Peace Monuments Dedicated in 2000 (55 years since Hiroshima & Nagasaki)

Right click image to enlarge.

January 1, 2000 - Peace Bell, Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) (Korea). Over 7 feet in diameter, over 12 feet tall & weighs 21 tons. "As we bid farewell to the 20th Century in which we witnessed the division of the Korean Peninsula, we welcome the 21st Century as a time of reunification and peace for all makind."

January 15, 2000 - Peace Bell, Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building (west entrance), 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, California (USA). Cast from melted guns for the 50th anniversary of the UN Charter (signed in the War Memorial Building in nearby San Francisco) 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. Rung at the War Memorial Building by Attorney General Jane Reno.

January 17, 2000 - National Peace Sculpture, Capitol Children's Museum, Washington, DC (USA). Child-sized house designed by six students from the Massachusetts College of Art. Caption on door reads, "Violent Toys Teach Violent Play. Peace Begins With Peaceful Play." Dedicated on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Entry #1150 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

February 5, 2000 - World Peace Bell, Evergreen Taoist Religious Order, near Brisbane, Queensland (Australia). Chinese shape. "A symbol of freedom peace & human rights."

March 30, 2000 - Garden for Peace (GFP), Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia (USA). One of several GFP's sponsored by Gardens for Peace, Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

	March 30, 2000 - Le Mur pour la Paix / Wall for Peace, Champs de Mars, Paris (France). Between the Ecole militaire and the Eiffel Tower. By French artist Clara Halter who has other peace monuments in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Hiroshima (Japan).
	April 15, 2000 - World Trade Bridge, between Laredo, Texas (USA), & Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas (Mexico).

April 17, 2000 - International Peace Garden, Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands). One of many International Peace Gardens in different countries. Presented to The Hague by Canada.

April 30, 2000 - Sugihara Memorial Garden, Temple Emeth, Chestnut Hill, South Brookline, Masschusetts (USA). The conservative Jewish temple holds an annual Sugihara Memorial Concert. Shiune Sugihara [1900-1986] was a Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews leave the Soviet Union while serving as consul of the Empire of Japan in Lithuania.

May 6, 2000 - Garden for Peace (GFP), Garden for Peace ,Oakhurst Community Garden, Decatur, Georgia (USA). One of several GFP's sponsored by Gardens for Peace, Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

2000 - "Ethics of Peace," Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC (USA). Bronze, 3' x 3' x 3' (1/2 Life Size) by Michael Malfano who wrote: "As depicted in the sculpture, the central figure seeks inner peace by questioning, by living non-judgementally, and by having the courage to make the hard changes necessary to attain the innocence of children. Since the problem of violence is man-made, the solution must also be man-made."

2000 - "Non-Violence" (Knotted Gun), Cavern Walks Shopping Centre, Mathew Street, Liverpool (England). Next door to the Cavern Club where the Beatles played in early days. Unveiled by Dr. Michael Nobel, head of the Nobel family society & chairman of the Non-Violence Foundation. Sculpted by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. Supported by Yoko Ono in memory of John Lennon [1940-1980]. Click here for other examples of the same sculpture, including the original at the UN in New York City. Click here for other Lennon & Ono monuments.

2000 - Solidarity Museum, Gdansk (Poland). Opened on the 20th anniversary of the 1980 shipyard strikes, traces the history of the Solidarity movement and Poland's struggle to wriggle out of the grip of communism. The 'Roads to Freedom' multimedia exhibit consists of two parts; in the outdoor portion you'll see a section of the Berlin Wall beside the wall Lech Walesa climbed to lead the shipyard workers, an armoured tank used to put down demonstrations and more. Inside, elaborate dioramas and props recreate the bare cupboards and empty shop shelves with only lard and vinegar of Poland in the 80s."

2000 - Monument de la Paix / Peace Monument, Timbuktu (Mali). Steps to the monument are covered with welded small arms laid down by warring factions. Also called Flamme de la Paix.

