环球英语 — 270：Christmas Truce
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Thank you for joining us for today’s spotlight program. I’m Marina Santee.
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And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
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In December 1914, World War One had just started. In France, British soldiers fought against German soldiers. It was a cold and dangerous time.
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The fighting in World War One was trench warfare. Men from both sides sat in long holes in the ground - trenches. They defended their territory by shooting and fighting from these holes. They would gain and lose a little bit of ground at a time. These trenches were wet and cold. There was no good place to store waste. Sometimes, the soldiers could not even bury the dead bodies. So the bodies became part of the trenches too. And there were many rats living in this waste. But in this horrible time of war, something special happened. Today’s Spotlight is on the Christmas Truce of 1914.
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When World War One started, Germany invaded France. Armies marched into the country. But French and British soldiers stopped them. Both armies dug deep trenches to settle in. Between these trenches was an area called “no man’s land.” No man’s land was an area of land covered in sharp barbed wire fences. This was a dangerous area.
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For months, the armies sat in the trenches. They shot at each other across no man’s land. And as autumn changed into winter, conditions in the trenches got worse. Winter rains flooded the trenches. The dirt was wet and sticky. It was difficult to move in the trenches. The soldiers had to be careful. They could not raise their heads too high out of the trench. They risked getting shot.
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As time went on, the soldiers on both sides began to think about the men they were fighting. These men were experiencing the same horrible conditions. The soldiers also wanted to see the enemy close up. They wanted to know if the enemy was truly as bad as the newspapers and government officials said.
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In an area of trenches, British soldiers would sometimes shout to German soldiers across no man’s land. The Germans would also shout. And sometimes all the soldiers would agree to stop fighting for a short period of time. This let both sides to get water and other supplies without being killed. But these peace times only lasted for a short time.
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Sometimes the soldiers from each side traded things with each other - things like smoking tobacco. Or they sang songs for each other from the trenches. But usually, the commanding officers did not approve of this behaviour. They ordered the soldiers to stop being friendly to the enemy.
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The war was just beginning, but many people already wanted fighting to stop. On December seven, the Catholic Pope asked for a truce, a time of peace, around Christmas. This was a shared holiday - all of the countries that were fighting celebrated it. And for many people, Christmas is a holiday that celebrates hope and peace. The German army agreed to the truce, but no other armies did.
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On Christmas Eve, British soldiers reported seeing Christmas trees and lights on top of the German trenches. They heard singing and celebration coming from the enemy.
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In one area, the German and British soldiers took turns singing Christmas songs. The Germans sang a song in German, and then the British sang a song in English. When the British started singing one song in English, the Germans joined them with the Latin version of the song.
In another area, men from each army met between the trenches in no man’s land. One British soldier wrote of his experience:
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“We shook hands, we wished each other 'Merry Christmas'. Soon we were talking as if we had known each other for years. Soon, most of our company joined us. Small groups of Germans and British stretched out over the land. Out of the darkness we could hear laughter. Where the men did not share language, they used signs and everyone got along nicely. Here we were laughing and talking to men whom only a few hours before we were trying to kill.”
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Another British soldier also wrote a letter to his family. He described the events as “the most memorable Christmas I have ever spent”.
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Some of the soldiers even played games of football with each other in no man’s land. Kurt Sehmisch, a German soldier, wrote about it:
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“The English brought a foot ball from the trenches. Soon an exciting game started. How wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. So Christmas, the celebration of love, managed to bring enemies together as friends for a time.”
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Some parts of the army decided to declare a truce for only Christmas day. This was a time of no fighting. Other groups declared a truce until New Years Day. Both sides used this time to bury dead soldiers. Sometimes bodies would sit in no man’s land for months. In a few areas, German and British soldiers held funeral services together.
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At the end of the day, things began to change. The games and happiness slowed and the soldiers went back to their trenches. A British officer tells of how the war began again after the truce:
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“I fired three shots into the air and put up a flag with “Merry Christmas” on it, and I climbed on the edge of the trench. The Germans put up a sheet with “thank you” on it and the German officer appeared. We both bowed, saluted, and got down into the trenches. And he fired two shots into the air and the War was on again.”
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World War One continued for almost four more years after that Christmas. But the soldiers remembered the events of the Christmas truce for the rest of their lives. They had put down their guns to have a time of peace and celebration.
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The Christmas truce has touched many people’s lives even today. Today, wars are happening all over the world. This story gives us a look into what we all desire - peace. We desire respect and friendship instead of argument and fighting. It gives us hope that somewhere in the middle of all the trouble in the world, deep down, people want peace. And for the soldiers in 1914, the best gift they could have received for Christmas was the gift of peace.
