TROSTFRAUEN in
Deutschland
Aug 1991
50 years of silence is broken
Korean survivor Kim Hak-sun spoke on South Korean television about her experiences and more "comfort women" survivors come forth.
Aug 1993
The Kono Statement
Then chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono extended Japan’s “sincere apologies and remorse".
Dec 1995
Private donors contributed to the fund as a way of compensating the registered "comfort women" victims.
Dec 2011
Statue of Peace unveiled opposite the Japanese embassy in Seoul - to mark the 1000th day of the Wednesday Rallies. The Statue of Peace became a travelling monument with almost 100 replicas across the world.
2016
1st attempt to install a Statue of Peace in Germany
Failed attempt to install a bronze statue in Freiburg.
2017
Regensburg & Frankfurt
A Statue of Peace was installed in a park near Regensburg, Bavaria and another one in a Korean Evangelical Church in Frankfurt. Both are considered private grounds.
Sept 2020
Peace Statue in Berlin-Mitte
3rd Statue of Peace installed in Berlin - the first one on public grounds. It is looked after by Korea Verband, Berlin's Korea Association.
Jul 2022
University of Kassel
The Statue of Peace at the University of Kassel was the second of its kind installed on public land in Germany. However, on 9 March 2023, the university removed the statue without consulting students likely due to pressure from local Japanese diplomatic authorities.
Watch a video to see the various locations where the Statue of Peace replicas have been installed across Germany using Google Earth
There were several actors involved in the installation of the Peace Statue. The first was the Korea Verband (KV), also known as Berlin’s Korea Society and the second was the Working Group “Comfort Women” (WGCW), called “AG Trostfrauen” in German. As a registered association, KV filed the application while WGCW were the main organisers who worked on the installation of the statue.
Why Germany?
For Han Jung-hwa, chairperson of Berlin's Korea Society (Korea Verband), the successful installation of a "comfort women" statue in Berlin would enhance diversity, condemn atrocities and bring more balance in a male-dominated commemorative landscape.
This development came after April 2019, when Germany successfully sponsored Security Council Resolution 2467 combating sexual violence in conflict. With this resolution, Germany is focused on putting victims at centerstage and the "comfort women" statue is an example of a civil society initiative to recognise Japanese war crimes.
Source: Financial Times article
The Power of Place
In contrast to the original Statue of Peace in Seoul that was erected opposite the Japanese Embassy, the Statue of Peace in Berlin-Mitte is located in a residential area.
According to Han Jung-hwa, chairperson of Korea Verband, the place is definitely significant as “Mitte means ‘center’ in German … It’s a place where many locals pass by, and is located very close to a well-known subway station. It’s also a residential area, so most residents in the area think of the Statue of Peace as their own.”
Source:
Korea Herald interview with Han Jung-hwa
