Case Studies
To date, we have identified more than 600 cases across five continents. Our Case Studies relate to a wide array of historical legacies, including colonialism, enslavement, racism, fascism, sectarianism, communism, authoritarianism, sexual violence and others. To address these often contested legacies, decision-makers and other parties have chosen various remedies. This can take the form of the complete removal of the monument, an artistic intervention to alter the statue, or increased signage for contextualisation.
Case Studies focus on the historical background, history of the contestation, the decision-making process and the remedy employed. Once our Researchers complete them, the Case Studies are reviewed internally by the Contested Histories Team and then sent to our Academic Committee for external expert review before publication. They are revised when new developments in the case occur to provide the most accurate and up-to-date overview possible.
#87
Victory Monument in Bolzano
Italy
The Victory Monument in Bolzano was erected on the orders of Benito Mussolini in 1928. Since then, it has been at the symbolic centre of ethnic clashes between the German- and Italian-speaking communi… Read More
Victory Monument in Bolzano
The Victory Monument in Bolzano was erected on the orders of Benito Mussolini in 1928. Since then, it has been at the symbolic centre of ethnic clashes between the German- and Italian-speaking communi… Read More
The Victory Monument in Bolzano was erected on the orders of Benito Mussolini in 1928. Since then, it has been at the symbolic centre of ethnic clashes between the German- and Italian-speaking communities and a symbol of the unresolved legacy of Italian Fascism. Until recently, t… Read More
#143
Columbus Statue in Barcelona
Spain
The Columbus Monument in Barcelona, located at the intersection of the city’s port and the main street of Las Ramblas, was built during the Columbus-mania of the 19th century and was the largest monum… Read More
Columbus Statue in Barcelona
The Columbus Monument in Barcelona, located at the intersection of the city’s port and the main street of Las Ramblas, was built during the Columbus-mania of the 19th century and was the largest monum… Read More
The Columbus Monument in Barcelona, located at the intersection of the city’s port and the main street of Las Ramblas, was built during the Columbus-mania of the 19th century and was the largest monument dedicated to the so-called discoverer of the Americas. Several social and po… Read More
#226
Comfort Women Memorial in New Jersey
USA
A ‘Comfort Women’ Memorial was unveiled outside Palisades Public Library in New Jersey in 2010. The monument paid homage to the more than 200,000 South Korean women who were victims of sexual exploita… Read More
Comfort Women Memorial in New Jersey
A ‘Comfort Women’ Memorial was unveiled outside Palisades Public Library in New Jersey in 2010. The monument paid homage to the more than 200,000 South Korean women who were victims of sexual exploita… Read More
A ‘Comfort Women’ Memorial was unveiled outside Palisades Public Library in New Jersey in 2010. The monument paid homage to the more than 200,000 South Korean women who were victims of sexual exploitation (also termed ‘sexual slavery’) by Imperial Japanese forces before and durin… Read More
#219
Fearless Girl Statue in New York
USA
Kristen Visbal’s iconic Fearless Girl statue has been the subject of heated and ongoing contestation since its installation on New York’s Wall Street in 2017 and its subsequent relocation. Controversy… Read More
Fearless Girl Statue in New York
Kristen Visbal’s iconic Fearless Girl statue has been the subject of heated and ongoing contestation since its installation on New York’s Wall Street in 2017 and its subsequent relocation. Controversy… Read More
Kristen Visbal’s iconic Fearless Girl statue has been the subject of heated and ongoing contestation since its installation on New York’s Wall Street in 2017 and its subsequent relocation. Controversy arose over the significance and suitability of its original positioning opposit… Read More
#129
Monument to Gratitude to the Soviet Army in Legnica
Poland
Soviet memorials have been the subject of removals in Poland since the 1980s, with the Monument of Gratitude to the Soviet Army have faced the same destiny. After 70 years of reminding locals of the c… Read More
Monument to Gratitude to the Soviet Army in Legnica
Soviet memorials have been the subject of removals in Poland since the 1980s, with the Monument of Gratitude to the Soviet Army have faced the same destiny. After 70 years of reminding locals of the c… Read More
Soviet memorials have been the subject of removals in Poland since the 1980s, with the Monument of Gratitude to the Soviet Army have faced the same destiny. After 70 years of reminding locals of the country’s soviet past in Legnica, Poland, the monument was removed in 2018 and mo… Read More
#10
Dr Karl Lueger Ring Street in Vienna
Austria
In Vienna, over 160 streets bear the names of controversial historical figures. One of these streets, once called Dr-Karl-Lueger-Ring, was named after a prominent anti-Semitic agitator whose ideology… Read More
Dr Karl Lueger Ring Street in Vienna
In Vienna, over 160 streets bear the names of controversial historical figures. One of these streets, once called Dr-Karl-Lueger-Ring, was named after a prominent anti-Semitic agitator whose ideology… Read More
