What is the origin of the peace sign?

Response

The emblem commonly known as the “peace sign” originated in the 1950s as the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). As per the CND, it was created in 1958 by an English artist and designer named Gerald Holtom, who had graduated from the Royal College of Arts. Holtom, a conscientious objector who chose to work on a Norfolk farm during World War II instead of participating in the conflict, integrated the handheld flag symbols (semaphores) for N and D into his design, with N representing “nuclear” and D representing “disarmament.” In semaphore, the letter N is depicted by a person holding two flags in an upside-down V shape, while the letter D is represented by holding one flag pointing straight up and the other pointing straight down. By overlapping the flag positions of these two letters, the lines of the peace sign were formed.

Holtom presented his creation to individuals at the Peace News office in London and to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War. The DAC was already organizing its inaugural major anti-nuclear march from London to Aldermaston, the site where British nuclear weapons were produced. Bertrand Russell, one of the organizers of this march, chose the symbol to be featured on buttons and banners for the event. The “peace sign” was publicly displayed for the first time in the U.K. during that march over the 1958 Easter weekend. Initially, Holtom had planned to utilize the cross symbol enclosed in a circle as the emblem for the march, but several clergy members he consulted were not keen on using the cross on a protest banner. Holtom also saw the downward V as a representation of the despair he felt due to nuclear proliferation.

The symbol was introduced to the United States by Bayard Rustin, a U.S. civil rights activist who had taken part in the Aldermaston march. The peace sign was first employed in the United States later that same year when a pacifist demonstrator, Albert Bigelow, sailed his small boat near a schScheduled U.S. nuclear test site while displaying the CND banner. The peace sign was later used in civil rights marches and appeared at anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. To this day, the peace sign is used in clothing and jewelry design as a fashion accessory.

The origin of the symbol has been clearly documented in letters, interviews, and the original sketches of the symbol, which are now displayed in the Peace Museum in Bradford, U.K. There have been claims that the symbol has Communist, occult, or anti-Christian meanings and derivations, but those claims remain unsubstantiated and are not usually found in reputable sources.

Whether or not peace can be realized through disarmament is the subject of continuing debates, but the desire for peace is universal. We live in a world of unrest—and a world that tragically searches for peace through a variety of fruitless avenues. True peace is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who brings us peace with God «Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: », (Romans 5:1) and who will ultimately establish a kingdom of peace on earth (Isaiah 11:1-10).