World War One still resonates in some parts of the world
The New York Times has an opinion article in today’s SundayReview section about the continued resonance of World War I in movies, literature and poetry. In the opening paragraph he discusses a little village in France and the imprint left on it by that war:
“IN France I live near a little village called Sadillac. It’s no more than a cluster of houses, an old chateau, a church and a graveyard surrounded by a few farms and vineyards. The village probably hasn’t changed much since the French Revolution; its population hovers around 100. By the graveyard is a simple obelisk with the names of the 30 or so young men from Sadillac who died in the First World War, 1914-18. It’s almost impossible to imagine the effect on this tiny community of these fatalities over four years. Every year on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. — the hour and the day of the 1918 armistice — villagers gather to participate in a short memorial service around the obelisk.”
Sadillac is no different than countless other little towns throughout the European countries that fought in the Great War. Every town has the obelisk with the names of victims of both World War I and II, with some additional memorial next to it to commemorate their sacrifices. In my travels around Europe, it is often one of the first things I look for in a town’s square, because it is almost always there, prominently positioned for all to see, whether it be Italian, German, Austrian, French and other countries. And I have seen the November 11 parades in Italy commemorating the 1918 armistice. It’s still very much an emotional event 90-plus years later.
Many Americans view “old history” as anything prior to 1980 or at the earliest when photography and movies turned to color. Only when they see the events of previous eras through the lens of color photography do they become real and emotional. I don’t intend to sound condescending in my description of this, but it is rather sad that a major historical event from a hundred years ago in which over 11 million people died in a short period of time is completely lost on most people who don’t pay the much attention to anything beyond their own shores.
