[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 781 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 781

Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the World War I Christmas Truce 
                                of 1914.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2014

 Mr. Crowley submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the World War I Christmas Truce 
                                of 1914.

Whereas by December 1914, World War I had left about 90 percent of the highly 
        trained members of the British Expeditionary Force in France with 
        casualties, and about 30 percent dead;
Whereas the cries and moans of the injured and dying in no man's land could be 
        heard throughout the Western Front, and many of the dead had been lying 
        unburied;
Whereas, on December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested a temporary hiatus of 
        the war for the celebration of Christmas;
Whereas despite this proposal, the warring countries refused to create any 
        official cease-fire;
Whereas, on Christmas Eve, which under German tradition has more celebrations 
        than the day itself, German soldiers began to sing carols and place 
        lantern-lit Christmas trees above their trenches;
Whereas much of December had been wet, but on this night the temperature dropped 
        and a sharp frost settled over the landscape, making both trench 
        conditions more bearable and the air clear and still;
Whereas Rifleman C H Brazier, Queen's Westminsters of Bishop's Stortford, 
        claimed in his letters that the German soldiers said they would not 
        shoot on Christmas Day if his fellows did not;
Whereas another letter from Private Cunningham, of the 5th Scottish Rifles, to 
        his friend Mr. James D Gray, in Carluke, Scotland, also reveals in more 
        detail how such truces came about: ``On Christmas Eve the firing 
        practically ceased. . . .'';
Whereas, on Christmas Day, the soldiers of opposing forces emerged from their 
        trenches and declared their own unofficial truce, and shook hands with 
        their enemies;
Whereas according to many letters, a good-spirited, impromptu football match 
        between German and Allied soldiers took place in no man's land on this 
        day and is commemorated annually by English football teams;
Whereas in recognition of the 100th anniversary this year, special Christmas 
        Truce candles will be lit around the world, including by Archbishop 
        Desmond Tutu in Cape Town, South Africa, and Pele in Santos, Brazil;
Whereas worldwide celebrations are expected to take place, including the 
        unveiling of a sculpture by Andy Edwards in Liverpool capturing the 1914 
        Christmas Day football match; and
Whereas the lessons of this event are that the light of human empathy can dispel 
        the darkness of despair, the possibility for future peace can still 
        exist when at war with other nations, and that behind the clashing of 
        weapons and trenches of indifference humanity essentially endures: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives --
            (1) honors the 100th Anniversary of the World War I 
        Christmas Truce of 1914;
            (2) recognizes the Christmas Truce's symbol of the triumph 
        of the human spirit over adversity; and
            (3) commemorates the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914 
        and its legacy as a message of future peace and unity between 
        all nations.
                                 <all>