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Author: Terri Blom Crocker Publisher: University Press of Kentucky ISBN: 0813166179 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 310
Book Description
In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth. In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. From books by influential historians to the Oscar-nominated French film Joyeux Noel (2006), this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes. The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought. Crocker's groundbreaking, meticulously researched work challenges conventional analyses and sheds new light on the history and popular mythology of the War to End All Wars.
Author: Terri Blom Crocker Publisher: University Press of Kentucky ISBN: 0813166179 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 310
Book Description
In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth. In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. From books by influential historians to the Oscar-nominated French film Joyeux Noel (2006), this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes. The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought. Crocker's groundbreaking, meticulously researched work challenges conventional analyses and sheds new light on the history and popular mythology of the War to End All Wars.
Author: Chris Baker Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited ISBN: 1445635119 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 176
Book Description
A fascinating new study of the events leading up to and during one of the most poignant events of the First World War, the Christmas Truce 1914.
Author: Malcolm Brown Publisher: Pan Macmillan ISBN: 1447216008 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
‘Just you think,’ wrote one soldier to his family, ‘that while you were eating your turkey I was out talking with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before!’ Christmas, 1914. The first winter of the First World War. In a conflict infamous for its horror and brutality, enemy shook hands with enemy. Soldiers shared rations, exchanged souvenirs, and even played football on a frost-covered No Man's Land. This Christmas truce was not just a brief interlude in one place. The ceasefire between the trenches extended over at least two-thirds of the British line and there were similar ceasefires in the French and Belgian sectors of the Western Front. In some areas the peaceable mood lingered well into 1915. But behind the festive cheer and acceptance of shared experience, the inevitable renewal of hostilities loomed large. Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton have combed war diaries, talked to participants and consulted a wide range of contemporary letters, diaries and newspapers to produce this unique account.
Author: Jim Murphy Publisher: Scholastic Inc. ISBN: 0545365279 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 136
Book Description
Two-time Newbery Honor Book author Jim Murphy writes a stunning nonfiction masterpiece about a Christmas miracle on the Western Front during World War I. On July 29th 1914, the world's peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War. But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their "enemies"? In what can only be described as a Christmas Miracle, this beautiful and heartrending narrative will remind everyone how brotherhood and love for one another reaches far beyond war and politics.
Author: John Hendrix Publisher: ABRAMS ISBN: 1613126883 Category : Juvenile Fiction Languages : en Pages : 52
Book Description
Shooting at the Stars is the moving story of a young British soldier on the front lines during World War I who experiences an unforgettable Christmas Eve. In a letter to his mother, he describes how, despite fierce fighting earlier from both sides, Allied and German soldiers ceased firing that evening and came together on the battlefield to celebrate the holiday. They sang carols, exchanged gifts, and even lit Christmas trees. But as the holiday came to a close, they returned to their separate trenches to await orders for the war to begin again. Award-wining creator John Hendrix wonderfully brings the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 to life with his signature style, interweaving detailed illustrations and hand-lettered text. His telling of the story celebrates the humanity that can persist during even the darkest periods of our history.
Author: Aaron Shepard Publisher: ISBN: 9781620355473 Category : Christmas Truce, 1914 Languages : en Pages : 30
Book Description
"The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one of the most extraordinary incidents not only of World War I but of all military history. Providing inspiration for songs, books, plays and movies, it has endured as an archetypal image of peace. Yet much about the historic event remains shrouded in myth and legend. In this fictional letter--illustrated in authentic detail by Wendy Edelson--award-winning author Aaron Shepard draws from firsthand accounts of soldiers at the front to portray the truce in its true nature and spirit"--Page 4 of cover.
