The Blue View: Learning the lessons from the 'ChristmasTruce' of 1914

By Chris Muns

Originally published December 21, 2021 in Seacoast Online.

I was reminded recently of the “Christmas Truce” of 1914 along the Western Front in France during World War I and the lessons we can take from it.

The truce occurred five months after hostilities had begun. In the week leading up to Christmas, French, German and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In some areas, men from both sides ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps, while several meetings ended in carol-singing. Men played games of soccer with one another, creating one of the most memorable images of the truce.

For that brief period of time, the men at the front put the war and their differences aside and instead focused on their shared beliefs, common sense of decency and humanity and joy of life.

But then the war resumed and because the conflict became increasingly bitter with mounting causalities, similar truces never again took hold. When the war ended nearly 4 years later, an estimated 14 million soldiers and civilians had died worldwide.

Furthermore, the end of World War I set the stage for World War II, which began less than 25 years after the Christmas Truce and resulted in the deaths of an additional 70 to 85 million people, or about 3% of the 1940 world population.

The lesson?

Unlike any other country, our nation was founded on an idea (“All men are created equal”) and a shared set of principles and beliefs (as embodied in the Constitution) that has guided us for over 230 years. While we have had our ups and downs, we have never stopped trying to form a “more perfect union.” That is what it means to be an American; those are the shared beliefs that we share as a nation.

We need not all agree on everything, all the time. In fact, a healthy, informed and sometimes passionate exchange of views and opinions challenges us to be stronger as individuals, communities and as a country.

It’s perfectly OK to disagree with each other and to advocate for the ideas and causes we believe in; but we should always strive to not be disagreeable when we do so.

Unfortunately, the social, cultural, and political discourse in our country has become much too bitter. We are all too quick to go to “our corners,” claim the “high ground” or “moral authority” and question the motives of those who may not share our same point of view. More troubling still is the fact that we are increasingly unable – and, in some cases,

https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/opinion/2021/12/21/blue-view-learning-lessons-christmas-truce-1914/8983588002/ Page 1 of 2

Blue View: Learning the lessons from the 'Christmas Truce' of 1914 2/16/22, 1:16 PM

unwilling – to accept what are facts and what is fiction. We are increasingly living in separate worlds defined by our narrower interests and losing sight of the universal principles that have and should continue to guide us.

I worry that as the French and British on one side and the Germans on the other dug into their trenches during the last 5 months of 1914, we are each choosing our sides, “digging in” and forgetting about those things we have in common. I hope that as 2021 ends and 2022 (and yet another election cycle) begins we can follow the example of those brave soldiers from both sides who stepped out of their trenches in 1914. Like them I hope we can celebrate our shared beliefs, common sense of decency and humanity, joys of life and the very great privilege we have of being able to call ourselves Americans.

But more than that, I hope that unlike our early 20th century cousins our “Christmas Truce of 2021” will lead to a de- escalation in the bitterness and vitriol that is getting in the way of us having a real and honest dialogue about the important issues facing our town, our state, and our country so that we can continue – together – our journey towards that more perfect union.

As we learned between 1914 and 1945 the alternative is unthinkable.

Chris Muns is a Hampton resident, former member of the Winnacunnet School Board, former NH state representative and current chairperson of the Hampton Town Democratic Committee. He also thanks his parents for emigrating to the United States so that he could have the privilege of being born an American.