Statue of Peace in Berlin

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Peace statue of comfort women in Berlin-Moabit Friedensstatue Trostfrauen in Berlin-Moabit.jpg
Peace statue of comfort women in Berlin-Moabit

The Peace Statue was a monument located in Union Square in the Moabit district of Mitte, Berlin for the "comfort women" (girls and women who were forced into prostitution in Japanese military brothels during World War II). It also serves as a general symbol against sexual violence against girls and women. The monument was initiated by the "Action Group Comfort Women" of the Korea Verband and was unveiled on September 28, 2020. [1] The statue has sparked a discourse on commemorative cultures among local, state, and diplomatic levels. [2] It was removed on October 17, 2025, pending a proposed relocation to Unionstrasse 8. [3]

Contents

The bronze statue was designed by the South Korean artist couple Kim Eun-sung (b. 1965) and Kim Seo-kyung. [4] It is the first statue of its kind to be installed in a public space in Germany. [4]

Design

The centerpiece of the sculpture is the bronze figure of a young girl in traditional Korean attire (Hanbok). The clothing and age are meant to reflect the victims' situation at the time of their abduction. [5] Among a studied group of slightly over 800 “comfort women,” 85 percent were over 20 years old. [6]

Political controversies

The monument was approved by the Mitte District Office. On September 29, 2020, Japanese Cabinet Secretary and government spokesman Katsunobu Kato announced that they would seek to have the statue removed. [7] [8] Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reportedly contacted German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas according to the nationalist daily Sankei Shinbun. [7] There had already been similar interventions by the Japanese government in Freiburg and San Francisco. [9]

On October 8, 2020, the Mitte District Office revoked the statue's permit, [10] [11] citing concerns that the statue promoted hatred and was not in line with values of reconciliation. The district mayor of Berlin-Mitte, Stephan von Dassel, also stated that the statue addressed a politically and historically sensitive conflict between two nations, which was not suitable for resolution in Germany. The Korea Verband was ordered to remove the statue by October 14, 2020. [7] [10] [9] [12] In response to an urgent application by the Korea Verband, the Berlin Administrative Court temporarily halted the removal order. [13] On the same day, 300 people demonstrated in Berlin for the statue's preservation. [14] Alliance 90/The Greens Berlin-Mitte, to which Stephan von Dassel belongs, issued a statement supporting the statue's retention. [15]

In December 2020, the district assembly of Berlin-Mitte voted in favor of permanently retaining the Peace Statue. [16] The Korea Verband applied for an extended installation of the statue in the summer of 2021, [17] [18] which was initially approved by the district office for another year. [19] In November 2022, district mayor Stefanie Remlinger announced in a subcommittee meeting of the district assembly that the installation of the Peace Statue in Berlin would be extended for another two years. [20] On April 16, 2025, the permit was extended again until September 28, 2025 by the Berlin Administrative Court  [ de ]. [21] On October 6, 2025, the Berlin Administrative Court rejected any further extensions and the Mitte District Office subsequently ordered its removal. The removal order was upheld by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg  [ de ] against an appeal from the Korea Verband, on October 9, 2025, although the additional €3,000 fine was struck down. [22] [23] It was removed on October 17, 2025 by the Mitte District Office via a contractor, and is being stored until a proposed relocation to Unionstrasse 8, one hundred metres away from its previous location. [3]

International censorship

The artist duo Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung have faced censorship in Japan, most recently in 2019 when an art exhibition in Nagoya featuring a similar statue was abruptly closed. [24] [25]

Other comfort women monuments

Peace Statue in Hong Kong HK Zhong Huan Central Jiao Yi Guang Chang Exchange Square sculpture Wei An Fu Shao Nu Tong Xiang Comfort Women Statues January 2020 SS2.jpg
Peace Statue in Hong Kong

The first Peace Statue was erected in 2011 in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. [26] Similar monuments can be found worldwide, including in the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Germany. The first monument dedicated to "comfort women" has stood in Tateyama (Chiba), Japan, since 1986. [27]

An initial initiative in Germany failed in 2017 in Freiburg due to Japanese diplomatic resistance. [28] The sculpture was subsequently installed in the Nepal-Himalaya Park in Wiesent near Regensburg. [29] Another monument is located on the grounds of the Korean Evangelical Church in Frankfurt. [30] [31] Since July 8, 2022, another Peace Statue has been located in the campus garden of the University of Kassel. [32]

