Peace Monuments Dedicated in 2007

Right click image to enlarge. .

M U S E U M

January 18, 2007 - Museum of History & Holocaust Education (MHHE), Continuing Education Building, KSU Center, Kennesaw State University, 3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw, Georgia (USA). "Funded in part by the Marcus Foundation & directed by Dr. Catherine Lewis. Presents public programs & exhibitions focused on WW-II & the Holocaust in an effort to promote education & dialogue about the past & its significance today." "Organized after an incredibly successful traveling Anne Frank exhibit [2003-2006]..." ("Graduates of KSU's public history certificate program...go on to work in museums, archives & historic preservation offices & to enroll in graduate programs in history, historic preservation, non-profit management, public history & museum studies."

January 18, 2007 - "Pax Mundi II," H&R Block Headquarters, Kansas City, Missouri (USA). Conceived by Brent Collins (Gower, Missouri). Computer-modeled by Prof. Carlo H. Séquin (Computer Sciences Division, Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences Department, Uuiversitty of California, Berkeley, California). Cast, assembled and finished by Steve Reinmuth (Eugene, Oregon).

February 28, 2007 - National 228 Memorial Museum, 54 Nanhai Road, Taipei (Taiwan). Dedicated on the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident of 1947. Not to be confused with the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum which is 10 years older.

March 30, 2007 - "Reconciliation Triangle," Richmond, Virginia (USA). On site of former slave market. Expresses remorse for the slave trade. One of three identical monuments by Stephen Broadbent. The other two are in Benin and Liverpool, England (UK).

2007? - "Reconciliation Triangle," Cotonou? (Benin). Expresses remorse for the slave trade. One of three identical monuments by Stephen Broadbent. The other two are in Liverpool, England (UK), and Richmond, Virginia (USA).

April 25, 2007 - Europe (Awakening), near the near the Lawengruppe / Lions’ Group, Tiergarten Park, Berlin (Germany). Third of five Global Stones, each weighing between 10 and 40 tons and corresponding to a “sister stone” on one of the five continents. The pairs of stones represent the five steps towards peace. Once a year on 21st June the light of the sun connects all ten stones by reflection. Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld, sculptor and around the world navigator, began the Global Stone Project in 1997 in Venezuela. From Ekaterinen (Russia).

May 1, 2007 - International Peace Garden, Bern (Switzerland). One of many International Peace Gardens in different countries. Presented to Bern by Dublin (Ireland).

June 12, 2007 - "Goddess of Democracy," Victims of Communism Memorial, Washington, DC (USA). "A tribute to more than 100 million people who died as a result of revolutions, wars and atrocities committed by various communist regimes."

June 15, 2007 - Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial & Statue, Central Park, Mansfield, Ohio (USA). Image shows snow & some of the yellow paint poured on the statue by vandals in January 2009.

June 29, 2007 - Tehran Peace Monument, City Park, Tehran (Irân). Unveiled on the 20th anniverary of the chemical attack on the town of Sardashi in northwestern Iran. Depicts a white dove mounted on a marble pedestal and decorated by a message in six languages: "That terrible suffering gave us a new understanding of the cruelty of war, the terror of weapons of mass destruction, and the importance of peace. Until the day when all people on Earth can live in peace, we will continuously send messages of peace to the world."

2007 - Taipei Human Rights Culture Park, Jingmei, near Taipei (Taiwan). "For research on human rights in Taiwan & Asia." Site of former Jingmei Military Detention Centre. Dedicated by president Chen Shui-bian on Human Rights Day. Jingmei is in southwest suburban Taipei.

2007 - Peace Park, National 228 Memorial Park, Taipei (Taiwan). Center is an underground "bamboo room," a sunken courtyard filled with bamboo plants that measures 350 feet by 130 feet and is 33 feet high. The park is named for an incident on Feb. 28, 1947, when Taiwan was transferred from Japanese rule to the Republic of China. How related to National 228 Memorial Museum?

