One way in which historians analyze events of the past is by examining various written accounts about the same subject. The Christmas Truce of 1914 is an example of an event that was written about both privately and publicly and because of this the information is slightly different in each account. Sir Edward Hamilton Westrow wrote about his participation in the Christmas Truce of 1914 in letters to his mother which were then published in Letters written from the English front in France between September 1914 and March 1915. Newspapers also provided information about the events of the First World War to the public, for example The Times published an article about the Christmas Truce of 1914. This paper will examine the similarities and differences
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Comparing the privately written account by Hulse to an account recorded publicly in the newspaper presents the differences and similarities between the two. Hulse’s description of how the Christmas Truce of 1914 began involves four Germans leaving their trench and coming towards the British trench on Christmas morning. The Times also reported on the events of the Christmas Truce of 1914 but their account of how the event began differs from Hulse’s account. The Times article “Letters From the Front – Christmas Truce – Football with the Enemy” states that the Christmas Truce of 1914 “started by one our fellows going across.” The reason for this difference in how the Christmas Truce of 1914 began could be due to the fact that the location that The Times and Hulse were writing about were in different places along the Western Front. During the war the newspapers would report on events that would raise moral at home in order to ensure continued support for the war. The Times could have chosen to write about a British soldier who started the initial truce in order to give the public at home a positive and inspiring story about their soldiers who were fighting …show more content…
When comparing these two accounts to a modern day interpretation of the Christmas Truce of 1914, the Sainsbury Christmas advertisement created in 2014, there are similarities and differences in the events portrayed. In the Sainsbury advertisement it shows a British officer being the first one to declare the truce by leaving the trench and walk across No Man’s Land to meet the Germans in the middle. The Sainsbury advertisement shows the Christmas Truce of 1914 starting in the same way that The Times describes, with a British soldier declaring a truce. It is important to remember that the purpose of this advertisement is not necessarily to portray the Christmas Truce of 1914 in a historically accurate manner but for Sainsbury to sell their products. Because Sainsbury is a British based company, they would favour The Times version of events rather than Hulse’s because their audience is primarily British. Therefore, one conclusion that can be reached about the Sainsbury commercial is that their bias towards Britain was the reason for their commercial to show a British soldier as the initiator of the Christmas Truce of
Comparing the privately written account by Hulse to an account recorded publicly in the newspaper presents the differences and similarities between the two. Hulse’s description of how the Christmas Truce of 1914 began involves four Germans leaving their trench and coming towards the British trench on Christmas morning. The Times also reported on the events of the Christmas Truce of 1914 but their account of how the event began differs from Hulse’s account. The Times article “Letters From the Front – Christmas Truce – Football with the Enemy” states that the Christmas Truce of 1914 “started by one our fellows going across.” The reason for this difference in how the Christmas Truce of 1914 began could be due to the fact that the location that The Times and Hulse were writing about were in different places along the Western Front. During the war the newspapers would report on events that would raise moral at home in order to ensure continued support for the war. The Times could have chosen to write about a British soldier who started the initial truce in order to give the public at home a positive and inspiring story about their soldiers who were fighting …show more content…
When comparing these two accounts to a modern day interpretation of the Christmas Truce of 1914, the Sainsbury Christmas advertisement created in 2014, there are similarities and differences in the events portrayed. In the Sainsbury advertisement it shows a British officer being the first one to declare the truce by leaving the trench and walk across No Man’s Land to meet the Germans in the middle. The Sainsbury advertisement shows the Christmas Truce of 1914 starting in the same way that The Times describes, with a British soldier declaring a truce. It is important to remember that the purpose of this advertisement is not necessarily to portray the Christmas Truce of 1914 in a historically accurate manner but for Sainsbury to sell their products. Because Sainsbury is a British based company, they would favour The Times version of events rather than Hulse’s because their audience is primarily British. Therefore, one conclusion that can be reached about the Sainsbury commercial is that their bias towards Britain was the reason for their commercial to show a British soldier as the initiator of the Christmas Truce of