Garden, St. Thomas Church, Bath Row (off Broad Street), Birmingham (England). "Grounds laid out in 1955 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II & redesigned in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of WW-II." /// "Built around the tower & west porticos of a church which was half demolished by enemy action in 1940 & never restored. Garden created when "The Colonnade" was moved to St. Thomas Church from what is now Centenary Square. Railings with doves of peace sculpted by Anuradha Patel." Left image shows Gate of Peace.

1995 - World Wall for Peace (WWFP), Jack London Square, Oakland, California (USA). Three sections added in July 1997 & January 1999. 3000 tiles. Entry #98 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1995 - Peace Garden, Pinner Memorial Park, Pinner, Middlesex (England). Marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009.

1995 - "Reconcilation," Coventry Cathedral, Coventry (England). Statue by Josefina de Vasconcellos [1903-2004]. See original in Bradford (England), 1977. Three otther copies are in Belfast, Berlin & Hiroshima (qv).

July 12, 1995 - "Reconcilation," International Conference Center Hiroshima, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Statue by Josefina de Vasconcellos [1905-2005]. One of four copies of an original statue at University of Bradford (England). Click here to see all five statues. Photo by EWL. Photo shows Prof. Peter Van Den Dungen, University of Bradford (far left).

August 5, 1995 - Yi Jun Peace Museum, The Hague (Netherlands). Established on 50th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japan and on 88th anniversary of death of Yi Jun [1859-1907] who died in this building.

August 6, 1995 - Sadako Peace Garden, 800 El Bosque Road, Santa Barbara, California (USA). Designed by Isabelle Greene & Irma Cavet. A project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation & La Casa de Maria. Dedicated on 50th anniversary of Hiroshima. Joined the Gardens for Peace network on June 30, 2002. Entry #154 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

August 9, 1995 - Nagasaki Peace Bell, Hiroshima City University, Hiroshima (Japan). Miniature replica of the Western style bell from Urakami Cathedral which survived the A-bomb blast on August 9, 1945. Presented by Rengo Nagasaki to Rengo Hiroshima on 50th anniversary of the Nagasaki bomb. Click here to see peace monuments in Nagasaki.

August 26, 1995 - "Prayer for Peace" Monument, Side of Mt. Sobo, Takachiho (Japan). Marks site of crash on August 30, 1945, by B-29 attempting to drop relief supplies at Miyata POW Camp #12.

September 5, 1995 - Liberation Square, St. Helier (Isle of Jersey). "Developed to mark the 50th Anniversary of Jersey's Liberation. To the north of the square stands the Pomme D’Or Hotel, which was used by the Nazis as their Headquarters during the Occupation. The hotel's original balcony was the focal point for celebrations when the island was liberated by British forces on May 9, 1945. At the centre of the square is Philip Jackson’s sculpture depicting a group [of 7 figures] holding the Union Flag at the centre of a fountain. Twelve water jets in the pool symbolise Jersey's 12 parishes. As the island celebrated "Liberation 60" on May 9 2005, Surgeon Captain McDonald, the man who originally draped the Union Flag from the Harbour Office in 1945 (now the Jersey Tourism Office), again unfurled Great Britain's colours from the same window as he had 60 years previously. It was also from the rear of the Tourism Office that in 1942 over 1,000 people were deported to civilian internment camps in Germany. Most of the deportees were destined to be held at the Bad Wurzach camp in southern Germany for the remainder of the war. Today, St. Helier is twinned with Bad Wurzach & participates in a programme of cultural visits & exchanges designed to promote friendship, understanding & reconciliation. A plaque can be seen on the Esplanade (northern) side of the building commemorating this event." Information courtesy of Prof. Jeffrey Jackson 16Oct17.

November 1995 - Tomb of Yitzhak & Léa Rabin, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem (Israel). Yitzhak Rabin [1922-1995], Shimon Peres & Yasser Arafat [1929-2004] shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Rabin was assassinated November 4, 1995, in Kikar Malkhei Yisrael / Kings of Israel Square, Tel Aviv, as he was leaving a mass rally in support of the Oslo peace process.

December 6, 1995 - "Colateral Damage: A Reality of War," downtown, Santa Cruz, California (USA). Created by metal artist E.A. Chase. "Bronze humanoid figures peer & wail skyward, clutching each other as they appear to melt, perhaps the effect of napalm, an atomic burst, or some other horror." Honors civilians killed in wartime. “Designed in 1959 as a gift for the United Nations, the controversial nature of the piece led to a definitive communication from the State Department that it was ‘inappropriate.’ Finally, decades later in 1995, the statue was instead dedicated in the City of Santa Cruz, now to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. It is inscribed: 'Collateral Damage: a reality of war by E.A. Chase. In memory of civilians who have died in all wars and in appreciation of all who actively “wage peace.” It is dedicated by Veterans of Foreign Wars, Bill Motto Post 5888; The Resource Center for Nonviolence; The City of Santa Cruz; and, finally, by the sculptor himself: longtime local E.A. Chase, who donated the statue in full knowledge that it would never be placed in New York’s U.N. Plaza.' “The historic erection of this statue in Santa Cruz Public Space was preceded by a gun turn-in & a Tibetan singing bowl ringing. Thereafter, the guns & the bowl were buried beneath. The dedication was followed by a memorable concert attended by 12,000 people. The commemorative video for the dedication of the Statue is entitled, "Collateral Damage: A time for community response.” It captures the essence of the historic moment, as well as the stars who graced the stage that day, including David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Bonny Raitt." Information courtesy of Stephen Zunes 19Oct2013. Entry #155 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

After 1995 - Rabin Memorial, Rabin Square (former Kikar Malkhei Yisrael / Kings of Israel Square), Tel Aviv (Israel). "Âgé de 73 ans, Yitzhak Rabin 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." Yitzhak Rabin [1922-1995], Shimon Peres & Yasser Arafat [1929-2004] shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Click here for protest on Jan. 6, 2008.