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Following the threat of removal of the Berlin Statue of Peace (Statue of Peace) last year, a Statue of Peace installed at a university in Germany was suddenly dismantled. Civic groups have expressed their intention to recover the statue through petitions and fundraising campaigns, but Japan's pressure to remove the statues has continued since the past.

On the 13th, the Korea Council in Germany, a civic organization, announced that it had launched a petition to recover the Statue of Peace that was abruptly removed by the University of Kassel in Germany. The statue named 'Nujin' had been installed on the university campus since July last year, but in the early morning of the 9th, the day after International Women's Day, the university suddenly dismantled the statue.

The student council and civic groups were shocked. Until the day before, International Women's Day events were held in front of the statue, and many women took photos, but the statue disappeared the next morning. This statue holds special significance as it was installed under the leadership of the Kassel University Student Council after it became known that the Berlin Statue of Peace was under pressure from Japan to be removed.

The claims of the university and the student council differ. The university stated, "Permanent exhibitions of artworks at the University of Kassel are only carried out through joint decisions with the faculty and the president's office when educational and academic research projects are continuously conducted and the relevance of the installation site is proven," adding, "This statue does not fall under that category." They argue that the statue was not originally a permanent exhibition artwork.

The site where the Statue of Peace 'Nujin' was installed on the campus of the University of Kassel, Germany. [Image provided by Korea Council]

However, the student council refutes this, stating that they obtained permission from the university to use the site at the time of installation and that the student parliament passed a resolution to keep the statue permanently. Han Jeong-hwa, the representative of the Korea Council, said on the 14th on Kim Eo-jun's radio show Humility is Difficult that "the university keeps lying as if they do not know there is a contract for permanent installation and that the student assembly passed a resolution for permanent retention," adding, "Since September last year, they suddenly announced the removal, saying the exhibition period was over, but negotiations were still ongoing, and they removed the statue without even informing the removal date, which shocked the students."

According to insiders, the sudden removal was likely influenced by pressure from the Japanese government. The Justice and Memory Solidarity claimed that three days after the statue was installed, the Japanese Consul General met with the president of the University of Kassel to request its removal, and that Japan's protests were severe, including sending malicious emails that disrupted university operations.

Han said, "The Japanese side persistently harassed the university since the unveiling ceremony of the statue. That is why there were talks last year that the university might remove it," adding, "The pattern of the Japanese government's actions is always similar. The Consul General visits in person, right-wing extremists send malicious emails under Korean names, and they continuously meet with the federal and state governments to request removal."

The statue is currently stored in a warehouse within the University of Kassel.

Japan's pressure to remove the Statue of Peace has continued since the past. It is known that the statue in the Nepal-Himalaya Pavilion Park in Wiesent, Germany, the first in Europe erected in 2017, also faced removal pressure from the Japanese government and right-wing groups sending protest emails.

In August 2019, when a statue was exhibited at the 'TOYS ARE US' exhibition held at GEDOK, a women's art gallery in Berlin, the Japanese Embassy in Germany sent an official letter. In the letter, Japan denied the forced mobilization and sexual slavery of 'comfort women' during Japanese colonial rule, claiming that the compensation issue was already resolved by the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and that there is no historical evidence for such claims.

A girl is sitting next to the 'Statue of Peace' installed in Berlin, the capital of Germany, on September 27, 2020. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Berlin Statue of Peace, which inspired the installation of the Kassel University statue, has also faced continuous threats of removal but was able to remain thanks to the support of local civic groups and several city council members.

Installed in September 2020 in Berlin's Mitte district, the statue received a removal order just two weeks after installation due to protests from Japan. In response, German civic groups and the local community strongly opposed the order and filed an injunction to suspend the removal order at the administrative court. Consequently, the Mitte district postponed the removal order and extended the statue's installation period by one year.

Later, at the end of last year, the Mitte district extended the installation permit for the Berlin statue, and it is expected to remain for another two years.

However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida requested German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to remove the statue during his visit to Japan in April last year, and Japan's pressure to remove the statue continues. In June last year, domestic right-wing groups such as the Momma Unit held protests in front of the Berlin statue demanding its removal.

The Korea Council is asking for much attention, including signature campaigns, regarding the removal of the Kassel University statue. Representative Han said, "We ask for protests to the university through signatures, fundraising, emails, and handwritten letters. It is a way to show the university that the world is paying attention," adding, "We have no choice but to make efforts in various ways to recover the statue by any means."