INTERESTING FACTS:
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- On Christmas day in 1914, an unofficial truce was apparent along two-thirds of the Western Front. Some British and German troops were then seen near Ypres, Belgium playing a football match in No Man's Land.
Through all of the horrors of the First World War, there at times, remained a camaraderie between the British and German soldiers. Stories from various World War One survivors such as Capt. Campbell prove that humanity can survive despite the most horrific of times. In a surprising turn of events, Capt. Campbell became familiar with a German commandant at the camp of Magdeburg in central Germany. After getting to know each other , shockingly, the commandant sought to petition Kaiser Wilhelm to ask for special dispensation for Capt. Campbell to be able to visit his mother back home in England. Surprisingly, Capt. Campbell was allowed to return home only if he agreed to voluntarily return after two weeks. So in December of 1916 he returned home to see his very ill mother eventually venturing back to Germany a fortnight later. |
DAVID LLOYD GEORGE-
What are the main facts? There were six countries which entered the war at the beginning. Britain was last, and not the first. Before she entered the war Britain made every effort to avoid it; begged, supplicated, and entreated that there should be no conflict. I was a member of the Cabinet at the time, and I remember the earnest endeavours we made to persuade Germany and Austria not to precipitate Europe into this welter of blood. We begged them to summon a European conference to consider. .... It is not quite the story of the wolf and the lamb. I will tell you why - because Germany expected to find a lamb and found a lion. (sections of speech given by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in 1917) |
THEOBALD VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG-
Gentlemen, you know that we have done both. In France we encountered, again and again, sentiments of revenge. These sentiments being fed and fostered by ambitious politicians proved stronger than the wish, undoubtedly cherished by a part of the French people, to live with us, as neighbours should, on friendly terms. ... What I did hope and thought possible was that the growth of German power and the increase of the risks of a war might open England's eyes to the fact that her old-fashioned maxim had become untenable and impracticable, and that an amicable settlement with Germany was preferable. ... Our only answer to our enemies is Germany does not allow herself to be crushed! (German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg to the Reichstag in 1914) |
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