Perspectives
December 27, 2024 | By Michael Lucas
Policy Issues
Culture

Silent Night: The Christmas Truce

"It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and... there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights––I don't know what they were. And then they sang 'Silent Night'––'Stille Nacht'. I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life."

This article is adapted from Stanley Weintraub's Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914, the best book on the subject.

Buy a copy of the book (here).

Watch a reenactment of the Christmas Truce below (or click here to watch).

Stories Worth Telling

The best part of the Christmas season are the stories.

Whether it's Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole ChristmasDie Hard or even Lord of the Rings (mind: the Fellowship departs Rivendell on December 25th and the One Ring is destroyed on March 25th, Annunciation Day), each of these serves to remind us that Christmas is about love. Not lights, decorations nor presents––love. Celebrated secularly or not, every Christmas story is a variation on this theme.

Take Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch: callous, bitter characters who are redeemed by learning to love through charity and giving; John McClane, a run-of-the-mill cop-turned-hero who loves through self-sacrifice; or Sam and Frodo, the humble Hobbits who bring down the greatest evil in Middle Earth by keeping to their friendship.

As beautiful as these stories are, well-made art is only ever a reflection of the beauty inherent in real life. Art's beauty stems from this fact, and only succeeds in conveying this beauty to us by abstracting from the muddy particulars. Sometimes, though, life's beauty is overwhelming, and artful abstractions are altogether unnecessary.

The Christmas Truce of 1914 is one such example of overwhelming beauty in real life. And it is a beautiful story made all the more beautiful because it is true, not fiction.

This is the story of the Christmas Truce.

A Pointless War

As many Brits and Germans felt at the time, the Great War was a war of choice, not necessity. Why should they, the subjects of two cousins––both grandchildren of Queen Victoria––be forced to kill or be killed because of the death of some guy named Franz Ferdinand? For one, the Germans didn't even like the Austrians; and two, the Brits didn't have an alliance with the French, nor did they really care for the Belgians. If anything, the Brits and Germans got on rather well, and frequently worked abroad in each others' countries. Alas, politicians rarely (if ever) consider the opinions of their subjects on issues of national politics, and the European powers went to war anyway.

Soon after, the war and its use of modern military technology wreaks havoc across Europe. Men are forced to live and fight from within the narrow confines of shoddy trenches riddled with rats and human waste. A constant deluge of rain causes bunkers to cave in, killing anyone who sought refuge from the harrows of war. Landslides trap dozens of men under hundreds of pounds of liquid clay, pushing them deeper and deeper underground. British generals order their soldiers to charge through No Man's Land past their fallen comrades, over shredded barbed wire, and right into German machine gun fire.

Those who survive lie quietly in the mud waiting for rescue under the cover of nightfall, praying they are not killed by friendly artillery. Others stand up, confused, and wander aimlessly in search of a trench only to be shot by an enemy sniper. The more fortunate survivors who've retained their wits know that no help is coming and crawl, slowly, over dead animals and slain men back to their trench where they will be treated with muddy bandages and a regiment of cigarettes and liquor.

Such miseries were incurred by both sides, but taken most to heart by the British and Germans. This was not their war, and each understood that the men on the opposite side of No Man's Land, "just fifty paces away," didn't feel any sort of animosity for their supposed 'enemy.'

By December 4th, 1914 British and German soldiers were already showing a great deal of benevolence toward one another:

"The British commander of the 2nd Corps worried about the 'live-and-let-live theory of life' that had surfaced on both sides. Neither side was firing, for example, at mealtimes, and although little fraternization was apparent, unspoken understandings accepted the status quo, and friendly banter echoed across the lines."

––Stanley Weintraub

Likewise, Royal Engineer, Andrew Todd, wrote to the Edinburgh Scotsman that Brits and Germans "had become 'very pally with each other.' They were so close that they would throw newspapers, weighted with a stone, across to each other, and sometimes a ration tin."

