Radio Special Remembers When Soldiers Stopped A War For Christmas 100 Years Ago The 100th anniversary of one of the most unusual -- and little known-- truces in the history of warfare will be celebrated in a noon radio special Christmas Day on KVMR 89.5 FM (kvmr.org streaming). Produced by Drew Darling at community radio station WERU in Blue Hill, Maine, the radio special details what Darling calls humanity at its best amidst the brutality of war. Using more than a dozen German, French, Scottish, Irish and British voices reading from World War I soldiers letters and diaries. The program details the hectic rush into World War I and the horrors it unleashed. The men thought theyd be home by Christmas to tell of the excitement over a glass by the fireside, Darling said, with the German High Command promising a fresh and cheerful war. Instead, a million soldiers lay dead by Christmas, with no end in sight. In defiance of commanding officers, and at risk of their lives, the soldiers lay down their guns and climbed out of their trenches armed with wine, food and cigarettes, to greet the others, exchange gifts and agree to a ceasefire, according to Darling. They ate, they sang, they played together, the producer continued. They brought in the wounded and buried the dead, often with men of both armies working as one. Quotes from Shakespeare and William Blake also are included in the radio special. Ironically, when news of the temporary truce began to leak out, armies from both sides banned soldiers and others from talking or writing publicly about it. In recent years, folksinger John McCutcheon helped word about the secret truce get out, with both a song and book called Christmas in the Trenches. McCutcheon will perform in his annual benefit concert for KVMR at the Center for the Arts on Sunday, January 11.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:18:06 +0000
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