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geschrieben am: 01.10.2003 um 17:47 Uhr
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Christmas in Hell
I'm sitting in an uncomfortable, dirty hole in the ground. There are millions of holes in Europe and millions of men sitting in them. I've seen so many men get killed. They too thought they would be home for Christmas. The battlefield reaches from Switzerland to the North Sea.
It is a huge open wound across the face of Europe. Nothing will ever be the same again.
Ra-ta-ta-ta, ra-ta-ta-ta, ra-ta-ta-ta.
I knew the sound. It was a German machine-gun. It was the sound of death. The sound of the devil laughing at us.
"Excuse me, Sir. There is a message from headquarters, Sir. I've brought you a nice cup of tea as well, Sir." Sergeant Tompkins smiled at me. He was a fighting machine. He hated all Germans. He liked killing them. "Good news, Sir?" he asked." "Yes, Sergeant. It is good news. We are going to stop fighting because it is Christmas. It's the time of peace. We are all Christians, and at Christmas Christians don't kill, Sergeant." Tompkins looked suprised: "Do you mean the Germans as well, Sir? Are the Germans God's children too, Sir? Just like us?"
Now I did understand: "What about the Germans, Sergeant?" "I mean, they are psycho. They murdered babies when they invaded Belgium. We read all about it in the newspapers. The Germans aren't like us, Sir. They are horror. They're murderers."
My God, I thought to myself. Tompkins actually believed our propaganda! He believed it! Now I could prove: Being a soldier and being clever did not go together! I wanted to say something, but I was too tired. It was too late to talk now. We should have talked before the war.
"Go and tell the men the good news, Sergeant. Tell them to be careful. Tell them to keep their heads down. The cease-fire begins in two hours. I don't want anyone to be killed at Christmas!"
It's Christmas Eve and it's very cold. The sky is very beautiful. Looking at the sky is better than looking at the battlefield. I can see my dreams in the sky. In my dreams, there is no blood and no mud. I'd like to go to sleep for a long time. I can see the Milky Way. I wish I could fly up to the stars. Like a bird I would fly away. I would leave this hole in the ground. Leave this ugly battlefield. I would leave France below me. I would go past the stars and on and on and on...
Then I heard an angel singing! It had a very beautiful voice. It was high and clear. It was singing in a strange language, a language I did not understand. I always thought that angels sang in English. I mean God speaks English, so why don't angels sing in English? Then I understood. The angel was singing in German! Then I heard another voice. I opened my eyes. Sergeant Tompkins was standing beside me. He said, "He's got a good voice, hasn't he, Sir? I mean, for a German.
It wasn't an angel that was singing, it was a German soldier.
"Do you know the song, Sergeant?" I asked. "Yes, Sir, it's Silent Night. A beautiful English Christmas carol."
"The Germans think it's a German song."
"Do they, Sir?" Well that shows that they know nothing about music. They know nothing about real fighting either. They run like rabbits when they see an English gun and..."
"Thank you, Sergeant. I don't want to hear any awful details. You can go now."
I turned and looked up the stars again. I heard another fine voice. This time it was an English soldier. He was singing "Stille Nacht" in English. Then everything was silent again. Suddenly someone was shouting. It was a German, I could tell from his accent. He was shouting in English. The German lines were only fifty metres away. "Hello, Tommy", he shouted. None of our men answered. He tried again. "Hello, Tommy, Happy Christmas!"
This time one of our men answered.
"Happy Christmas, Fritz. What's the weather like over there?"
"Cold, Tommy. My feet are like ice. The Kaiser has promised me a pair of woollen socks. He is making them for me himself. The Kaiser takes good care of his men!"
He was making a joke. We always thought the Germans had no sense of humour. Soon everybody was laughing, all around me. So the Germans laugh, too! I had almost forgotten they were humans, just like us. The laughing stopped. I held out my hand. A big, white snowflake landed silently on my fingers. I watched it silently melting my mother told me they were angel's tears. The moon was big and bright. Everyone was having a good time. Christmas was a magic, special time for all.
The war lasted four more years. Millions and millions of young men were killed and wounded. Sergeant Tompkins was killed. I lost two brothers to the war machine. But I survived. Many people tell me I was lucky. I am not so sure
by Arthur Gordon
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