Christmas Truce

Broadcaster

BBC Radio

TX Date

20th Dec 2014

Presenter

Nelufar Hedayat

Producers

Caroline Donne and Kristine Pommert

Awards

Jerusalem Awards 2015

Shortlisted - Festivals (Digital)

Christmas 1914, the first Christmas of the Great War, saw an event which one British soldier at the time described as “a day unique in the world’s history”. British and German soldiers in various places along the Western front put down their weapons and exchanged simple gifts. They sang Christmas carols, buried their dead, and some even kicked a football around.

In this programme, Nelufar Hedayat explores those astonishing events of 1914 and what they mean today – for the children and grandchildren of those who took part, and for youngsters hearing the story for the first time. She hears from the great-great-grandson of the Emperor Wilhelm II and Germans living in Britain, visits the front line at Ypres and attends a youth football event where young people from both sides recreate the kick-about on the battered land above the trenches.

You should also check

Sasha Chanoff is a humanitarian worker who was inspired by the story of his courageous and resourceful great-grandmother to work with refugees. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he faced a life-or-death choice.

2018

The Right Thing: Life or Death in the DRC

Faith and Spirituality

One year after Haiti's devastating earthquake, Edward Stourton visits the country to discover how the power of religion in Haitian society has coloured its responses to the traumas of the past year...

2011

Heart and Soul: Haiti One Year On

Faith and Spirituality

The division between Sunnis and Shias is almost as old as Islam itself - and although the two share many beliefs and practices, most members of either sect know little about each other.

2013