minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Introduction
This month we will be considering “A Christmas Truce”, an illustration based on a photograph published in the London News in January 1915. Neither the original photographer nor the illustrator is named. Please consider this image based on its merits, impact, and message.

Amid some of the bloodiest battles of WWI, German and British soldiers apparently decided to call a Christmas truce. In the words of one journalist traveling with the British troops, “On Christmas morning British and Germans left their trenches, exchanged greetings, cigars, and cigarettes, and also names and addresses… The writer tried to talk to the Germans, received a cigar from one, and had his photo taken with a group of them. On the following day, all was changed, and where they had been at peace they were again at war, with the guns roaring and the rifles firing”. By another report, the truce began when a German soldier approached the British carrying a small Christmas tree. One such truce event led to a soccer game between the opposing soldiers. Numerous illustrations and photographs (some taken by soldiers with their own cameras) survive to document these occurrences. At least one movie has been made of it.

Subsequently, the military authorities on both sides realized the danger of humanizing the enemy, forbade other truce events, codifying punishments for “fraternizing with the enemy”. Photography was forbidden to British soldiers, and official war correspondents and photographers were appointed whose offerings must be approved before distribution, to assure war photographs were consistent with the messaging of the government. Pictures that put forth other messages were destroyed.

Check out some of the links below for more information about the Christmas Truce and more images and stories about it. Then share your thoughts about the illustration below. Here are some questions that may spur your thinking. Answer any you find interesting, or simply put forth your own thoughts.

Questions To Consider:
1. Does the illustration have impact? What story does it tell? What do you think of the composition? Do you “see” the photograph on which the illustration was based? Would you want it in your collection? Why or why not?
2. Do you think the pictures of public events today are censored in a similar way to control public messaging? Is this censorship different in the US than in other countries?
3. There is considerable debate today about the freedom of the press. Obviously, photographs can be taken or even altered to portray an event with a particular slant. Is the press truly free or is it controlled by governments, media conglomerates of all persuasions, etc?
4. Imagine a Christmas Truce of some kind today, in a country where there is an ongoing conflict, or in our own country where there are bitter divides between political factions. Would a truce between those of differing loyalties be censored? Rewarded? Ignored? Punished? What do you think would happen? How would photographs of such events be perceived?
5. There is some incongruity in finding a spirit of Christmas with people who were yesterday trying to kill you and who may try again tomorrow. Is there a lesson for us today as we face a Christmas season laden with danger and limitations that we have never before associated with the Christmas season? How will those differences be expressed in your photography?

Links for Further Study
https://time.com/3643889/christmas-truce-1914/

https://thegroundtruthproject.org/songs-wwi/

http://www.ddoughty.com/christmas-truce-ww1.html

http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/christmas-truce/incidents/1/british-and-germans-good-friends-on-christmas-day-in-the-trenches

https://review.gale.com/2017/04/20/newspaper-coverage-from-the-christmas-truce-1914/

http://www.classichistory.net/archives/christmas-truce

fair use: https://thegroundtruthproject.org/songs-wwi/

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fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

An extraordinary event. The photo should be up somewhere, to remind us, that it is possible for people to come to their senses, as human beings, if only for a short while. Truly a remarkable thing. I had, somewhere in my distant past, read about this. Good of you to put it up!

srt101fan

Sorry, minniev, I'm departing from your Christmas Truce topic, but the story of two warring factions with a common emotional bond, no matter how fleeting, reminded me of the WW II song "Lili Marleen". A German song that was frequently broadcast (daily for a while) to German troops over the radio also found many Allied listeners.

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Lili_Marleen#Exposure_and_reception

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks for taking a look, Mark. I remember hearing something about it but I'd never researched it before. There were lots of lessons for life and art and especially for journalistic photographers hiding inside the story.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Always feel free to go your own way in these threads. It's the conversation that matters.

I enjoyed reading the story of yet another way that humanity reached out across differences.

There are examples from the American Civil War, too, of soldiers of both sides taking time out from battle to honor holidays, bury the dead, etc.