Silent Night in trenches of the Western Front
The Christmas Truce was an unofficial cease-fire on parts of the Western Front. Guns fell silent for one to several days. Soldiers emerged from the trenches and talked, exchanged gifts and kicked around a soccer ball. Trenches were close in some places, separated by 50 yards or less.
The Story of the Christmas Truce WWI is a documentary film about this spontaneous cease-fire. Thanks to historians Peter Hart, Taff Gillingham and Robin Schaefer, and their choice of rare documentary photos, footage and archived letters from soldiers of both sides. The documentary focuses on the section of the trenches where British and German soldiers were facing each other.
This radio program goes into distribution on December 13, 2022, – by coincidence on the same day that nearly 1,000 faith leaders called for a temporary ceasefire in the War in Ukraine. They write that the way out of the war in Ukraine will not be a military solution and believe that a Christmas Truce offers an opportunity for moral clarity that could be the first step toward a negotiated peace.
Thanks for excerpts from the 50 minute documentary entitled “Silent Night: The Story of the Christmas Truce WWI”. The film is posted on the Timeline history channel for World History Documentaries.
Date: 2020
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 39.8MB)
