Tree of Peace (World War I)

The Tree of Peace (Slovak: Strom pokoja, Russian: Дерево мира, German: Der Friedensbaum) is an international project that originated in Slovakia. The project, created on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I, was initiated by landscape architect Marek Sobola from Žilina, Slovakia. The main goal of the project is to promote a message of peace by planting a Tree of Peace on every continent. It is aimed at planting trees around the globe to draw awareness to the global environmental issue and to enhance the solidarity of the humankind.

Tree of Peace / Strom pokoja
Logo and Memorial Plaque of the project
Mission statementConnecting nations and message of peace, Memory for all soldiers of global war conflicts including victims of various natural disasters and epidemics
LocationWhole world
Owner Servare et Manere, o.z., Slovak non-governmental organization
FounderMarek Sobola
Country Slovakia
Established28 September 2018 (2018-09-28)
Fundingvoluntary financial contributions, sponsorship
StatusActive
Websitehttps://www.tofp.eu/ https://www.treeofpeace.info/

Background
Planted trees

 Liechtenstein 2020

  • Schaan municipality

 Slovakia 2018 – 2020

  • Veľkrop village
  • Vychylovka, a part of Nová Bystrica village
  • Žilina
  • Turzovka,
  • Lalinok, part of Divinka village
  • Divina village
  • Vysoká nad Kysucou village

 United Kingdom 2019

  • Brookwood

 Germany 2019

  • Leipzig

 Serbia 2019

  • Kragujevac

 United States 2019

  • Kansas City

 Russia 2018

  • Saint Petersburg

 Poland 2018

  • Trzyciąż

 Austria 2018

  • Bad Ischl

World War I had an impact on Sobola's family. His great-grandfather Ondrej Sobola (Andreas Szobola) died on the Russian battlefield. Ondrej was born on August 7, 1880, in the village of Lalinok near Žilina (then Lalinek, Kingdom of Hungary). He was enlisted in the 15th Military Infantry Regiment and went missing in 1915. Ondrej died in an unknown place. He was officially pronounced dead in 1930, with an official date of death: December 31, 1918. The story of the author's family inspired him to memorialize the soldiers who died in WWI in unknown places without their names or identities.[1] This international project Tree of Peace officially represents the Slovak Republic under the brand called “GOOD IDEA SLOVAKIA – IDEAS FROM SLOVAKIA”. The Trademark License is granted by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.[2]

Future

Project has the ambition to be a universal message of joining the nations. Nowadays this project is not strictly linked to 1918 and the WWI, but rather generally to the need for peace and avoidance of global military conflicts. In this way, the project is universal and its application is made available to countries which were touched by WWI only marginally. But the author does not exclude the allusion to this global military conflict because thanks to it the project itself began. This project is European, international and strictly apolitical. The main idea of the project is a Message of Peace.[3]

Motto

"Let´s make love the lifeblood of this world" (Slovak: "Urobme láskavosť miazgou tohto sveta").

Planting sites

2020

Liechtenstein

  • Schaan municipality. A Tree was planted at the garden of headquarters of International Commission for the Protection of the Alps. Species of tree: Tilia platyphyllos. [4]

Slovakia

  • Vysoká nad Kysucou village near Čadca. A Tree was planted in the area of the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Vysoká nad Kysucou. Species of tree: Quercus robur ‘Jan Zamoyski’. This tree has also a special name that reflects the 2020 global situation: “COVID-19 Tree of Peace.”[5]

2019

United Kingdom

Slovakia

  • Divina village near Žilina. Planting was attended by US Army officers. Species of tree: Quercus robur ‘Hentzei’.[8]

Germany

  • Leipzig. Tree was planted in The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (German: Völkerschlachtdenkmal).[9][10] Planting a tree in Germany was supported by Dr. Albrecht Tintelnot, the Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic for the Federal States of Saxony and Thuringia.[11] Species of tree: Tilia euchlora.

Serbia

United States

  • National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. The planting of ninth “Tree of Peace” was carried out under auspices of the Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic to the Midwest USA and the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic in New York. The tree was planted on the North Lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial on friday June 21, 2019. Species of tree: Quercus rubra.[14] Official Congressional Record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published in Washington, Thursday, June 20, 2019, Vol. 165, No. 104.[15]
The Congressional Record about a commemoration of The Tree of Peace Project.

2018

Slovakia

  • Veľkrop, in Slovakia's largest WWI War Cemetery. 8662 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies are buried there. This Tree of Peace was planted on Friday, September 28, 2018.[16] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Concordia' cultivar.
  • Vychylovka part of Nová Bystrica village. A tree was planted in Kysuce Village Museum personally by the president of the Žilina Region, Erika Jurinová on Sunday, October 28, 2018. This planting was with a participation of Žilina region.[17] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Concordia' cultivar.
  • Žilina, Military cemetery in Bôrik.[3][18][19] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Jan Zamoyski' cultivar.
  • Turzovka, town in Kysuce Region.[3][20] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Atropurpurea' cultivar.
  • Lalinok, part of Divinka village, the birthplace of Ondrej Sobola.[3][21] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Jan Zamoyski' cultivar.

Russia

  • Pushkin, in State Museum Tsarskoye Selo in Saint Petersburg. A tree was planted on Friday, October 26, 2018. In Saint Petersburg, the tree was planted near the World War I Museum, the only museum dedicated to this theme in the Russian Federation. The planting was an international act and the project was carried out under auspices the General Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Saint Petersburg.[22][23][24][25] Species of tree: Quercus robur.

