Removal Archives - Contested Histories

Macdonald Statue in Victoria

Paula — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

In August 2018, the Victoria City Council’s decision to remove a statue of Sir John A Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, from outside the City Hall sparked controversy due to the lack of transparency in the public consultation process. This case study explores how public consultation can shape the perception of controversial statues and how these decisions affect wider goals of historical reconciliation.

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Slave Auction Site Plaque in Charlottesville, Virginia

Paula — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

On February 6, 2020, a historical plaque marking the site of a slave auction went missing in Charlottesville, Virginia. For some residents, the removal of the plaque revived complaints about the inadequacy of the memorial; others felt the removal erased Black history. Five days later, police arrested a local activist who admitted he removed the plaque, calling its placement in the pavement insulting. Community members created a temporary memorial with flowers and signs at the original site. In response, Charlottesville’s City Council commissioned the Historic Resources Committee to evaluate how best to commemorate the location’s history. Following the Committee’s efforts on March 3, 2025, a new marker was unveiled that included expanded historical context and humanised the victims of the slave auctions. This case study highlights how the removal of a contested marker became an opportunity for deeper historical recognition of the legacy of slavery in Virginia.

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Marshal Konev Statue in Prague

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:12:03 +0000

In the Spring of 2020, the Prague 6 Municipality removed the monument to Marshal Konev from Náměstí Interbrigády (International Brigade Square). The statue had a long history of contestation and was eventually removed in 2020 following a successful petition campaign the previous year. During these thirty years, many actors played a role in its fate, from civil and private citizens to high-ranking government officials in both the Czech Republic and other former socialist countries. The statue’s removal represents the culmination of a struggle between two readings of Konev: one that portrays him as a liberator from Nazi occupation and another that focuses on his involvement in communist-era control and repression. This case illustrates how contemporary Czech society reconciles with its Socialist and Soviet-era political heritage in juxtaposition to its current alliance with the West, and how a local symbolic and historic contested history can influence diplomatic relations.

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Columbus Monuments in Mexico City

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 19 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Mexico City was the only city known to have two statues of Cristopher Columbus. The
monuments were both 19th-century statues placed within walking distance of each other – in
Paseo de la Reforma and Calle Buenavista, in the heart of Mexico City. Given its visibility and
position in a heavily trafficked street, the Paseo de la Reforma statue was the subject of mu
controversy. Ostensibly removed in 2020 to conduct restoration works, the monument was not
brought back to its original place – instead, it will be replaced by a new statue dedicated to
pre-Hispanic Women and relocated to a museum. The much less prominent Columbus statue in
Buenavista was instead protected with high metal barriers to prevent it from being damaged, but
it was not removed, and no plans were announced regarding a potential substitution with another
art piece.

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Victory Monument in Riga

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The ‘Victory Monument’ in Riga, imbued with the historical memory of World War II and the
legacy of Soviet rule, has been the subject of a long-standing contestation in Latvian society.
While some view it as a symbol of Soviet victory against Germany in World War II, others
regard it as a symbol of Soviet re-occupation of Latvia. This case study contends that
historical reconciliation can be perceived differently by all parties, exploring how national
memory often brings forth conflicting narratives. Further, this case examines how the
contestation of memory can have immense diplomatic effects.

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Mbuya Nehanda Statue in Harare

Contested Histories Admin — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 22:00:00 +0000

The legend around the figure of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, popularly known as Mbuya Nehanda, an anti-colonial leader and spirit medium, revolves around the interplay between the Zimbabwean pre-colonial past and its neo-colonial present. The government initially proposed dedicating a statue to the woman in Harare’s capital city. However, as announced, the process was not transparent and communicative, and there were accusations of resource mismanagement. Furthermore, there were heated debates about the decision to choose Nehanda’s figure, given the presence of different ethnic groups in the city and the lack of consultation with her relatives. This case illustrates the issues governments should consider when deciding to commemorate historical figures in public space.

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King Gustav III Statue in Stockholm

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000

In June 2020 the chairman of Afrosvenskarnas riksförbund (the Afro-Swedish National Federation) called for the removal of a statue of Gustav III, the king who brought Sweden into the transatlantic slave trade and made Sweden a colonising power through his purchase of the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelémy in 1784. However, politicians and journalists in Sweden were largely against the removal of statues, citing either the supposedly iconoclastic nature of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement or the importance of resisting ‘historical revisionism’. Some suggested the importance of preserving and presenting all sides of history, including aspects which were more difficult to address. This case study highlights the unique nature of Swedish debates on its colonial past and concepts of Swedish ‘white innocence’, as well as the resistance to the removal of contested statues in Sweden’s capital.

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Henryk Jankowski Statue in Gdansk

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 13:36:15 +0000

Henryk Jankowski was an eminent cleric in Poland renowned for his role in the anti-communist
Solidarity movement during the 1980s. After the fall of communism in the 1990s, he became
famous for his outspoken attitude. During his sermons, he would make political comments and
anti-Semitic remarks that stirred controversy in Poland. After his death in 2010, private donors
sponsored the construction of his statue in front of what had been his parish church. However, in
2018, a woman stated in Gazeta Wyborcza that Jankowski abused her from the age of 12 for
many years. Her statement stirred the controversy around Jankowski’s figure, and at one point,
local protesters dismantled the statue at the time when the Vatican held its abuse summit. In
March 2019, the City Council decided that Jankowski was no longer an honorary citizen and that
his statue would be officially removed.

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Japanese War Memorial in Alor Setar

Contested Histories Admin — Sun, 26 May 2024 22:00:00 +0000

In 1941, Japan occupied Malaysia in the context of World War II. That same year, they built a stone monument in Alor Setar to honour three Japanese soldiers who were killed while securing the city’s bridge to cut off Allied troops. The restoration of the memorial in 2019, officiated by the State Tourism Department and funded by the Japanese authorities, sparked anger from many Chinese Malaysians following the use of the word ‘heroes,’ which glorified the Japanese soldiers who were part of the Japanese Occupation of Malaya from 1941-1945. Three days after its launch, the state government removed the information board bearing the term. While the detractors demanded the demolition of the memorial, the state government refused, citing city tourism as the main factor. This case analyses the dynamics and contestations that provoked the restoration of the neglected monument.

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Brotherhood in Arms Monument in Warsaw

Contested Histories Admin — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000

The Brotherhood in Arms monument was the first post-Second World War monument placed in Warsaw in Vilnius Square. The public contestation of the monument began after Poland gained independence in 1989, although grievances against it might have been aired within opposition circles in prior years, too. After the exit of the Soviets, right-wing and far-right nationalist movements, in particular, urged for the removal of the monument. However, city officials were unwilling to do so, citing the international obligation to preserve the monument inscribed in the 1994 agreement with Russia. The monument was temporarily removed in 2011 when the underground station in Vilnius Square was being constructed. Following a new series of contestations and controversies, the city council decided not to reinstate it in 2013. In 2018, the city finally donated the monument to the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw, and it has been displayed there since.

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