1914ChristmasEveTruce

1914ChristmasEveTruce https://www.dailykos.com/news/1914ChristmasEveTruce News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Sun, 26 Jan 2020 11:49:09 +0000 Sun, 26 Jan 2020 11:49:09 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) "Today we have peace. Tomorrow you fight for your country. I fight for mine. Good luck." https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/24/1353989/--Today-we-have-peace-Tomorrow-you-fight-for-your-country-I-fight-for-mine-Good-luck <center> <hr width="100%" size="10" color="#993333" /></center> I first posted a version of this diary on Christmas Eve 2011.  Even in the midst of unprecedented carnage in World War I, soldiers on both sides found within themselves a modicum of human decency and desire for peace. In this most brutal of wars which raged on for four long years, there was a cessation of hostilities on the night of December 24, 1914 - even if for only one day.  Any time, anywhere, when the cycle of violence is momentarily interrupted or broken, that, in itself, is worthy of remembrance. Wars suppress the natural urge of men to behave in a manner that has no bearing to and can even remotely be construed as civilized behavior.   <img src="http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z205/JekyllnHyde_photos/July%2017th%202011/attachment-1.jpg" width="200" align="right" /> Combat does terrible things to human beings and transforms the best of them into killing machines. The low-key and gentle man who may have been a country farmer in a previous life turns into a savage, thirsty for blood.  The unassuming and quiet factory worker who was primarily concerned with making machine parts emerges as an efficient killer.  The seemingly peace-loving gardener who lovingly took care of nature's wonders is worried about one and only one thing - kill or be killed.   Prolonged conflicts severely restrict and narrow one's options on the field of battle.  Through all the brutality, soldiers are preoccupied with the ultimate goal: survival. And at the war's end, a longing to be reunited with their loved ones and to carry on with their mundane, unexciting, and ordinary lives.   The lie and the harsh reality of total war is simply this: older men send younger men into battle to die while invoking honor, duty, and country.  How should soldiers behave when placed as cannon fodder in an impossible situation?   As I wrote in this 2007 diary - <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/09/23/389186/-Shared-National-Sacrifice-and-The-War-Tonight-on-PBS?via=history">"Shared National Sacrifice" and 'The War' Tonight on PBS</a> <blockquote> <table border="1" bordercolor="#993333"> <tr> <td>Grand strategies, geopolitical objectives, and tactical battle plans are for politicians and generals.  In a democratic society, soldiers don't make the decision to engage in war; political leaders, some with perverted personal agendas, do.   The "Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom" Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote about the futility of war and directed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War#Criticisms_and_reform">his criticism at the British military high command</a>.  His classic poem,<a href="http://www.nationalcenter.org/ChargeoftheLightBrigade.html">The Charge of the Light Brigade</a>, is about a disastrous suicidal charge made by British soldiers in the Crimean War. <hr width="40%" align="center" /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War">The Crimean War</a> took place between 1853-1856, with Tsarist Russia fighting an Allied force consisting of soldiers from the British, French, and Ottoman Empires.  The Allies were also joined by a force from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sardinia">Kingdom of Sardinia</a>.  The war resulted as imperial powers jockeyed for territorial influence following the decline of the Ottomans.   </td> </tr> </table> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (JekyllnHyde) 1914ChristmasEveTruce History International Peace Recommended Violence Warfare WorldWar1 _1353989 Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:57:41 +0000 "An Amazing Spectacle" - The Night the Guns Fell Silent on Christmas Eve https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1265131/--An-Amazing-Spectacle-The-Night-the-Guns-Fell-Silent-on-Christmas-Eve I first posted a version of this diary on Christmas Eve 2011.  Even in the midst of unprecedented carnage in World War I, soldiers on both sides found within themselves a modicum of human decency and desire for peace. In this most brutal of wars which raged on for four long years, there was a cessation of hostilities - even if for only one day.  Any time, anywhere, when the cycle of violence is momentarily interrupted or broken, that, in itself, is worthy of remembrance. <center> <hr width="100%" size="3" color="#336666" /></center> Last night, the local PBS station here in Washington, DC broadcast a most remarkable opera about an event of long interest to me.  Commissioned by Minnesota Opera, this <a href="http://www.mnopera.org/season/silent-night/">two-act production</a> centers on French, German, and Scottish soldiers who join together on December 24, 1914 to celebrate peace, friendship, and humanity of the holiday season.   It is sung in English, German, French, Italian and Latin with English translations. <table border="1" bordercolor="#000000"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#336666"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JUuCjGXxaCo" frameborder="0" defang_allowfullscreen=""></iframe></center> The critically acclaimed new opera <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365132185/?start=35">Silent Night</a> recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On World War I’s western front, weapons are laid down when Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they come together to share Christmas and bury their dead in a moving, dramatic work that features soaring, lyrical melodies and a stellar cast. <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365132185/?start=35">CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH THE TWO-HOUR OPERA</a>.  PBS may only have it available for free online for a few more days. <hr width="40%" align="center" /> You can read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night_%28opera%29">more about Silent Night</a>, look at the <a href="http://www.mnopera.org/seasons/silent-night/synopsis/">synopsis</a> of the opera, and also watch a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL80E6E5EDF3B38A62">series of video clips</a> on YouTube about the Pulitzer Prize-winning production and its origins.  "An amazing spectacle" was how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a> (of Sherlock Holmes fame) would <a href="http://www.christmas-time.com/christmastruce1914.htm">describe</a> the 1914 Christmas Eve truce.  It was, he wrote, "one human episode amid all the atrocities which have stained the memory of the war." </td> </tr> </table> rss@dailykos.com (JekyllnHyde) 1914ChristmasEveTruce History International Peace Recommended Violence Warfare WorldWar1 _1265131 Wed, 25 Dec 2013 00:21:00 +0000