Lesser-Known Memorials and Monuments Quiz

Answer: Amsterdam

The Homomonument was unveiled on September 5, 1987 along the Keizersgracht Canal in front of Amsterdam's famous Westerkerk Church. The monument is composed of three pink triangles that form a larger triangle. Each point of the triangle points to another important place in Amsterdam.

These places are Anne Frank House, the National War Memorial and COC Nederland Headquarters (the largest Dutch gay rights organization). This was the first memorial of its kind and subsequent memorials dedicated to persecuted gay men and women are frequently modelled after the Homomonument.

The pink triangles were selected because that was symbol homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi Germany.

Answer: American Revolution

The National Memorial Arch is located in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where over 2,500 American soldiers died due to freezing temperatures, unhygienic conditions and a lack of food during the Winter of 1777-1778.

The memorial was dedicated during World War I during a very patriotic time in America, when many such memorials and monuments were being built in the country. Inscribed on the memorial is a quote from George Washington, who led these troops, in a letter describing the tenacity of his men. "Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery."

Answer: Atomic bombings

The Children's Peace Monument is dedicated to the children who died during the atomic blasts in Hiroshima as well as those who died from subsequent diseases caused by the blast. Specifically, the memorial is for Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who, in according with tradition, attempted to fold 1,000 origami cranes in order to wish for world peace.

Although she died from leukaemia before she could accomplish her goal in 1955, the memorial serves as a reminder to work toward her wish of peace on Earth.

Answer: 185

The monument is called 185 Empty Chairs. It was meant to be a temporary installation but the site became a popular and well-known memorial in Christchurch. The monument has moved locations a few times over the years and attempts to find a permanent home for it have proved unsuccessful.

The memorial was designed by Peter Majendie who took inspiration from Van Gogh's paintings of empty chairs as well as a similar memorial dedicated to the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Answer: Senegal

The House of Slaves was rebuilt on Goree Island in 1962 as a memorial to those who were sent across the Atlantic into slavery in the Americas. Originally, captured Africans were housed on Goree Island in Senegal for several days while chained in the darkness.

The most famous feature of the House of Slaves is the Door of No Return, which was the sending off point for slave ships to the Americas. Today, the House of Slaves is a museum dedicated to historical research of slavery as well as paying tributes to slaves.

Answer: 1973

The Memorial for the Disappeared is dedicated to over 3,000 people who were killed or vanished during the 1973 coup d'etat that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende and installed Augusto Pinochet. The memorial is located in Santiago and is divided into those whose who were killed and to those who have disappeared. Should remains of a disappeared person be found, their names is removed from the disappeared side and is transferred to the murdered end.

Answer: Greensboro Four

The Greensboro Four was a group of African-American activists who staged a sit in in a Woolworth in 1960 to protest segregation. The four men are Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond. A statue in their honor is located at North Carolina A&T State University and depicts an infamous photograph of the four as they departed the Woolworth.

Pictured is a different monument to the Greensboro Four on South Elm where the Woolworth is located.

Answer: Communism

The Memorial of Rebirth in Bucharest can found in Revolution Square where Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown in 1989. The memorial commemorates not only that overthrow but the victims of communism, the Revolution of 1989 and Romania's free future. The memorial has been defaced several times since it was unveiled.

It is also somewhat controversial as many people believe it does not properly symbolize Romania's struggles or honor the dead. It has been likened to an olive on a toothpick and a giant potato on a stick.

Answer: Nameless Library

The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial is called the Nameless Library because the exterior of the building resembles bookshelves with books that do not have names on them. This symbolizes the lost history and culture of the Jewish people. The building was designed by Rachel Whiteread, a British artist whose grandparents were Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust.

Answer: Torture

Der Rufer is a series of statues created by German sculptor Gerhard Marcks. Depicting a human figure clad in a robe, barefoot and holding its ears and screaming, Der Rufer is dedicated to victims of torture of any kind. Cities with these statues are Berlin, Germany (pictured) and Perth, Australia.