2000 - Rabin Memorial, Harris Street, Wellington (New Zealand). "An olive tree and a granite memorial to Nobel Peace Prize winner Yitzhak Rabin." Yitzhak Rabin [1922-1995], Shimon Peres & Yasser Arafat [1929-2004] shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.

2000 - Peace Monument, at the Waterfront in front of the Information Office, Limpopo & Bela-Bela CTA, Bela-Bela (Warmbaths) , Limpopo Provinc (South Africa). "The monument is one of only a few in the Limpopo."

2000 - Leahi Millennium Peace Garden, Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii (USA). "Created by teens from around the globe to promote peace and cultural understanding and now stands as a symbol of solidarity and hope."

2000 - Northeast Interfaith Peace Garden, St. Anthony of Padua Church, Baltimore, Maryland (USA).

2000 - National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). "Dedicated to helping educators meet academic standards, while providing curriculum for the most critical areas of cross content education, including anti-bullying and non-violence, respect for diversity, pride in oneself, civic responsibility, independent thinking and more." Displays include all Nobel Peace Prize Winners, religious persecution, political repression, slavery, reconciliation, street violence, violence in the media, Native Americans, the immigrant experience, peace heroes, Anne Frank's secret annex, Nelson Mandela's jail cell, and Felix Zandman's hideout in the ghetto of Grodno, Poland, during WW-II. "Glass art is a key component of the Museum because it represents both the beauty and fragility of freedom. Has one of the largest and most important collections of contemporary glass sculptures in the world. Centerpiece is a 21-foot 'Flame of Liberty' by the world’s most renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly." Displays peace sculpture by Lin Avola, Irene Frolic, Tolla Inbar, Sandy Skoglund, John McIntyre, and other artists.

July 2000 - Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall & Museum, 1071 Yaozu, Yaotsu-cho, Kamo-gun, Gifu Prefecture (Japan). Shiune Sugihara [1900-1986] was a Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews leave the Soviet Union while serving as consul of the Empire of Japan in Lithuania. The musuem is his birthplace.

August 11, 2000 - UN Peace Bell Garden, United Nations, New York City, New York (USA). Designed & built by Shinichiro Abe, ZEN Associates, Inc., Woburn, Massachusetts (USA). Symbolically represents the seven continents of the globe, as depicted on the UN flag. Surrounds the Japanese Peace Bell (qv).

August 25, 2000 - Wings of Peace & Freedom Park, Dixon, Illinois (USA). ''Gifted by Nick Tanev, a native of Bulgaria who immigrated to the USA and prospered. Symbolizes the hope the East and the West would come together and live in peace and freedom." Includes replica of Berlin Wall (largest words: PEACE & FREIHEIT). On Ronald Reagan Trail. Dixon is the childhood home of President Ronald Reagan.

October 9, 2000 - John Lennon Museum, Saitama Super Arena, 8 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture (Japan). "The first museum of its kind anywhere in the world." Supported by Yoko Ono.

October 14, 2000 - Garden for Peace (GFP), Culberson Asiatic Arboretum, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham, North Carolina (USA). One of several GFP's sponsored by Gardens for Peace, Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

October 2000 - Miraishin no Oka / Hill of Hope, Kosanji, Setoda Island--near Hiroshima (Japan). Also called Peace Mountain. Commissioned by the Kosanji Temple Museum, the culmination of master sculptor, Kuetani Kazuto's work since 1993. Represents an island floating in the sea." "Inaugurated with a concert of Neapolitan Music" (right image).

October 31, 2000 - Flame of Friendship /Flama de la Amistad, Convention Center, San Diego, California (USA). By Leonardo Nierman of Mexico City (Mexico). A gift from the Government of Mexico that was presented to the people of San Diego as a gesture of friendship. Has stunning vistas of San Diego Bay. The sculpture is made of polished stainless steel and is nearly 21-feet in height.

