World Peace Day

01When is World Peace Day?

The United Nations International Day of Peace takes place every year on 21 September. In Germany it is often called World Peace Day (Weltfriedenstag). In addition, the Catholic Church marks its World Day of Peace on 1 January, and in Germany the trade unions recall the beginning of the Second World War with Anti-War Day (Antikriegstag) on 1 September.

Which day is meant therefore depends on who is asking. In international usage it is 21 September, in church usage 1 January.

All three days have a history of their own. They are explained one by one below.

02How did the International Day of Peace come about?

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the day on 30 November 1981 with its Resolution 36/67. At first it fell on the third Tuesday in September, the opening day of its annual session.

Twenty years later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously decided on a fixed date with Resolution 55/282: from its 57th session, that is, from 2002, the day is observed every year on 21 September.

With the same resolution the day was given a special meaning. It is to be a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all states and people to cease hostilities for the duration of the day.

03What is the theme of the day in 2026?

The United Nations theme for the International Day of Peace 2026 is Invest in Peace, For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.

With it the United Nations invites everyone to make their own contribution to peace. Every year they choose a new theme that sets a focus.

How the day is marked is decided by states, cities, schools and initiatives themselves. The United Nations only sets the direction with the theme.

04What is the Catholic World Day of Peace?

In a message of 8 December 1967, Pope Paul VI called on all people of good will to celebrate a day of peace worldwide on 1 January 1968, and suggested repeating it every year on the first day of the year.

Since then the Pope has published a message for the World Day of Peace on every 1 January, each with its own theme. The day is marked in Catholic parishes worldwide.

The church World Day of Peace and the United Nations International Day of Peace are therefore two different days that came about independently of each other.

05What is Anti-War Day?

In Germany the horrors of the First and Second World Wars have been remembered every year on 1 September since 1957. Anti-War Day is carried above all by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

The date recalls that the Second World War began on 1 September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by National Socialist Germany.

Anti-War Day is thus a German day of remembrance with a clear historical reference, unlike the International Day of Peace, which is observed worldwide.

06How can you mark World Peace Day?

Many cities, schools and communities invite people to events on 21 September: peace prayers, readings, concerts, encounters. It is worth looking at the events calendar of your town or community.

You can also use the day on a small scale: seek out a conversation you have long put off, meet people you have little to do with, or find out about a peace organisation.

On W3ltfrieden you can find a peace mission or start one yourself. The Day of Peace is a good occasion, but the idea behind it holds on every day.

07How was 1 September observed in the GDR?

In the GDR, 1 September was a state day of remembrance and was called World Peace Day there. Together with 8 May, Liberation Day, and the commemoration of the November pogrom, it was one of the country's ritualised days of remembrance.

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the focus was not on remembrance but on the political message: the call to take an active part in antifascism and in building the "better Germany". A particular focus lay on education: antifascist education was firmly anchored in the curricula of all types of school. The day was thus part of the state's politics of memory.

The independent peace movement in the GDR used the date for its own signs. On 1 September 1983, more than 100 people in the centre of East Berlin formed an unauthorised human chain between the Soviet and the American embassies.

In the fall of 1989, too, the day was an occasion. On 1 September 1989, people took to the streets in small towns such as Neuruppin and Forst. In Forst, a handful of young people with banners called for a civilian alternative to military service. A few weeks later, the large demonstrations of the Peaceful Revolution began.

08Why does a bell ring for peace in New York?

The Japanese Peace Bell stands at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It was cast in 1952 and given to the United Nations on 8 June 1954 by the United Nations Association of Japan.

The metal comes from coins donated by delegates from 60 countries at a conference of the United Nations Associations in Paris in 1951. On the side of the bell are eight Japanese characters that say: "Long live absolute world peace." The bell hangs in a wooden structure modeled on a traditional shrine.

Traditionally it is rung twice a year: on the first day of spring and on 21 September. On the International Day of Peace, the Secretary-General of the United Nations rings the bell in the presence of representatives of the member states.

The bell is therefore older than the day itself. It came to New York in 1954, while the International Day of Peace was only declared in 1981. Today the ringing joins both stories: a gift made of coins from many countries and a day on which the United Nations calls for a worldwide ceasefire.