Echoing the same, a newly assigned soldier to the 2nd Queen's Westminster Rifles, Lieutenant Geoffrey Heinekey, wrote to his mother of an "extraordinary" event between Brits and Germans that occurred on the 19th of December:

"[A] most extraordinary thing happened...Some Germans came out and held up their hands and began to take in some of their wounded and so we ourselves immediately got out of our trenches and began bringing in our wounded also. The Germans then beckoned to us and a lot of us went over and talked to them and they helped us to bury our dead. This lasted the whole morning and I talked to several of them and I must say they seemed extraordinarily fine men ... It seemed too ironical for words. There, the night before we had been having a terrific battle and the morning after, there we were smoking their cigarettes and they smoking ours."

––Lieutenant Geoffrey Heinekey

These curious exchanges that occurred up and down the western front were not at all curious to the men in the trenches, however. "Most exchanges were in English, for many Germans had lived and worked across the Channel, some as waiters in hotels or seaside resorts, others as cooks, cabbies and even barbers..."

So well-acquainted were the British and Germans that one House of Lords member "charged that 80,000 German waiters remained as a secret army awaiting a signal to seize strategic points," admitting of the close relation between Brits and Germans. Likewise, England's top Brass were equally aware of the 'familiar' attitudes of the men in the trenches. So much so, in fact, that Brigadier General Forrestier-Walker issued a declaration forbidding such fraternization:

"[F]or it discourages initiative in commanders, and destroys the offensive spirit in all ranks .... Friendly intercourse with the enemy, unofficial armistices and the exchange of tobacco and other comforts, however tempting and occasionally amusing they may be, are absolutely prohibited."

––Brigadier General G.T. Forrestier-Walker

Much to their credit, enlisted men and their superiors on the front largely disregarded these directives: "Most higher-ups had looked the other way when scattered fraternization occurred." Apparently, 'love of country', 'duty' and 'valor' were insignificant motivators when coming from Generals who ordered their men to charge deeply entrenched Germans with cement defenses and permanent machine gun installations located on high ground.

As Stanley Weintraub explains, "the ordinary British soldier had no strong feelings about fighting the Germans," and much preferred the preservation of his life and the few "creature comforts" he possessed. On the other hand, 'Green' recruits on their first deployment were most often the one's to break the tacit agreements established on the front. Those who fired at medics or who were "spoilsports" were quickly corrected by their more experienced comrades.

Apart from these aberrations, convivial dealings with 'the enemy' were the norm for the first few months of the war. And by December 1914, the stage had been set for a Christmas day armistice––an armistice that would be despised by military leaders on both sides.

Christmas Eve

As Christmas drew near, friendly interactions between Brits and Germans increased steadily. A week before Christmas Eve, near Armentieres, "the Germans slipped a 'splendid' chocolate cake" into the British lines with a message:

"We propose having a concert tonight as it is our Captain's birthday, and we cordially invite you to attend––provided you will give us your word of honour as guests that you agree to cease all hostilities between 7:30 and 8:30... When you see us light the candles and footlights at the edge of our trench at 7:30 sharp you can safely put your heads above your trenches, and we shall do the same, and begin the concert."

––Daily Express correspondant 

How surprising to have an enemy extend an invitation on the promise that you uphold your honor? Perhaps not as surprising as the British decision to accept the invitation and to actually keep their promise. Upon accepting the Germans' invitation the Brits sent them an assortment of tobacco, and applauded every song the Germans sang.

Come the 23rd of December, German soldiers began to erect lit Christmas trees, Tannenbaum, along the parapets. The trees had been sent to the front "by the thousands." A German officer of the 19th Corps by the name of Lange reported that Brits began to "crawl out of their trenches... to ask about the glittering trees which had materialized..." Weintraub writes that:

"Lange’s men explained to the Berkshires that the Tannenbaum was more important than the war. Nothing would keep them from celebrating Christmas Eve among their festive trees. Soon the Tommies were back with word that two of their own officers were waiting just beyond the German barbed wire to speak with Lange’s major. With an impromptu cease-fire holding, both sides agreed on an informal truce in their area for Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day."

––Stanley Weintraub

An artillery captain wrote to The Times about his own experience leading up to Christmas Eve:

"A very excited Infantry officer came along and told us that all fighting was off, and the men were fraternizing in between the trenches... Shouts from the Germans—'You English, why don’t you come out?' and our bright knaves had replied with yells of 'Waiter!'"

––Field Artillery Captain to The Times

Exchanges like these occurred all up and down the western front, and come Christmas Eve, the Christmas Truce had begun.

