It goes without saying that the sculptors, activists, and others have aimed through this memorialization to promote peace and the rights of women around the world. The original Statue of Peace was created by the Korean sculptors Kim Seo-kyung (1965-) and Kim Eun-sung (1964-) in order to memorialize the suffering of women who were raped by Japanese men in military brothels set up between 19. In September 2020, a Statue of Peace (in Japanese, Heiwa no shōjo zō, or “girl of peace statue”) was installed in the German capital Berlin. Keywords: “comfort women,” Statue of Peace, transnational feminism, Germany, Japan Summarizing the events related to the installation of the statue, this article examines how the conflict between a national and a transnational understanding of the “comfort women” experience played out in Berlin. Based on participant observation and interviews, this article introduces the background and motives of the coalition of civic groups that installed the statue, how they frame the statue’s meaning, and how the statue has acquired new meanings through unplanned interactions with the local population in Berlin. The Japanese government attempted to prevent the installation of the statue, but in the end, it was allowed to remain.
Abstract: In September 2020 a Statue of Peace was installed in the German capital Berlin.