In Vienna, over 160 streets bear the names of controversial historical figures. One of these streets, once called Dr-Karl-Lueger-Ring, was named after a prominent anti-Semitic agitator whose ideology inspired the dogmatic policies of Adolf Hitler. In 2011, an archival report inve… Read More
#116
Nixon Memorial in South Auckland
New Zealand
The Colonel Marmaduke George Nixon statue (‘Nixon memorial’) stands at the intersection of Mangere and Great South roads in Otahuhu, a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand. A contentious figure in Ne… Read More
Nixon Memorial in South Auckland
The Colonel Marmaduke George Nixon statue (‘Nixon memorial’) stands at the intersection of Mangere and Great South roads in Otahuhu, a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand. A contentious figure in Ne… Read More
The Colonel Marmaduke George Nixon statue (‘Nixon memorial’) stands at the intersection of Mangere and Great South roads in Otahuhu, a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand. A contentious figure in New Zealand colonial history, the suitability of the public-nature of the memorial… Read More
#13
Leopold II Statue in Brussels
Belgium
The June 2020 global Black Lives Matter protests and the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence on June 30th brought increased scrutiny of Belgium’s colonial past under the leadership of King… Read More
Leopold II Statue in Brussels
The June 2020 global Black Lives Matter protests and the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence on June 30th brought increased scrutiny of Belgium’s colonial past under the leadership of King… Read More
The June 2020 global Black Lives Matter protests and the 60th anniversary of Congo’s independence on June 30th brought increased scrutiny of Belgium’s colonial past under the leadership of King Leopold II to the forefront of public consciousness. During this period, the Bru… Read More
#181
Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery in Cambridge, Massachusetts
USA
In the past decade, Harvard University has taken great strides to acknowledge the legacy of slavery on campus. Slavery provided an impetus for the creation of resources at Harvard, and several enslave… Read More
Harvard’s Legacy of Slavery in Cambridge, Massachusetts
In the past decade, Harvard University has taken great strides to acknowledge the legacy of slavery on campus. Slavery provided an impetus for the creation of resources at Harvard, and several enslave… Read More
In the past decade, Harvard University has taken great strides to acknowledge the legacy of slavery on campus. Slavery provided an impetus for the creation of resources at Harvard, and several enslaved Black and Indigenous individuals of former university presidents even resided… Read More
#198
Stone Mountain Park Memorial in Georgia
USA
The Stone Mountain Park Memorial is the largest Confederate memorial in the U.S., and the controversy around it demonstrates that the American Civil War’s emancipatory purpose remains contested more t… Read More
Stone Mountain Park Memorial in Georgia
The Stone Mountain Park Memorial is the largest Confederate memorial in the U.S., and the controversy around it demonstrates that the American Civil War’s emancipatory purpose remains contested more t… Read More
The Stone Mountain Park Memorial is the largest Confederate memorial in the U.S., and the controversy around it demonstrates that the American Civil War’s emancipatory purpose remains contested more than a century-and-a-half after its end. Despite multiple protests, and a guberna… Read More
#63
Stumbling Stones in Munich
Germany
Stolpersteine or ‘stumbling stones’ are components of a project initiated by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1996 to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. The memorials, in the form of cobblestones ins… Read More
Stumbling Stones in Munich
Stolpersteine or ‘stumbling stones’ are components of a project initiated by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1996 to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. The memorials, in the form of cobblestones ins… Read More
Stolpersteine or ‘stumbling stones’ are components of a project initiated by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1996 to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. The memorials, in the form of cobblestones installed in public streets, now number in the tens of thousands across Europe and… Read More
#282
Khala Goda Statue in Mumbai
India
The Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) statue is a 16.7-foot-tall bronze statue in Mumbai, India, and a prominent relic of the country’s colonial era. The equestrian statue of King Edward VII became contentious… Read More
Khala Goda Statue in Mumbai
The Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) statue is a 16.7-foot-tall bronze statue in Mumbai, India, and a prominent relic of the country’s colonial era. The equestrian statue of King Edward VII became contentious… Read More
The Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) statue is a 16.7-foot-tall bronze statue in Mumbai, India, and a prominent relic of the country’s colonial era. The equestrian statue of King Edward VII became contentious during a period of rising nationalistic sentiments opposing symbols of imperial… Read More