Former enemies unite for World War I commemoration Separated by only a small patch of yellow daisies at the Saint-Symphorien military cemetery lie two former enemies: British Captain Kenneth James Roy and German Gefreiter Reinhold Dietrich. Also between the two are some 9 million dead soldiers over four years. Roy died in the first month of World War I, trying to stop the early German onslaught through Belgium. Dietrich died two weeks before the war ended with a German defeat. On Monday, from Glasgow, Scotland to Liege and the small Saint-Symphorien in southern Belgium, leaders of the former enemies Belgium, France, Britain and Germany stood together in a spirit of reconciliation to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of conflict that became known as The Great War. On Aug. 4, 1914 Germany invaded neutral Belgium as part of a planned attack on France, forcing Britain to declare war by nightfall and unleash the biggest conflagration the world had known. It opened Pandoras Box, said German President Joachim Gauck, who acknowledged that it is anything but self-evident to stand and talk to you on this day and be warmly welcomed by the nation Germany overran. Gauck openly spoke of the great injustice of invading Belgium and the wanton destruction of the university library in Leuven and other civilian brutalities during the first weeks of the war. British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the spirit to heal such deep wounds and such deep-rooted enmity. independent.mt/mobile/2014-08-05/news/former-enemies-unite-for-world-war-i-commemoration-6098976770/
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 06:40:49 +0000
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