The Christmas Truce

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Around Christmas in 1914 shortly after the start of "The Great War," there was a widespread spontaneous truce between the soldiers along the trench lines in western Europe. Much to the consternation of the officers, soldiers stopped trying to kill one another and instead met to trade goods, sing carols, share meals, and play sports.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the 20th century was the triumph of nationalism as these men ignored the common interests that brought them together on this occasion, and instead went back to killing one another in obedience to the aristocratic rulers with whom they had far less commonality. Had these men refused to participate in the senseless slaughter of World War I, the crippling burdens imposed on Germany following the war and the financial chaos of the postwar period may not have sown the seeds of the subsequent World War II, Cold War, and various military interventions since.

Following Christmases saw ever-smaller truces, because the brass managed to stifle this "unpatriotic" recognition of the humanity in the opposing belligerents. By World War II, the propaganda machine had completely overcome any such inclination among soldiers. A glimmer of what could have been was thoroughly stamped out by governments, because peace is the enemy of the political class, and war is the health of The State.

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