Bonn, Germany – The "Statue of Peace," a potent symbol of women's human rights and historical rectification, has finally found a permanent home at the Frauenmuseum Bonn (Bonn Women's Museum) after four years of temporary installations across Germany. An unveiling ceremony was held on June 28, marking a significant moment for the memorial dedicated to the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, euphemistically known as "comfort women."
Marianne Pitzen (77), director and co-founder of the Frauenmuseum Bonn, established in 1981 as the world's first women's museum, emphasized the institution's commitment to addressing "war and violence against women" as crucial topics. "Peace is currently in a very dangerous situation. The Statue of Peace is an important symbol for our museum, and its name alone holds great significance," Pitzen stated. She affirmed that women's honor transcends national claims denying wartime atrocities.
This specific statue, dubbed "Dong-Mai," first arrived in Germany for a four-month exhibition at the Dresden Ethnographic Museum in April 2021. It subsequently had temporary displays at the Wolfsburg Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nazi Documentation Center in Cologne. For much of its four-year journey, which spanned nearly 500km from Dresden to Bonn, the statue remained in storage.
The Bonn Women's Museum's decision to host the statue permanently was not without precedent or opposition. An earlier attempt by the museum to install the statue in 2018 was thwarted following protests from Japanese diplomats and pressure from German administrative authorities, as the proposed site was municipal land. However, the current placement on museum-owned property ensures its long-term presence. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed "extreme regret" over the relocation, reiterating Japan's long-standing stance that such statues are "incompatible" with its government's position.
The "Statue of Peace" initiative, created by Korean sculptors Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung, commemorates the estimated 200,000-300,000 girls and women, primarily from Korea and other Asia-Pacific regions, who were forced into sexual servitude by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. These statues have frequently become focal points of diplomatic disputes, with Japan consistently urging their removal globally.
The unveiling event featured performances by artists from South Korea's Gyeongnam region, including a one-person play and dance titled 'Her Name is Peace,' organized by the 'Masan Changwon Jinhae Citizens' Group for Comfort Women Victims and Grandmothers.' Reports indicated Japanese objections to a poster suggesting support from the Korean Women's Rights Institute, leading to the removal of the institute's name. Despite such pressures, the Frauenmuseum Bonn declared the statue a "place of memory and resistance" against historical amnesia.
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