Matchbox label made in Poland in the 1952. The text on the label reads:”Congress of Nations for Peace. Vienna December 1952”. The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization with the self-described goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination. Founded from an initiative of the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers’ Parties.
In the 1950s, congresses were held in Vienna, Berlin, Helsinki and Stockholm.The 1952 World Congress of People in Vienna represented Joseph Stalin’s strategy of peaceful coexistence, resulting in a more broad-based conference. Among those attending were Jean-Paul Sartre and Hervé Bazin.