Poignant

These are just a few of the exhibits in the Peace Museum that interested me and touched my heart.

The first is a suitcase belonging to Axel Landmann, a Jewish boy who was just eight years old when he arrived in Britain clutching it. He was one of almost 10,000 children rescued from Nazi Germany by the 'Kindertransport' missions. Axel never saw his parents again but kept and used the suitcase for over 70 years before donating it to the museum. He said it is 'the story of his life'.

The second is pieces of buildings that were damaged by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in WWII. You can see how the intense heat changed them. The quote behind: 'I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world' relates to a child called Sadoko Sasaki, who was just two when the atom bomb destroyed her home city of Hiroshima. She survived the blast but later developed blood cancer. She folded 1000 origami paper cranes, traditionally believed to grant the creator a wish - but she died aged only 12, of leukemia caused by irradiation. 

The Peace Museum has a table with squares of paper and instructions for folding paper cranes, a symbol of peace and healing.

The third exhibit is a tiny amulet, an oberig, which is a traditional Ukrainian craftwork, made to protect its owner from evil and danger. It was made in Ukraine after the Russian invasion and donated by Kyiv Peace Museum in 2023. It's surrounded by sketches and notebooks made by Jill Gibbon, an activist who attends arms fairs disguised as a global security expert. She secretly sketches what she sees, shining a light on the secretive arms industry that glamourises weaponry, and the people involved in the trade. 

As well as these, there is a piece of stone from the Berlin Wall; numerous photographs and documents; information about events like the Greenham Common peace camp; biographies of key peace activists; and several bright banners from peace marches. I believe these are just a few of the memorabilia the Peace Museum holds and no doubt the displays will change from time to time, highlighting different things.