In December, almost 200 ninth grade students had the opportunity to “witness” an extraordinary event that took place in Europe during Christmas 1914. The young people, who were studying World War I in their Modern World History classes, attended performances of the play All is Calm presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham. The play recreates the Christmas truce that took place between British and German soldiers along a section of the Western Front. The truce began late on Christmas Eve and lasted throughout the next day.
As described by the Imperial War Museums in the United Kingdom, the men of the British Expeditionary Force heard singing coming from the German troops in the trenches across from them on Christmas Eve, Shortly thereafter, both sides started to shout messages back and forth. On Christmas Day they left their respective trenches and came together in “No Man’s Land”, exchanging gifts, taking photographs, and playing football. With a pause in the fighting, both sides were able to repair trenches and bury casualties. A short video preview of the play that the students attended can be seen here.
AHS History teacher John Amirault reports that attending the play was a positive experience for the students who were able to make connections between the content of the play and what they were learning in class. The story puts a human face on war, and Mr. Amirault has this to say about the value of the field trip: “I think it’s nice for students to experience learning in this way because sometimes discussing events that took place over 100 years ago can seem stale and irrelevant to their lives. Having the chance to get out of the building and learn and experience history in a different manner can be really valuable.”
Mr. Amirault ends his observations this way: “I think it’s especially powerful to have these experiences because of all the ongoing conflict around the world. Our hope is that the students make connections between the past and present and come to understand that history is not just something that happened a long time ago.”