Fall 2000 - Nagasaki Peace Bell, Red Church, Nezalezhnastsi/Independence Square, Minsk (Bealrus). Western style bell as at Urakami Cathedral. Named "Angel." Gift to the Red Church & Belarussian people by diocese of the Roman Catholic Church of Nagasaki (Japan).

November 2000 - Synagogue Memorial, "Synagogenplatz," Gartenstrasse, Tübingen (Germany). At site of Tübingen's former synagogue. From the large metal box to the metal column on the street, there is a narrow channel for water to flow under metal plates bearing the names of victims and down this simple waterfall in the foreground. Commemorates not only the building and its destruction, but also all the Jews of Tübingen who were murdered in the Holocaust. The synagogue was burned down during the Reichskristallnacht of November 9, 1938. Tübingen Nazis threw the Torah rolls into the Neckar, arrested five Jews and sent them to Dachau, and set the synagogue ablaze. After the war, Tübingen courts sentenced three of those involved to prison terms of 20 to 32 months. Info & Image from Mark Hatlie.

Date? - Segnende Hände der Kohanim auf einem Grabstein, Baisingen (Germany). "On Jewish tombstones you will sometimes see a symbol showing two hands arranged for the Priestly Blessing like the example here. This is a symbol of the Kohen or Cohen (Hebrew for priest). The plural form is Kohanim or Cohanim. Kohanim are assumed to be direct male descendants of Aaron, who was the first Kohen and the brother of Moses. Some Jewish surnames frequently associated with this symbol are Conn or Cohn (Kohn), Cahn (Kahn), and Cohen (Kohen), but you will find the symbol on the grave markers of people with other surnames."

November 19, 2000 - Statue of "The Peace Pilgrim," UN University for Peace, Colon (Costa Rica). By Costa Rican sculptor Fernando Calvo. Celebrates the memory of American Mildred Lisette Norman [1908-1981].

December 7, 2000 - South African Peace Pagoda, The Manger, Barrydale, Western Cape Province (South Africa). Only peace pagoda in Africa. Consecrated by Sayadaw U Thila Wunta, eminent 90-year-old Burmese monk. "A gift he had long wanted to bestow on Africa, thus completing his dream and mission to promote peace and harmony in every continent of the world.... The building of this seven-meter tall gold structure, crowned with a spherical crystal and copper umbrella, was achieved in three weeks by Sayadaw, three Burmese Monks, 20 Canadians, and several local people."

December 8, 2000 - Statue of John Lennon, Havana? (Cuba). from the moving speech given by Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament, the day the statue was dedicated: "This place will always be a testimonial to struggle, a summoning to humanism. It will also be a permanent homage to a generation that wanted to transform the world, and to the rebellious spirit, innovative, of the artist who helped forge that generation and at the same time is one of its most authentic symbols... Our boat will continue sailing. Nothing will stop it. It is driven by "a wind that never dies." They will call us dreamers but our ranks will grow. We will defend the vanquished dream and struggle to make real all dreams. Neither storms nor pirates will hold us back. We will sail on until we reach the new world that we will know how to build."

December 10, 2000 - Museo de la Paz en la Vall d'Uixó / Peace Museum in Vall d'Uixó, Museu de la Pau, Centre Cultural Palau de Vivel, Vall d'Uixó, Castellón (Spain).

December 13, 2000 - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Ginling Girls College, Nanjing (China). Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], was an American missionary renowned for saving the lives of many women during the Nanjing Massacre. Click here for chronology of Ginling College & Minnie Vautrin.

Date? - Minnie Vautrin Memorial, Secor Community Building, Secor, Illinois (USA). Bench & plaque memorializing Minnie Vautrin [1886-1941], an American missionary born in Secor, IL (population 379). Renowned for saving the lives of many women at the Ginling Girls College in Nanking, China, during the Nanjing Massacre.