Have you ever wondered where the Peace Symbol came from

History of the Peace Symbol

Gerald Herbert Holton• A graduate of the Royal

College of Art• a conscientious objector

in World War II• On 21 February 1958 he

designed the Nuclear Disarmament logo for the first Aldermaston March

http://gerald-holtom.inmemoriam.org/

The first mark on paper, according to Mr Holtom, was a white circle within a black square, followed by various

versions of the Christian cross within the circle.

Unfortunately, the cross was associated with the Crusaders, military, and the public blessing, by an

American chaplain, of the plane that flew to Hiroshima .

Eventually the arms of the cross were dropped to form the composite semaphore signal of the letters N and D.

A Semaphore DerivativeThe design was a combination of the letters "N" (two arms outstretched pointing down at 45 degrees) and "D" (one arm upraised above the head) of the flag semaphore alphabet, standing for nuclear disarmament.

He wanted to symbolize the despondency he felt towards a world that had only relatively recently come through a second, hugely destructive world

war and yet with its creation of the nuclear threat, had apparently learned little from the experience. Holtom said, "I drew myself the representative of

an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched and downwards in the manner of

Goya's peasant before the firing squad."

Gerald tells the story of his creation of the peace symbol representing Goya’s Peasant being shot, however, the peasant is standing with his arms raised in surrender not held downward. The teach peace movement believes that up-turning the peace symbol to match this may be a better demonstration of peace.

http://dreamsandscraps.blogspot.com/2011/03/name-artist.html

A Symbol created for an event• Direct Action Committee

Against Nuclear War• the 1958 Easter weekend

anti-nuclear march from London to Aldermaston

• Bertrand Russell was responsible for placing the peace symbol on buttons and banners for the march

Bertrand Russell“It was invented by a member of our movement (Gerald Holtom) as the badge of the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War, for the 1958 Aldermaston peace walk in England. It was designed from the naval code of semaphore, and the symbol represents the code letters for ND.'”

The circle, representing the concept of total or complete, surrounds the N and D signifying total or complete nuclear disarmament.

Nero’s Cross

• The most famous person believed to be crucified by Nero was the Apostle Peter.

• To symbolize humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ, Peter requested that he be crucified with his head toward the ground.

• As a result of Peter's death the upside down cross was used by early Christians as a positive symbol for peace.

Saracen Warriors• During the crusades the Saracen

warriors would place an image similar to the peace symbol on their shields representing the breaking of the Christian Cross which appeared on the shields of Crusading Knights

• Saracen is any person in the Middle Ages that professed the religion of Islam.

http://www.germanmaltesecircle.org/newsletters/2010/201008.htm

Germany’s 3rd Panzer Division • The 3rd panzer division was

established in 1935 and participated in:

• The 1939 invasion of Poland • The 1940 invasion of France• The 1940 Invasion of

Norway• The 1941 invasion of the

Soviet Union. • The 1942 drive on the

Caucasus.

1939 - 1941

1941 - 1944

1943

Images sourced from wikipedia

• Many people carry the peace symbol without understanding its history.

• The Nero, Saracen, Nazi, or Bertram Russell uses are far from representative of the majority of people that carry or wear a peace symbol

• We shouldn’t miss an opportunity to address historical uses and move forward claiming the peace symbol for good

• Rather than divert from the efforts of the peacemakers

When you see the peace symbol, I encourage you to see the person displaying it as

communicating a message of love.