Remembrance Day 2018: The Power of Silence

By: Laura Steiner

This year Remembrance Day has an extra meaning, as it marks 100 years since the armistice was signed marking the end of World War 1.

The Imperial War Museum in Britain has released a recording of what the conflict’s final moments sounded like on the morning of November 11, 1918.  Gunshots are heard for the first two minutes.  Followed by silence for two minutes.  It ends with the sound of birds singing.

This rare document from IWM’s collections shows the moment the First World War ended. The artillery activity it illustrates was recorded on the American front near the River Moselle, one minute before and one minute after the Armistice. #Remembrance2018
https://t.co/tRa8uGjHxk

— Imperial War Museums (@I_W_M) November 6, 2018

The two minutes are profound.  They leave listeners imagining what went through the soldiers’ minds.  Did they question whether all the death, and pain was worth it? Did they wonder what they were going to do with the rest of their lives? Did they vow as we all do every year on November 11, “Never again?”  Did they mourn their friends and loved ones? Take a measure of happiness in the fact they survived?

In media it’s visuals that tell the story.  This time it’s silence.