Wir wünschen Ihnen allen
We wish you all
ein frohes Weihnachtsfest
a happy Christmas
und ein herzhaftes Neujahr!
and a hearty New Year!
Prost!
Cheers!
This small postcard photo of an Imperial German Army Band was undoubtedly sent in a letter as it has no postmark or address on the back. But the writer, presumably one of the 10 musicians, does add a message (which is unfortunately beyond my ability to translate) and a date: 24.12.16. Christmas Eve, 24th December 1916 - the third Christmas of the First World War 1914-1918.
The band appears to be indoors in a classroom, perhaps their rehearsal room, but there are no clues to identify their location or to show which regiment they belong to. On the chalkboard are some French words that could be from a language lesson. If you look closely, four of the German bandsmen have ribbons tucked into their tunic. The white/black/white matches the pattern of the Iron Cross award. A typical regimental band would normally have over twice this number of bandsmen, but 1916 was a particularly harrowing year for casualties.
Now nearly 100 years on, it is difficult for us in the future to fully grasp the feelings these young soldiers must have felt to have a place to trim their Christmas tree. Little could they know that they were only halfway though this horrific war, and they would need to endure even more unimaginable adversity and hardship.
Yet even in the hardest of times, the human heart always seeks hope and solace. We must imagine that the sound of their instruments crossed over the empty wasteland between the lines and that German, French, and English voices joined together in singing the musical refrains of O Tannenbaum and for a brief moment shared thoughts of peace.
This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where I wish everyone a most
joyful and peaceful holiday.
joyful and peaceful holiday.