2007 - Monument pour la Paix / Peace Monument, Borough Villeray, Saint-Michel, Montreal, Quebec (Canada).

July 3, 2007 - Headquarters building, African Union (AU), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). On site of an infamous prison where former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam executed 60 top officials of the late Emperor Haile Selassie. Fully financed by the Chinese government for around $150 million. "We wish everyone will like it," said Chinese architect Ren Lizhi at the opening of the 9th AU Summit.

August 4, 2007 - World Peace Bell, Hieizan Enryaku-ji Temple, Mount Hiei, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture (Japan), near Kyoto. Dedicated at 20th annual Interreligious Gathering of Prayer for World Peace sponsored by "Nihon Shukyo Daihyosha Kaigi" (Japanese Conference of Religions). Nearby rival, Onjoji (Miidera) Temple, has the temple bell alleged to have been stolen (and returned) by mythic warior monk Benkei [1155-1189].

August 22, 2007 - International Slavery Museum, Liverpool (England). Has three main galleries: Life in West Africa, Enslavement and the Middle Passage, and Legacies of Slavery. One of only 4 "musuems for peace" in the UK (vs. about 70 in the USA).

August 29, 2007 - Bust of Nelson Mandela, Parliament Square, London (England). Stands alongside images of Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli & Abraham Lincoln. At unveiling, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said, "Long after we are forgotten, you will be remembered for having taught the world one amazing truth: That you can achieve justice without vengeance."

August 30, 2007 - Memorial to Deserters, Theaterhaus, Stuttgart (Germany). Smaller "postive" figure in front of larger "negative" figure. Awaits a more permanent location in downtown Stuttgart. NB: More than 15,000 men were executed for desertion by the Nazi regime. This monument was opposded by all political parties. The federal government argued that "Deserters are people who avoid their responsibility to the community." Info & Image from Mark Hatlie.

September 21, 2007 - Tehran Peace Museum, City Park, Tehran (Iran). An initiative of the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS), assisted by the Dayton International Peace Museum of Dayton, Ohio (USA). Dedicated on the 20th anniverary of the chemical attack on the town of Sardashi in northwestern Iran. Opened on International Day for Peace. The Tehran Peace Monument (qv) was unveiled June 29, 2007, 150 meters from the museum.

September 30, 2007 - Mount Shasta Community Peace Mural, Visitor's Bureau Park, Mount Shasta, California (USA). 8 feet by 20 feet mural depicts what various community members see as their "Vision of Peace." Sponsored by the Siskiyou Arts Council (SAC).

October 7, 2007 - Denkmal "PeaceWomen," Stadt Soltau, Lower Saxony (Germany). Friedensskulptur / Peace Sculpture by Christin van Talis. Related to the PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG) project, Peace Women Worldwide, and the Women's Interntional Legue for Peace & Freedom (WILPF).

October 30, 2007 - World Peace Bell Park, Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province (South Korea). "Project started in 2005 with an idea of Mr. Jeong Gap-cheol, the elected executive of Hwacheon County. The Peace Bell, which will hang in the park, is to be cast next year from spent bullets and shells from many of the world's armed conflicts."

November 14, 2007 - Statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Ariana Park, Avenue de la Paix, Geneva (Switzerland). "Gift from the Indian government to the city of Geneva, underscoring the role of Geneva in promoting peace, harmony and friendship, values closely associated with Gandhi. Also marks the starting point of activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity of Aug. 14, 1948, between India and Switzerland."

December 3, 2007 - Africa (Hope), near the near the Lawengruppe / Lions’ Group, Tiergarten Park, Berlin (Germany). Fourth of five Global Stones, each weighing between 10 and 40 tons and corresponding to a “sister stone” on one of the five continents. The pairs of stones represent the five steps towards peace. Once a year on 21st June the light of the sun connects all ten stones by reflection. Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld, sculptor and around the world navigator, began the Global Stone Project in 1997 in Venezuela. From Bertanie Quarry (South Africa). Placed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.