In Uruguay, a bronze Nazi eagle found 13 years ago in the wreck of a German warship that sank during World War II is being melted down and transformed into a dove of peace.
In Uruguay, a bronze Nazi eagle found 13 years ago in the wreck of a German warship that sank during World War II is being melted down and transformed into a dove of peace. As President Luis Lacalle Pou announced on Friday in the capital, Montevideo, the two-meter-tall “symbol of violence and war” weighing more than 300 kilograms is to become a “symbol of peace and unity”.
The two meter tall Nazi eagle, which stands on a swastika in an oak wreath, once adorned the stern of the German armored ship “Admiral Graf Spee”. The ship had been involved in the Battle of the Río de la Plata against the British Navy at the beginning of World War II.
The sculpture was found in the river’s estuary in 2006 after a ten-year search. In 2019, a court ruled that the sculpture must be sold and half of the proceeds go to the salvage company. According to the company, this division was agreed with the Uruguayan Navy in 2004. The companies therefore filed a lawsuit and accused the government of breaching the contract.
The government wanted to prevent the eagle from being sold because they feared that the neo-Nazis could buy the sculpture. The federal government in Berlin also expressed concern. Last year, Uruguay’s Supreme Court ruled that the eagle is state property.
President Lacalle Pou has announced that Uruguayan artist Pablo Atchugarry has been chosen to create the Dove of Peace. The new sculpture is expected to be ready in November.
In December 1939, the “Admiral Graf Spee” took part in the first naval battle of the Second World War between the Third Reich fleet and the British Navy. After fierce battles with three British warships, the “Admiral Graf Spee” entered the port of Montevideo for repair work. However, due to a blockade by the British Navy, the commander gave up and sank the ship. Three days later he committed suicide.