References

  1. ↑ Hunter, Benks (October 10, 2020). "Bezirksamt in Berlin verlangt Abbau der Trostfrauen-Statue". Sumikai. Aktuelle Nachrichten aus Japan. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ ""Comfort Woman" in Berlin-Mitte: Why a bronze statue has led to diplomatic complications with Japan for years". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  3. 1 2 tagesschau.de. "Berlin: "Trostfrauen"-Mahnmal in Berlin-Moabit nach langem Streit abgebaut". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  4. 1 2 "Peace statue commemorating comfort women erected in Berlin". KBS News . September 29, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Peace Statue". Korea-Verband. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  6. ↑ Yi, Gwang-pyo (February 26, 2002). "Ilbongun wianbu myeongdan choecho balgyeon". Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved December 22, 2022. The study naturally says nothing about the life data of 200,000 other women.
  7. 1 2 3 Hansen, Sven (October 7, 2020). "Dealing with sexualized war violence: Tokyo against women's statue in Berlin". Die Tageszeitung: taz . Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  8. ↑ Kuhrt, Aro (October 8, 2020). "Women in the shadows: A monument for the Asian "comfort women"". Berliner Zeitung . Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  9. 1 2 von Richthofen, Luisa (October 14, 2020). "Berlin halts demolition of 'comfort women' memorial amid diplomatic row with Japan". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Bezirksamt Mitte hebt Genehmigung für "Friedensstatue" auf". Bezirksamt Berlin-Mitte. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  11. ↑ Aro Kuhrt (October 12, 2020). "Wie Japan dafür sorgt, dass in Berlin ein Denkmal verschwindet". Berliner Zeitung . Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ Berthold Seliger (October 15, 2020). "Die »Trostfrau« von Moabit". junge Welt . Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Friedensstatue in Moabit darf vorerst bleiben". rbb24.de. rbb. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ Sven Hansen (October 13, 2020). "Umstrittenes Mahnmal in Berlin-Moabit: Vom Protest beeindruckt". Die Tageszeitung: taz . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ Alliance 90/The Greens in Berlin-Mitte (October 13, 2020). "BVV-Fraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in Mitte fordert Erhalt der "Friedensstatue"" . Retrieved October 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Sven Hansen (December 2, 2020). "Streit um Statue beigelegt: Japan gefällt das nicht". Die Tageszeitung: taz . Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ Kim Hae-yeon (December 14, 2020). "[Herald Interview] Woman who saved Statue of Peace in Berlin". Korea Herald . Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  18. ↑ Tomasz Kurianowicz (July 17, 2021). "Eine Friedensstatue in Berlin-Mitte, die für diplomatischen Unfrieden sorgt". Berliner Zeitung . Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  19. ↑ Sven Hansen (September 10, 2021). ""Trostfrauen"-Mahnmal in Moabit: Weiter Zoff um die Statue". Die Tageszeitung: taz . Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Friedensstatue in Berlin-Mitte darf voraussichtlich für zwei weitere Jahre stehen bleiben". KBS News . November 10, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  21. ↑ ""Trostfrauenstatue" in Berlin-Moabit darf vorerst bleiben". www.rbb24.de (in German). 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  22. ↑ "Oberverwaltungsgericht bestätigt: "Trostfrauen"-Statue muss umziehen". www.rbb24.de (in German). 2025-10-17. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  23. ↑ Seung-ku, Lee (2025-10-15). "Berlin court upholds order to remove 'comfort women' statue". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  24. ↑ Laura Helena Wurth (April 16, 2020). "Zensur in Japan: Die Kunst, mit Kunst nicht zu provozieren". FAZ . Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  25. ↑ Hanno Hauenstein (October 13, 2020). "Friedensstatue: "Historische Amnesie und Zensur"". Berliner Zeitung . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  26. ↑ Rainer Werning (March 17, 2017). "Das Leid der »Trostfrauen«". junge Welt . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  27. ↑ Reinhard Zöllner (2021). Wahrheitseffekte und Widerstreit: Die "Trostfrauen" und ihre Denkmäler. Munich. pp. 127–128. ISBN   978-3-86205-221-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  28. ↑ Joachim Röderer (September 23, 2016). "Freiburg: Bronzefigur löst diplomatischen Ärger mit Japan aus". Badische Zeitung . Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  29. ↑ Stefan Gruber (March 12, 2017). ""Trostfrau" mahnt zum Frieden". Mittelbayerische Zeitung . Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  30. ↑ Dorothea Mladenova (October 5, 2020). "Was bedeutet es eigentlich, dass in Berlin eine Friedensstatue in Form einer "Trostfrau" aufgestellt wurde?". Japanologie Leipzig. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  31. ↑ (dpa/bb) (13 October 2020). "Demonstration gegen Entfernung einer Friedensstatue". Süddeutsche Zeitung . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Friedensstatue auf Campus der Universität Kassel dauerhaft aufgestellt" . Retrieved July 18, 2022.

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