Today in History: Armistice Day
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, an armistice was signed to end the First World War that began in 1914 after the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The Allies, or Entente, represented a coalition of countries led by Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States, who were victorious over the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and their colonies. Over 20 million lives were lost in The Great War that took place in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Pacific Islands, China, Indian Ocean, and North and South Atlantic Ocean.
Armistice Day was officially celebrated for the first time in 1919, and it is commemorated annually to honor those who died. In the United States, November 11th is also known as Veterans Day which commemorates all military veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces.
The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.
- Armistice Signed, End Of the War! Berlin Seized By Revolutionists; Ousted Kaiser Flees To Holland. (1918, Nov 11). New York Times (1857-1922)
- Nation Honors Battle Dead On Armistice Day: Legal Holiday Proclaimed in Nine States, While Twenty-One Others Join In Celebration Of Victory. (1919, Nov 12). New - York Tribune (1911-1922)
- First Victory Ball Ushers In Armistice Day: Bugler's Call In Darkened Waldorf Ballroom Sounds "Morning Colors" To Gay Throng Awaiting Pageant. (1921, Nov 11). New - York Tribune (1911-1922)
- Koenig, E. C. (1928, Nov 11). The Poet's Column: Armistice Day. The Hartford Courant (1923-)
- Armistice Day Themes Stress Lasting Peace: Veterans Of World War Join In Eleventh Anniversary Of Close Of Conflict. (1929, Nov 11). The Christian Science Monitor (1908-)
- Armistice Day: From Past To Future. (1930, Nov 11). The Irish Times (1921-)
- To High School Classes Will Give Pageant: History Pupils Present Armistice Day Sketch at Assembly On Wednesday Morning East Hartford. (1931, Nov 02). The Hartford Courant (1923-)
- Lippmann, W. (1931, Nov 12). Today and Tomorrow: Reflection After Armistice Day. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962)
- New War Sets Theme Of City's Armistice Day: LaGuardia Condemns Those Responsible For Conflict, Others Voice Peace. (1939, Nov 12). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962)
- Nation Marks Armistice Day In Peace Pleas: 10,000 At City Ceremony At Eternal Light, Boy Scout Service At Times Square Marking Armistice Day in Mid-Town Manhattan. (1946, Nov 12). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962)
- For the Doughboys This Is Still Armistice Day. (1956, Nov 11). Los Angeles Times (1923-1995)
- Rubin, M. (1985, Nov 08). A Cultural Historian's Account Of Armistice Day: Books Armistice. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-)
Tips:
- Best, Nicholas. The Greatest Day in History How, on the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, the First World War Finally Came to an End. 1st ed. New York: Public Affairs, 2008. e-book
- Gregory, Adrian. The Silence of Memory : Armistice Day, 1919-1946. Oxford : Berg, 1994. e-book
- Harrison, Ted. Remembrance Today: Poppies, Grief and Heroism. Vol. 44314. London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 2012. e-book
Images:
- War, Poppy, Poppies, Armistice, Courtesy of pxfuel
- Armistice Day, New York City, Courtesy of U.S. National Archives and DVIDS
- Special News Slide, Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries
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