Commemorating the First World War

[Edward Campbell]

We are just around the corner from August 2014, the centenary of the start of the Great War, the war to end all wars, and so on.

There are, according to this article which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from The Telegraph, controversies about how to manage the events over the next few years:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10249760/Germany-intervenes-in-WW1-commemoration-debate.html

Germany intervenes in WW1 commemoration debate
Germany has intervened in the debate over how to mark the centenary of the First World War, with a call for Britain not to make its commemorations too celebratory.

By Jasper Copping

18 Aug 2013

The country’s special envoy for the centenary of the conflict, Andreas Meitzner, requested a series of meetings in London earlier this month with his British counterpart, Andrew Murrison, as well as senior officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to hear about the UK’s plans and outline Germany’s position.

There are understood to be some official German concerns that the way Britain marks the centenary could cool relations between the two countries, against a backdrop of possible negotiations over the future of the EU and the UK’s membership of it.

Norman Walter, from the country’s London embassy, said that a “less declamatory tone”, which did not dwell on issues such as who was responsible for the conflict, “would be easier”. He also suggested that commemorations should include a focus on the achievements of the European Union in helping to bring peace to the continent.

The tone of Britain’s commemorations has been the subject of debate, with historians accusing the Government of concentrating too much on the carnage of the conflict and depicting it as accidental and futile out of a desire to avoid upsetting the Germans by appearing triumphalist.

The critics argue that the war was a just, necessary fight for survival against a Germany bent on European domination and, as such, its centenary should see greater attention paid to Britain’s achievements.

Mr Walter, head of press at the embassy, suggested such a theme for events would make it harder for Germany to be involved and that commemorations should instead focus on the shared loss of the combatant nations. He said that Germany would look to be involved in the events of other countries, rather than organise their own.

“For us, it is about remembrance and reconciliation, and trying to learn lessons. We would love to join as many as possible. We would prefer not to have any celebrations, having lost. What unites is that we lost millions of people. We can’t tell you how you should celebrate, but our feeling is that issues about who was guilty and all that should be left more or less to historians and shouldn’t feature dominantly in politician’s speeches.”

He said the reasons for the outbreak were “less clear cut” than those for the Second World War, making it hard to make this part of the theme of commemorations. He added: “The biggest single contribution to the start of the First World War was Germany, but others played a part.”

He added: “Whether it was a win or not, it wasn’t worth it. It would be easier for us to take an active part (if there is no celebratory element). It would be easier to concentrate more on commemoration and what we lost. A whole generation was wiped out.”

He went on: “We recognise that who are we to prescribe... A less declamatory tone would be easier. That is the way to make use of it, for the future.”

Precise details of how Germany will mark the centenary will not be announced until after the country’s elections, next month. However, Mr Walter suggested that on the continent, the centenary would be a time to reflect on the achievements of the European Union.

“This is something that won’t go down too well here, but the European idea is something that helped us overcome the situation where a war like this could start, where European countries could go to war with one another. It may sound far fetched here, but it doesn’t elsewhere in Europe. Of course, we also see new nationalism coming up in a lot of countries, and the EU is there to counter that. The European community will very much be part of the German commemoration. Thankfully we have the European Union.”

Mr Walter said it was unlikely German schoolchildren would be sent to visit the battlefields and cemeteries, as their British counterparts are to. More likely are collaboratory projects, such as an international gathering of children, to discuss the conflict.

He added: “There is simply a different culture in this country. You have much more military events than we do, like Trooping the Colour. We don’t want to commemorate the battles. We want to commemorate the dead.”
In Britain, an advisory board of historians, writers, religious leaders and retired military figures has been formed to advise the Government on commemorations.

The panel includes Professor Sir Hew Strachan, from Oxford University, who has been one of those calling for a greater emphasis on celebrations. Officials from the German embassy also met with him, to discuss the issues.

He said: “I understand Germany’s position. There is no virtue in offending Germany. But if we are going to honest to the history of this war from a British perspective, then it can’t all be about waste and futility. A lot of people fought and died thinking it was worthwhile. We need to respect what those motivations were. It’s not about being triumphalist, or even necessarily celebratory. It is about acknowledging that when the war ended there was a victory. The allies thought it was pretty important and would have been pretty disastrous if they had lost it.”

Events to have emerged so far include a service at Glasgow Cathedral on August 4 next year, which is expected to be attended by the Queen and other heads of state, and another at St Symphorien Military Cemetery near Mons, Belgium, where similar numbers of British and German war dead are buried, including the first and last Commonwealth soldiers killed in the conflict.

Later, a vigil will be held at Westminster Abbey where a single candle will be extinguished at 11pm, a century on from the moment when, in the words of Sir Edward Grey, Britain’s foreign secretary at the time, “the lamps are going out all over Europe”.

Another “centrepiece” will be the unveiling of a new memorial arch being built in Folkestone, the port from which most soldiers departed for the Western Front.

Further major events will follow, centred on the centenaries of the battles of Gallipoli in 2015; the Somme and Jutland, both in 2016; Passchendaele in 2017; and Armistice Day in November 2018.

As planing for the centenary continues, the Sunday Telegraph is continuing its Lest We Forget campaign, to ensure the country’s memorials are in a fitting state for the anniversary.

I'm not sure how the Government of Canada plans to "celebrate" the next few years. I am one of those ~ a minority to be sure ~ who believes that the "Great War" was a blunder, that it was preventable and, all in all, a mistake. I have said, many times, that i regard the (1904) Entente Cordiale as the biggest blunder in British foreign policy since the English accepted Harold Godwinson's claim on the crown rather than William of Normandy's. Thus, I believe we should "remember" the sacrifices and honour those who made them but not depict it as a contest between good and evil.