In late October we visited the old Coventry Cathedral, eviscerated by Second World War bombs, and saw these decapitated stair steps.
War leads nowhere
The stairway remnants, alone in the vast emptiness of the bombed out church, used to lead somewhere, but now they don’t. War robbed them of their purpose.
But the periphery of the cathedral serves as a testament to reconciliation. The cities of Coventry in England and Dresden, Kiel and Berlin in Germany have worked together to process what happened, heal the damages and reconcile with each other.
“Reconciliation” by Josefina de Vasconellos
The inscription below this sculpture reads: “. . . in the face of destructive forces, human dignity and love will triumph over disaster and bring nations together in respect and peace.”
Better yet, let’s try hard together to skip the destructive forces part and simply live in the respect and peace.
Thank you, thank you for showing the reconciliation sculpture. I am for peace, not war, but the reality is wars will continue. So, like you, I sow seeds of peace on my blog too!
Brava, Arlene!
This sculpture (and your words) brought tears to my eyes, Arlene. The destruction and hate and violence are so horrific; but thank goodness humans realize the need for reconciliation and hope for the end of conflict.