The winter of 1914 came after unimagined bloodshed on the Western front. In spite of that, there was still some humanity left. In places, fraternization was common. Fraternization was when opposing soldiers would agree not to kill each other for periods of time so they could have brief periods of calm. Sometimes soldiers yelled to each other. It was not uncommon for both sides to eat meals at the same time and to ceasefire during those meals. But the most famous example of fraternization occurred at Christmas time. It was Christmas eve on the Western Front in France in 1914. Some German units decorated the parapets of their trenches with small Christmas trees with lighted candles on them. The Germans sang “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night)” and when the song drifted over to the British, they joined in. Other songs like “Good King Wenceslaus” and “Auld Lang Syne” were sung. Then a daring German soldier stood up and waved his arms above the trench. “Come over here.” A British Tommy responded: “You come half-way.” The two men walked out into no man’s land and when no shots were fired, other joined them. They exchanged “Merry Christmas”. Carols were sung. This type of interaction occurred at several places on the front. In some sectors of the front, it was agreed they would meet the next day in an informal truce. The foes exchanged gifts like tobacco, cigars, candy, and liquor. Some traded souvenirs like buttons, gloves, scarves, and hats. Barbers gave haircuts to opponents in exchange for cigarettes. The truce was used to bury corpses in common graves and honor the dead.
Several incidents were chronicled in letters home or diaries. Here are two examples:
I wouldn’t have missed that unique and weird Christmas Day for anything…. I spotted a German officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons…. I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange…. The last I saw was one of my machine gunners, who was a bit of an amateur hairdresser in civil life, cutting the unnaturally long hair of a docile Boche (German), who was patiently kneeling on the ground whilst the automatic clippers crept up the back of his neck.
Yesterday the British & Germans met & shook hands in the Ground between the trenches, & exchanged souvenirs, & shook hands. Yes, all day Xmas day, & as I write. Marvellous, isn’t it?
In some places, soccer balls were kicked around. In one case, the Scots played a soccer match with the Germans. According to legend, the Scots won because they didn’t wear underwear under their kilts and when the wind kicked up, the Germans would be distracted and the Scots would score.
Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch of the 134th Saxon Infantry Regiment said that the English “brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvellously wonderful, yet how strange it was”.
This was the only Christmas that this camaraderie happened. When the generals heard about this unacceptable humanity, they put an end to it. You can’t have opposing soldiers feel sympathetic towards the people they are meant to kill. On Christmas eve in 1915, the British artillery was ordered to fire a 24-hour barrage to discourage any silliness. Of course, many of the men who participated in the 1914 truce were not alive to hear the shells exploding in place of “Silent Night.”
An excellent animated short that covers the Christmas truce is called “War Game”. It is free on YouTube if you want to show it to your students.
Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfdOOCOQ9sk
Soccer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KHoVBK2EVE
https://www.history.com/news/christmas-truce-1914-world-war-i-soldier-accounts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
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