The Christmas Truce of 1914 – Psychological Safety, Connection and Belonging

World War 1 and Trench Warfare

World War 1 will forever be known as one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history. From July 1914 to November 1918, the war is estimated to have caused approximately 40 million deaths. Whilst many perished from the battles themselves, the majority died from the side effects of war, such as disease, lack of shelter, malnutrition and poverty.

The most savage battles occurred in a thin strip of land between Germany, France and Belgium. The area was known as the "Western Front" and was fought using trench warfare. A new way of fighting involved digging massive trenches that soldiers would live in and fight from. The trenches on the Western Front stretched nearly 700 km from the Northern sea through Belgium and France and all the way down to Switzerland. The land between the two enemy trench lines was called "No Man's Land" and was usually between 45 to 230 meters apart. Going into this area was extremely dangerous and often considered to be suicide.

Being a soldier on any side during this war was extremely dangerous and miserable. Not only was there the constant threat of being gunned down by enemy troops if you ventured out of your trench, but the trench conditions themselves were atrocious. The trenches were usually dug straight into the ground and were about 3 meters deep. Most were below sea level and were prone to flooding, water saturation and freezing cold temperatures. And they were a breeding ground for rats, lice and disease.

For months, soldiers starved, froze, fell victim to disease or were gunned down by enemy troops. Enormous propaganda was carried out on both sides to push the soldiers to fight in such harsh conditions. These included depicting the other soldiers as monsters.

When the war began, everyone believed it would be over in a few months. Still, as it neared the end of 1914, the battle continued, with both sides just shooting and bombing either other but neither making any progress. It was clear to everyone that the war would last a long time.

In early December, Pope Benedict XV called for a truce on Christmas day, pleading that "the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang". But these pleas were denied by military officials on all sides. And the war continued.

Christmas Truce of 1914

Despite these deplorable conditions and the hostility from each side, a miracle of sorts happened on Christmas Eve of 1914. First, English soldiers saw lights and Christmas trees on the enemy trench. And then hundreds of lights lit up. The German soldiers had lit candles and put up tiny Christmas trees along the edges of their trenches before starting to sing "Silent Night". British Lieutenant Sir Edward Hulse saw this as a challenge and ordered his troops to begin singing their own carols to drown out the voices of the Germans. Soon, their songs merged into harmony, and the troops sang together into the night.

Throughout Christmas Day, the soldiers put down their differences and celebrated the festive day. In one account, a German troop climbed out of the trenches completely unarmed, waving his arms and shouting, "Please, don't shoot! I am unarmed! It's Christmas Eve. Please don't shoot!"

Many thought that it may have been a trap at first. However, not long after, troops from both sides began to emerge and intermingle in No Man's Land. They started to talk and shake hands and seemed to be friends.

Newspapers at the time thought it was an isolated incident. Still, post-historical research has estimated around 100,000 troops engaged in these festivities across most parts of the Western Front. They shared food, exchanged gifts and trinkets, swapped prisoners, buried their dead in common graves and held joint ceremonies to grieve. They even engaged in friendly games of soccer.

In a particularly touching encounter, Officer Hulse was approached by German Lieutenant Thomas of the 15th Westphalians. Thomas handed Hulse a stack of letters and a Victoria cross from a British officer who had died in the German trench. Hoping that Hulse could pass the letters along to the man's family. In a show of gratitude, each officer then presented each other with gifts that had been sent by their families; a silk scarf and a pair of fur gloves.

After Christmas Day, high commands of both sides quickly denounced the activities. They ordered them to stop with the threat of capital punishment. The following day the truce ended nearly everywhere. And the subsequent years, no such miracle occurred, and the fighting continued for almost another 4 years, with terrible losses until the bitter end.

Christmas Eve 1914 saw one of the largest instances of a mass cease-fire that has ever been seen in a time of war. Many believe this was simply an instance of holiday festivities, causing a temporary sense of unity. But there have been many other wars during the festive season, and none had the same widespread truce. So why was the Christmas Eve of 1914 different?

Closeness and Routine -Tony Ashworth

In the book "Trench Warfare 1914–1918", author Tony Ashworth analysed this in detail through testimonies of veterans from the war, diaries and letters. He discovered that the truce wasn't just a single spontaneous occurrence on Christmas Day but a sequence of micro truces that started in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

It was primarily due to their close proximity to each other and the grim conditions they faced. In the weeks leading up to the truce, the troops all along the Western Front were experiencing the same harsh winter weather conditions. Weeks of heavy rain, dangerously muddy conditions, and bitterly cold temperatures started to wear on their morale. As a result, patrols would frequently just ignore each other.

A "live and let live" mentality had already started to show between opposing troops. During days of heavy rain, the soldiers realised the opposing forces weren't shooting and were having the same problems with the bitter cold and trying to stay dry and warm. Soldiers on both sides became aware that they followed the same daily routines of meals, resupply and troop rotations and would lay down their weapons at these times. They had an unspoken agreement to not exploit mutual vulnerabilities. This would later grow to include instances when medical soldiers venture into No Man's Land to collect the dead and search for survivors. And times when soldiers would emerge to collect dry straw to keep themselves warm.

Being close, the opposing troops would often yell to each other across No Man's Land about trivial things like sports, the weather and sweethearts back home. But, as time passed, they realised that their enemies were more similar to themselves than they had initially thought. They were not only sharing the same misery and problems with trenches, food rations and lousy weather. In addition, they had regular jobs and families that they missed.

Psychological safety – Safety, identity and trust – Daniel Coyle

The enemy soldiers had developed a closeness far superior to that held between a troop and their commanding officer. Their commanding officer would send orders via messengers from a safe location and was never seen on the front lines. However, opposing armies were physically close enough to converse in raised voices.

Daniel Coyle's book 'The Culture Code' adds to this, pointing out that the opposing troops saw shared patterns of behaviour, causing them to begin to emphasise each other. Although the sides were enemies, these belonging cues started to foster a sense of shared experience.

The troops had to find a sense of belonging to keep them going to survive the harsh conditions that came along with fighting on the front lines. However, a sense of companionship among their fellow troops was simply not enough. Humans naturally feel the need to be socially accepted, and the social environment these troops were experiencing did not consist solely of ally troops. Although they were enemies, opposing armies also became a source of social interaction.

Their shared experience, combined with the steady flow of interactions, created bonds of safety, identity and trust. And even in the worst periods during a war, this gave them peace.

Nowadays

Psychological safety and group interaction play a significant role in family, social, educational and work environments. Creating an environment of psychological safety can facilitate a sense of harmony, which helps prevent feuds amongst people. People will have more courage to speak if they know they won't be criticised for their suggestions, no matter how silly. This can help build a stronger team with more ideas and problem-solving in the workplace.

A sense of belonging can help increase happiness and caring for one another. For example, studies have shown that this can help decrease worker turnover rates in a company. And as a society, wouldn't the world be better if everyone was just nicer to each other? These protective factors can also help with managing stress. When we feel we have support and are not alone, we often cope more effectively with difficult times in our lives. This was demonstrated by the troops' actions leading up to the Christmas Truce.

In everyday life, we can try and encourage psychological safety and express belonging cues with the following in mind.

1. Let others share their thoughts and opinions without being judgmental.
2. Listen closely and keep an open mind.
3. Get everyone to participate and let everyone's voices be equally heard.
4. Create an environment where everyone is allowed to respectfully disagree and work together to come to a collective solution.
5. Practice and encourage humility.
6. Say "thank you".

References

Trench Warfare 1914-18 by Tony Ashworth

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle