For a few days, or in some areas, just a few hours, the thousands of troops on both sides along the Western Front in Europe laid down their weapons on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1914, in what was reported to be a spontaneous truce, led by the soldiers themselves. Historians are uncertain what exactly happened during that time, since the line was too long and communications were too poor for a formal truce to be issued, but most reports agree that “up to two-thirds of the troops—about 100,000 people—are believed to have participated in the legendary truce,” according to one account in Time magazine. That included French, Belgian, British, Russian and German troops.
It began when German troops began singing Christmas carols, and soon other countries’ troops sang some of their own, with each side shouting “Merry Christmas” to each other in their enemy’s language. Gradually, troops crept out of their trenches and met in the “no man’s land” between the two lines; they began exchanging gifts of cigarettes, food and other items.
Although the peace was short-lived and not universal, it remains a testament to the true nature of man, and the power of hope (and music!). “Alle Menschen werden Brüder!”
