Background:
One of the most profound events in the history of warfare took place on Christmas Eve of 1914. In the midst of World War I, informal truces were called to celebrate Christmas along several parts of the Western Front. This was after four months of serious trench warfare. French, British and German troops who had been killing each other in great numbers, now sang Christmas carols, traded gifts and played games with their mortal enemies. Use the sites listed below to learn more about this overwhelming turn of peace amidst total war.
The 1914 Christmas Truce by Fotopoulou Sophia (Newsfinder, e-magazine)
Includes first hand accounts of the truce.
(New York Times, Associated Press, Published: November 22, 2005)
Christmas on the Battlefield, the 1914 Christmas truce (National Review Online)
Kathryn Jean Lopez interviews Stanley Weintraub, author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. This is from a December 22-28, 2001 interview.
The Christmas Truce (BBC News)
The Christmas Truce of 1914 (about.com)
Feature Articles: The Christmas Truce (First World War.com)
The Truce of Christmas, 1914 (from the New York Times, Week in Review. Article by
by Thomas Vinciguerra, originally published December 25, 2005).
War and Rememberance: Christmas Truce of 1914 ** Watch out -- this site has sound, you may want to use earphones. This is from the Silent Night Museum by Bill Egan and contains information about Silent Night and and its part in the Truce of 1914.
Why use these sites?
These sites would help to supplement print resources while engaged in lessons surrounding the following California Content Standards:
Grade 10, History and Social Science Content Standards; World History, Culture, and Geography: the Modern World.10.5.2 Examine the principal theaters of battle, major turning points, and the importance of geographic factors in military decisions and outcomes (e.g., topography, waterways, distance, climate).10.5.4Understand the nature of the war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort.
Grade 11, History and Social Science Content Standards; United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century.11.4.5 Analyze the political, economic, and social ramifications of World War I on the home front.