Nazi Eagle From The Bangkai Of The German Warship Graph Spee Which Sank When PD II Was About To Be Turned Into A Peace Merpati

The Nazi eagle lifted from the carcass of the German warship Admiral Graf Spee. (Wikimedia Commons/Fedaro)

JAKARTA - The Nazi bronze eagle ornament found from Germany's Admiral Graph Spee warship that sank during World War Two (PD II), will be merged and transformed into a peace dove, the country's president said.

The eagle was found from the depth of Rio de la Plata or River Plate in 2006 by a rescue team who later claimed ownership of the 350kg statue.

However, the Uruguayan Government opposed the claim and now the historic object belongs to the state.

Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou said, during "during times of division, times of violence, times of war in the world, signals from our country to our people, to the outside world are, we are a peaceful society, we are a united society and we practice it," reported The National News June 19.

"The auction, which was once a symbol of violence, will be a symbol of peace," continued President Luis Lacalle Pou.

The plan is that the famous Uruguay speaker Pablo Achugarry will turn the eagle into a dove.

Atchagarry, who usually works with marble and other stones, said remaking the eagle would be very challenging.

There has been no decision yet on where this new statue will be displayed, although Atchagarry is the director of two galleries, namely in Garzon, Uruguay and Miami, Florida.

It is known, although smaller in size compared to several warships on the larger PD II. The Admiral Graph Spee weighing 14.500 tons has a good armored layer

The ship was armed with a 28 cm caliber main cannon, which was compared to many other vessels at the time. For example, the German warship with the most famous Bismarck Warships had a 38 cm caliber main cannon.

Admiral Graf Spee was involved in a fierce battle with British warships, becoming one of Germany's initial losses on the battlefield. Dealing with three British ships at the mouth of the River Plate in 1939, Graf Spee suffered dozens of shots. Meanwhile, enemy ships also suffered serious damage.

The ship withdrew to port on Montevideo to repair severe damage and treat victims of combat. However, British radio broadcasts assured Graphics commander Captain Hans Langsdorff, leaving the Plate estuary useless, as British reinforcements had arrived.

Captain Langsdorff set fire to the ship, deciding that there was no point in losing all 700 crew in the fighting, after 36 people died in the initial clashes, although British radio reports of reinforcements turned out to be just a hoax.