The Christmas Truce

Most often the instigators of these truces were not Englishmen––who, granted, were quite ready to extend peace offerings themselves––but Germans. Quite simply, Christmas was a German holiday later adopted and adapted by the rest of Christendom. The eminent symbol of Christmas, the Christmas tree, was of German origin: a symbol of fertility quite suited for the birth of Jesus, and also the reason English speakers sing the chorus of "O' Tannenbaum" in the original German while translating the verses into English.

Other German songs, too, especially "Silent Night, Holy Night" were, and still are, hallmark Christmas songs that every practitioner of Christmas is quite familiar with. Even those symbols that resonate most closely with children eager to unwrap their presents on Christmas morning are credited to the Germans: the famed 'Santa Claus' is a mispronunciation of the German 'St. Nikolaus,' a saint well-known for his generosity and who is thus partially responsible for the tradition of gift-giving (the three kings are also credited with this). The hanging of stockings on fireplace mantles has its ties to St. Nikolaus as well, who would leave candies or gold balls (depending on the legend) in the stockings or shoes of well-behaved children while his counterpart, Krampus, would leave them rods (the precursor to coal).

So the Germans' widespread offering of peace come Christmas is actually quite sensible. Propagandists and higher-ups in the English military would try to dissuade their troops from accepting these armistices, claiming the Germans were "tricky" and "deceitful." But thousands of men on the front lines reported otherwise.

Rifleman Percy Jones wrote in his diary that on Christmas Eve, "The first unusual thing happened when we noticed about three large fires behind enemy lines. This is a place where it is generally madness to strike a match..."

"In fact we were about to loose off a few rounds at the biggest light when . . . words were heard ‘Englishmen, Englishmen. Don’t shoot. You don’t shoot, we don’t shoot.’ Then followed a remark about Christmas. This was all very well, but we had heard so many yarns about German treachery that we kept a very sharp look-out. How it happened I don’t know, but shortly after this our boys had lights out and the enemy troops were busy singing each other’s songs, punctuated with terrific salvos of applause."

––Rifleman Percy Jones

Of course, Christmas day was the pinnacle of such benevolence. A Scottish soldier in the 6th Gordons wrote of an interaction between Scots and Germans on Christmas day that began with the chasing of a hare. A Scottish minister had asked to speak to the Germans' commanding officer, and upon meeting in the middle of No Man's Land, both Scots and Germans suddenly gave chase to a rabbit that ran out from the cover of a bush. Scots and Germans hurled themselves at the rabbit, but the Germans won in the end:

"It was all like a football match, the hare being the football, the grey tunicked Germans the one side, and the kilted 'Jocks' the other. The game was won by the German who captured the prize. But more was secured than a hare—a sudden friendship had been struck up, the truce of God had been called, and for the rest of Christmas Day not a shot was fired along our section."

––Scottish Soldier, Daily Mail January 1st 1915

After a Christmas truce had been established, both the Scottish and German ministers organized a joint service in the middle of No Man's Land. Men from both sides met in the muddy marsh to kneel, pray and sing psalms together. After, these soldiers went out to collect the dead, carrying the British to one side and the Germans to the other. The Brits made makeshift crosses from biscuit boxes and were sure to make enough for the Germans as well.

In an astonishing series of honorable actions, more or less foreign to us today, No Man's Land had been a wretched killing field littered with bloated, rotting corpses, but was transformed on Christmas Day into a procession of funeral services as respectable as any other. Parting words and prayers were said over the shallow graves and attended by men from both sides who extended their condolences and lamented their role in the senseless bloodshed that had transpired.

But once the dead were honored and the proper rites were said, these one-time enemies transcended their nationalities and uniforms by organizing and playing dozens of football matches. Brits, Frenchmen, Germans, Belgians––dozens of letters and diary entries testify to this fact.

For example, Westminster rifleman G.A. Farmer said that he "found our men playing football at the back of their trench, and the enemy walking about on the top of their trench [and watching]. It was hard to think we were at war with one another."

A London Rifles officer wrote in a letter to The Times that appeared on January 1st, 1915 that "on Christmas Day a football match was played between them and us in front of the trench." Lieutenant Albert Winn of the Royal Field Artillery wrote, "Around the Ypres area, on Christmas morning... we (the British, French and Germans) played football in No Man's Land. The... game ended in a draw."

