When I was growing up, there was a saying "what if they gave a war and no one showed up". This book is about the true story of the Christmas Truce on the front line during World War I, the war to end all wars (yes, they believed that at the time). On Christmas eve in 1914, the troops on both sides heard the other side singing Christmas Carols and once they realized they were singing the same ones, only in different languages, some how the mood changed. Some one took a chance with a white flag to cross the no man zone to ask for a truce for Christmas. The Truce spread up and down the line and in some parts lasted a lot longer than just Christmas. Somehow the game of soccer was involved in that. Why these soldiers did this makes compelling reading. This book doesn't pull any punches about the horrors of the war and the worries of the higher command that if this type of behavior was not stopped, the war would. It is recorded in history that Hitler's reaction to this Christmas truce caused him to do things that made World War II even worst than it could have been.
1 comment:
Dear EML: Thanks for the nice mention of my book. The Christmas Truce of 1914 was a brief speck in the long and brutal World War I but a very powerul symbol of how we can all overcome fear, prejudice and hate if we simply allow ourselves. Happiness and Happy Reading. Jim Murphy
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