The bronze eagle with Nazi symbology that adorned the German warship Graf Spee, sunk in Uruguayan waters in 1939 during World War II, will be melted and transformed into a dove as a "symbol of peace and union," according to the country's president, Luis Lacalle Pou.
This "symbol of violence and war" will be turned into a "symbol of peace and union," the Uruguayan president announced.
The Uruguayan artist Pablo Atchugarry, recognized for his large sculptures of abstract art in marble, was chosen to make the work, which is expected to be completed in November, according to the AFP news agency.
The imposing bronze eagle with spread wings and a swastika between its talons, 2.8 meters long by 2.0 meters high and 350 kilos, was recovered in 2006 from the Río de la Plata by private rescuers.
After a public exhibition in a hotel in Montevideo, the stern mask of the warship of the Third Reich was deposited in the custody of the Uruguayan Navy, the subject of a legal conflict.
In 2022, Uruguay's Supreme Court of Justice confirmed that the piece was owned by the Uruguayan state.
The imposing eagle measures 2.8 meters long by 2.0 meters high and weighs 350 kilos.
Atchugarry said that after a sketch made in Uruguay, he traveled to Italy, where he made a model in Carrara marble that will serve as the basis for the final model of the piece, which will be about 1.70 meters long.
"The bronze of the Nazi eagle is going to melt and become this symbol of peace," he told the artist.
"It's an exciting, historic moment and I think everything that can be done for peace is little," Atchugarry added. "This idea of transforming a symbol of the hatred of war, of atrocity, into a symbol of peace makes me feel very honored and with a lot of responsibility," he said.
The place of exhibition of the new sculpture is not defined, but it is evaluated to place it in the Punta de la Salina, in the department of Maldonado, the place where the Rio de la Plata ends and the Atlantic Ocean begins, said the president.
After the announcement, the president of Uruguay's Israelite Central Committee, Roby Schindler, celebrated and called the idea "wonderful."
The "Admiral Graf Spee" starred in the Battle of the Río de la Plata, one of the first naval engagements of World War II.
"I am not surprised, because this is an issue that we have been monitoring for a few years now. With the understanding that the eagle was eventually going to be auctioned off and that the proceeds of that auction would be shared between the State and those who were in charge of the search and invested an amount of money," he said. "This news is music to our ears, at least personally," he added.
The "Admiral Graf Spee" starred together with the British cruisers "Exeter" and "Ajax", and the New Zealand "Achilles", the Battle of the Río de la Plata, one of the first naval engagements of World War II (1939-1945), which took place off the Uruguayan coast on December 13, 1939.
.DB
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