Hugo Klemm of the 133rd recalled that "Everywhere you looked, the occupants of the trenches stood about talking to each other and even playing football." "Even as I write, I can scarcely credit what I have seen and done. It has indeed been a wonderful day," wrote 3rd London Rifleman Sergeant Bob Lovell after a friendly football match with the enemy.

The Celebration of Love, Hope for a Lasting Peace

But the most remarkable thing about the Christmas Truce was that the men who fought in the Great War did everything in their power to ensure the truce was a permanent one. While fighting resumed in many places following Christmas, dozens of areas along the front made attempts to uphold the truce. Their experiences on Christmas Day had been transformative, and thousands of men began to feel that they could simply wait-out the war in the West in anticipation of a treaty forming in the East:

"[A]nd there was, Stephen Graham wrote, 'a general exchange of souvenirs, and much mirth'. Mustering their limited English, the Germans conceded that they were tired of battle and exasperated with harsh discipline, but thought the war would be over soon once Russia and France sued for peace."

––Stanley Weintraub

But it would not be so. After much tell of these widespread acts of 'insubordination' and 'treacherous' dealings with enemy combatants, the top brass came down hard on their men, quashing any hope of peace by threatening court martials and prison sentences. New captains were deployed to troublesome areas to enforce these new edicts and to root-out any fraternizers from the ranks.

Yet much fraternization remained given the proximity and familiarity between the Brits and Germans. Each considered the other to be "extended family," and the fact that gains in territory were never more than 12 miles in either direction (given the nature of 'trench' warfare), little could be done to change the feelings of men on the front line. In subsequent years, men in the trenches, again, tried to organize truces on and around Christmas, but their attempts were overwhelmingly thwarted by military command.

So it is the Christmas Truce of 1914 that stands out above all. What is none other than the most curious, honorable and beautiful event in military history, the Christmas Truce demonstrates that love, family, friendship and service to God are higher, more noble ends than the causes of nations and the politicking of the powerful. At the conclusion of a friendly game of football, in what is the best expression of the spirit of the Christmas Truce I could find, Kurt Zehmisch of the 134th Saxons wrote the following: 

"Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as our friends for a time... I told them we didn't want to shoot on the Second Day of Christmas either. They agreed..."

––Kurt Zehmisch, 134th Saxons

Of course politics and power win out in the end. The war rages on for many more years but never progresses beyond a stalemate, neither side ever gaining the upper hand. That is, until Woodrow Wilson decides it is his great purpose to "go abroad in search of monsters to destroy," and to make kings in other countries indifferent to the United States. Had the men in the trenches been successful in their insistence on a lasting peace, and had the men in power had the moral courage to oppose the perpetuation of the horrors suffered by millions of innocent people, we would have a very different history to teach to children today.

The counterfactual goes something like this:

  • If the Christmas Truce persisted the Great War ends early
  • If the War ends early, Wilson does not involve the United States
  • If the U.S. is not involved, the French and British do not win
  • If the French and British do not win, there is no Treaty of Versailles
  • If there is no Versailles Treaty, there is no Weimar Republic of Germany
  • If there is no Weimar Republic, there is no platform for Hitler's Nazism
  • If there is no Nazi platform there is no Chancellor Hitler, nor a second World War nor a Holocaust

All this is good enough reason to remember and honor the soldiers of the Christmas Truce. They had no foresight nor expectation that the war would inspire all that would transpire just a few decades later. Their intuition was that some things are simply more important than politics; that some things are higher and more worthwhile, and that no earthly cause can ever take precedent.

They were right. And they are still right. Christmas, the celebration of love, is more important than any excuse human beings could come up with. For nothing is more important than to celebrate the thing which makes humans human, and which has brought together more people in friendship than anything else in history.

That Christmas is the most important event in military history and one of the most important events in human history, everlasting in its significance, beauty and instructiveness on how to live well as a human being. Never a man regretted his actions on that day, and nor should they. That night––a single, silent night––will live on forever if only people share its glory with the world.

"It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and... there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights––I don't know what they were. And then they sang 'Silent Night'––'Stille Nacht'. I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life."

––Albert Moren, 2nd Queen's Regiment

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