Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by: Stanley Weintraub
This is a story that is a must read for the holiday season. Frequently forgotten among all the great, modern Christmas stories that flood the market, at this time of year — this is a Christmas story that is all the more powerful for its actuality, and improbability of happening.
Snow covered the ground. The “dull drone” of mortars and the boom of artillery greeted him, he wrote, as well as the distant clattering of machine-gun fire. Yet “every dugout had its Christmas tree, and from all directions came the sound of rough men’s voices singing our exquisite old Christmas songs.
There are many today that would believe that the voluntary cease fire, in the middle of a battlefield was as fictional as many of the other stories that exist today. Falling within the realms of myth — this is the event that is frequently portrayed in movies as the idealized moment of the most significant meaning of the Christmas season. And yet for all that — this book portrays the actual events, as they happened along the Western Front, in World War I, on one of the most horrific battlefields of all times.
There are many surviving accounts of this event, and how it began on this most memorable of occasions. Many of the surviving diary entries, and letters about this event are all filled with the same belief that this was a miracle the far outshines so many other Christmas Stories. Many of these accounts are used in this small book, to recount the events that led up to this one night of peace — amidst the war to end all wars.
Seizing one of their small trees, the courageous Korn, in spite of the blazing gunfire, jumped out of the trench into the open field. He sprang over the enemy’s trench with the Christmas tree in his hands, completely unaware of the deadly bullets whizzing all around him. He carried the Star of Bethlehem, and that was his protection. Yet, as if that were not enough, as Manfred carefully lit the Christmas tree in the enemy trench, the glow of its light fell everywhere, and all shooting ceased.
If you are looking for a great Christmas story this holiday season, this is the book to read. It is a great reminder that peace is still something that we can work towards — and that though there are differences that divide us in ideologies, these ideas are the works of governments — and they do not negate the fact that men still have the capacity to learn to live together in peace. As a great story to share with others, for the holiday season, and as a reminder that miracles do still happen in this world — I would share this book with you. It is a great reminder that what is truly important in this life are the things that unite us, and not the things that divide us.
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