Postmodern Interpretations of Peace

Abstract

Contrary to a commonly held view, the most widespread peace symbol of the twentieth century is not based on a rune, but on the letters N and D of the semaphore flag. It was designed by the British artist Gerald Holtom in 1958 on the occasion of a protest march against the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston. The N stands for nuclear, the D for disarmament. The symbol of the “Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament” was adopted by the Civil Rights Movement in the USA and found its way into the protest movements against the war in Vietnam and into the subcultures of the 1960s. Its origin in the resistance against the rational-belligerent technology of progress turns this symbol as expression of “No, thanks!” into the ideal type symbol for postmodern thinking of peace (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 2008).