Overview

In late December 1914, German and British soldiers on the western front initiated a series of impromptu, unofficial ceasefires. Enlisted men across No Man's Land abandoned their trenches and crossed enemy lines to sing carols, share food and cigarettes, and even play a little soccer. Collectively known as the Christmas Truce, these fleeting moments of peace occupy a mythical place in remembrances of World War I. Yet new accounts suggest that the heartwarming tale ingrained in the popular imagination bears little resemblance to the truth. In this detailed study, Terri Blom Crocker provides the first comprehensive analysis of both scholarly and popular portrayals of the Christmas Truce from 1914 to present. From books by influential historians to the Oscar-nominated French film Joyeux Noel (2006), this new examination shows how a variety of works have both explored and enshrined this outbreak of peace amid overwhelming violence. The vast majority of these accounts depict the soldiers as acting in defiance of their superiors. Crocker, however, analyzes official accounts as well as private letters that reveal widespread support among officers for the détentes. Furthermore, she finds that truce participants describe the temporary ceasefires not as rebellions by disaffected troops but as acts of humanity and survival by professional soldiers deeply committed to their respective causes. The Christmas Truce studies these ceasefires within the wider war, demonstrating how generations of scholars have promoted interpretations that ignored the nuanced perspectives of the many soldiers who fought. Crocker's groundbreaking, meticulously researched work challenges conventional analyses and sheds new light on the history and popular mythology of the War to End All Wars.

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9780813166155

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Reviews

Crocker's book will become essential reading for anyone who wishes to know how the First World War came to be understood as that 'exercise in futility' we have come to accept without question today. It is a sober corrective and a judicious revelation of how and why the myths surrounding this war have become so hard to dislodge. -- Nicoletta Gullace, author of The Blood of Our Sons: Men, Women, and the Renegotiation of British Citizenship during the Great War

[A] sharp look at the so-called Christmas truce of 1914, discovering that distortion has colored many accounts of it -- and of World War I itself.... Crocker has created a work perhaps powerful enough to alter the conventional narrative of the incident. She destroys a number of misconceptions.... A storm of debate will no doubt ensue.... the discoveries may be revolutionary in World War I historiography. -- KIRKUS

Author Information

Terri Blom Crocker is a PhD candidate and the senior paralegal for investigations in the Office of Legal Counsel at the University of Kentucky, USA.

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