The 1914 Christmas Truce

On December 24, 1914, on the eve of Catholic Christmas, an unspoken truce took place on the Western Front of World War I. It took place in Belgium, near the infamous city of Ypres, where German troops would later use chemical weapons against allied Anglo-French troops. The Germans lit candles in their trenches and on their decorated Christmas trees and continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols; the British responded by singing their own Christmas carols. The parties kept shouting Christmas greetings to each other. German soldiers shouted in broken English: “Merry Christmas to you, British people!” The response was: “Same to you, Fritz, but dont eat too much sausage!” Shortly thereafter, there were campaigns to no mans land, where soldiers exchanged food, tobacco, alcohol, and souvenirs.

It is known that Adolf Hitler, a young corporal of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment, was an ardent opponent of the truce.