One hundred years ago, my grandfather Walter Bärthel was on the western front, fighting for his homeland, Germany. During his time both in the trenches and behind the front lines, he kept writing and drawing in his diary. He was only 17 years old, just a boy and had not yet completed high school, when he was caught up in the euphoria and propaganda, and joined the army. Those four diaries are an amazing story about his experiences and thoughts from the front and later from his hospital bed. On December 19th, 2014, Walter sketched the landscape near Arras in France covered in barbed wire.
There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about the Christmas truce of 1914, when soldiers on both sides sang Christmas songs together and maybe played soccer. On December 24th, 2014, my grandfather wrote the following:
Heiliger Abend! Abends und nachts sangen Leute von uns auf Horchposten (Weihnachtslieder), daß es die Franzosen hörten! Nach einiger Zeit sang ein Franzose. Während jedes Gesanges war alles still. Danach fingen die Horchposten wieder zu schießen an. – Ich hatte einen kleinen Weihnachtsbaum in meiner Höhle, mit Lichtern, Nüssen, den die Eltern geschickt hatten. Auch mein Kamerad besaß einen solchen. – Wie werden die Eltern zu Hause das Weihnachtsfest feiern?”
Thursday, Dec. 24th
Holy Night! Evening and night, our people on “listening post” sang Christmas carols, so the French could hear it! After a while, a Frenchman sang too. During each song everything was quiet. Afterwards, the “listening post” went back to shooting. I had a small Christmas tree in my dugout, with lights and nuts, which my parents had sent me. My friend also had one like it. – How will the parents celebrate Christmas back home? Translation by Personal Past.
Walter’s story is one of four in the German-French graphic novel “Tagebuch 14-18 – Vier Geschichten aus Deutschland und Frankreich” / “Carnets 14-18 – Quatre histoires de France et d’Allemagne” (“Diary 14-18 – Four stories from Germany and France“)
American folk singer John McCutcheon captured a similar story in “Christmas in the Trenches“.
Always remember!
Elisabeth