Author: Stanley Weintraub Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1439107130 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
It was one of history's most powerful -- yet forgotten -- Christmas stories. It took place in the improbable setting of the mud, cold rain and senseless killing of the trenches of World War I. It happened in spite of orders to the contrary by superiors; it happened in spite of language barriers. And it still stands as the only time in history that peace spontaneously arose from the lower ranks in a major conflict, bubbling up to the officers and temporarily turning sworn enemies into friends. Silent Night, by renowned military historian Stanley Weintraub, magically restores the 1914 Christmas Truce to history. It had been lost in the tide of horror that filled the battlefields of Europe for months and years afterward. Yet in December 1914 the Great War was still young, and the men who suddenly threw down their arms and came together across the front lines -- to sing carols, exchange gifts and letters, eat and drink and even play friendly games of soccer -- naively hoped that the war would be short-lived, and that they were fraternizing with future friends. It began when German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees, and British, French, Belgian and German troops serenaded each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead. Sometimes the greatest beauty emerges from deep tragedy. Surely the forgotten Christmas Truce was one of history's most beautiful moments, made all the more beautiful in light of the carnage that followed it. Stanley Weintraub's moving re-creation demonstrates that peace can be more fragile than war, but also that ordinary men can bond with one another despite all efforts of politicians and generals to the contrary.
Author: Anthony Richards Publisher: Greenhill Books ISBN: 9781784386146 Category : Languages : en Pages : 256
Book Description
'One of them shouted "A Merry Christmas English. We're not shooting tonight." . . . [then] they stuck up a light. Not to be outdone, so did we. Then up went another. So, we shoved up another. Soon the lines looked like an illuminated fete.' Rifleman Leslie Walkington On Christmas Eve 1914, a group of German soldiers laid down their arms, lit lanterns and started to sing Christmas carols. The British troops in nearby trenches responded by singing songs of their own. The next day, men from both sides met in No Man's Land. They shook hands, took photos and exchanged food and souvenirs. Some even played improvised football games, kicking around empty bully-beef cans and using helmets for goalposts. Both sides also saw the lull in fighting as a chance to bury the bodies of their comrades. In some parts of the front, the truce lasted a few hours. In others, it continued to the New Year. But everywhere, sooner or later, the fighting resumed. Today, the Christmas Truce is seen as a poignant symbol of hope in a war that many people regard as unnecessary and futile. But what was the real story of those remarkable few days? In this fascinating new book, historian Anthony Richards has brought together hundreds of first-hand reminiscences from those who were there - including previously unpublished German accounts - to cast fresh light on this extraordinary episode.
Author: Mike Hill Publisher: Fonthill Media ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 342
Book Description
• Includes revealing first-person accounts of how the truce unfolded and the amazing interaction between enemies • An exhaustive work of comprehensive research and study in various files and paperwork • Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs • A must-have for military historians, enthusiasts, academics, students, scholars and those interested in the First World War The Christmas Truce of 1914 remains a moment of enduring fascination more than a century after the day the First World War guns fell silent. Now for the first time, hundreds of first-person accounts of this most extraordinary period of history have been gathered together telling the story in their own words of the soldiers who met in peace in No Man’s Land. The stories of men from English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh regiments who played and joked, sang and danced, swapped gifts and shared food and drink with the enemy before returning to war on the Western Front. Christmas Truce by the Men Who Took Part: Letters from the 1914 Ceasefire on the Western Front is the largest collection ever drawn together of letters sent home by the officers and soldiers who laid down their guns and shook hands with their foes. The eye-opening accounts of the unofficial armistice between German and British forces capture the trepidation and exhilaration, the curiosity, anger, joy and despair of that first Christmas on the unforgiving battlegrounds of the Great War.
Author: Thomas Streissguth Publisher: Essential Library ISBN: 9781624039218 Category : Christmas Truce, 1914 Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Cover -- Title Page -- Credits -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Peace Breaks Out -- Chapter 2: The Great War -- Chapter 3: Appeals for Peace -- Chapter 4: The Christmas Season -- Chapter 5: Christmas Meals and Soccer Matches -- Chapter 6: Carrying on the Fight -- Chapter 7: A New Year of War -- Chapter 8: Peace and Aftermath -- Timeline -- Essential Facts -- Glossary -- Additional Resources -- Source Notes -- Index -- About the Author
Author: Terri Blom Crocker
Author: Terri Blom Crocker
Author: Chris Baker
Author: Malcolm Brown
Author: Jim Murphy
Author: John Hendrix
Author: Aaron Shepard
Author: Stanley Weintraub
Author: Anthony Richards
Author: Mike Hill 
Author: Thomas Streissguth