Poland

  • Trzyciąż, Jangrot location – The WWI Cemetery in Cieplicky Forest.[26] Species of tree: Quercus robur, 'Atropurpurea' cultivar.

Austria

Honorary Awards

As the umbrella organization for the Tree of Peace project, non-governmental organization Servare et Manere can recognise important personalities who treasure peace, freedom and mutual understanding and acknowledge the importance of initiatives which serve to enhance the welfare of everyone in society. Servare et Manere honour al those who have made a special contribution to the promotion of understanding between peoples and the bringing together of nations.[28] Three awards are currently awarded:

  1. Tree of Peace Memorial Plaque
  2. Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace
  3. Friend of Peace
Memorial Medal of Tree of Peace, obverse and reverse

Postal products

The Slovak Post issued official postmarks on this occasion:

  • Postmark Nr. PPP 73/18 on the occasion of The 100th Anniversary of the First World War: “100. výročie ukončenia veľkej vojny”[29]
  • Postmark Nr. PPP 81/18 on the occasion of The 100th Anniversary of the First World War: “Pamätník obetiam 1. svetovej vojny v Lalinku / Memorial dedicated to WWI victims from Lalinok village”[30][31]
  • Postmark: The centenary of the First World War
  • Postmark: The Memorial dedicated to WWI victims from Lalinok village
  • Tree of Peace in Imperial Park, Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl. In the foreground a Memorial Plaque of Ondrej Sobola
  • One of the variants of the Project plaque used in 2018

References
  1. Sobola, Marek. "The first Tree of Peace has already been planted / Strom pokoja: prvý strom zasadený". sobola.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  2. Sobola, Marek (2019-05-23). "GOOD IDEA SLOVAKIA – IDEAS FROM SLOVAKIA". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  3. Sobola, Marek. "INTERNATIONAL PROJECT "THE TREE OF PEACE"" (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  4. Sobola, Marek (2020-04-06). "Tree of Peace was planted in Liechtenstein". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  5. Sobola, Marek (2020-04-06). "COVID-19 Tree of Peace". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  6. Sobola, Marek (2019-12-06). "The President Zuzana Čaputová has planted the 13th Tree of Peace in the United Kingdom". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  7. "Prezidentka sa prvýkrát zúčastnila na stretnutí lídrov NATO". Prezidentka Slovenskej republiky (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  8. Sobola, Marek (2019-12-06). "Tree of Peace in Divina village". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  9. "Krim-Linde als Friedensbaum gepflanzt" (PDF). Leipziger Amtsblatt. 22: 5. December 7, 2019.
  10. "Leipziger Internet Zeitung: Pflanzung eines Friedensbaumes in der Lindenallee des Völkerschlachtdenkmals – L-IZ.de" (in German). Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  11. Sobola, Marek (2019-11-27). "The Eleventh Tree of Peace was planted in Germany". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  12. InfoKG. "Ambasadorka Slovačke zasadila Drvo mira u Memorijalnom kompleksu palim Slovacima". InfoKG - Mesto gde se informišem (in Serbian). Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  13. "Spomienkové podujatia v Kragujevaci - Všetky správy - Ministerstvo zahraničných vecí a európskych záležitostí SR". www.mzv.sk. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  14. Marine, Ross (2019-06-28). "The "Tree of Peace" was planted on the American continent". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  15. "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  16. Korzár. "Pamätník s krížmi je dominantou cintorína z I. svetovej vojny". presov.korzar.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  17. TASR. "Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky - TASR.sk". www.tasr.sk. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  18. Severka Televízia severného Slovenska, TV SEVERKA - Vysadili ďalší Strom pokoja, retrieved 2019-01-08
  19. City of Žilina. "Na počesť ukončenia prvej svetovej vojny zasadili Strom pokoja". Žilina - oficiálne stránky mesta (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  20. ŽILINSKÝ samosprávny kraj, Strom pokoja - živá pripomienka útrap vojny, retrieved 2019-01-08
  21. Sobola, Marek. "100. výročie veľkej vojny: V obci Lalinok si uctili pamiatku obetí globálneho konfliktu" (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  22. ""Дерево мира" посадили у Ратной палаты". www.tzar.ru. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  23. "В Царском Селе посадят дуб в память о пропавших без вести участниках Первой мировой". Interfax.ru (in Russian). 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  24. Interfax (2018-10-26). "В Царском Селе посадят дуб в память о пропавших без вести участниках Первой мировой". Interfax.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  25. "У Ратной палаты в Пушкине посадят "Дерево мира"". spbdnevnik.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  26. Sobola, Marek. "Výsadba Stromu pokoja v Poľsku v Jangrote, gmina Trzyciąż" (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  27. TASR. "V parku Kaiservilla vysadili Strom pokoja na počesť neznámych vojakov". www.tasr.sk. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  28. Servare et Manere. "Awards". Tree of peace / Strom pokoja. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  29. "POFIS - Catalog - Products - 100. výročie ukončenia veľkej vojny". www.pofis.sk. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  30. "POFIS - Catalog - Products - Pamätník obetiam 1. svetovej vojny v Lalinku". www.pofis.sk. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  31. Sobola, Marek. "Príležitostná poštová pečiatka: Pamätník obetiam 1. svetovej vojny v Lalinku" (in Slovak). Retrieved 2019-01-08.


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