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Archiver > GREATWAR > 2001-07 > 0994115873


From: "John Clare" <>
Subject: Re: [WW1] The Somme
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2001 00:17:53 +0100
References: <007e01c102f6$55178660$a05d073e@j9m7b4> <003a01c1033f$b3fb5320$537f883e@s0v2u6>


If you want to see the best message against war, try "All quiet on the
Western Front". Not the modern pastiche but the original done just
afterwards and with much of the original equipment. It shows the enthusiasm
as seen from the German side and the gradual loss of innocence. Joan
Greenwood parodies the idea and Dicky Attenborough belittles it, but it
doing so they only belittle themselves, if that is possible. The British and
their Allies may have died in large numbers, but they did believe in what
they were fighting for. They did believe they were right and despite vast
casualties, held on to the end. "O what a lovely war" is a travesty of the
feelings of those who took part, and created by people who were never
involved in WW1. In fact, were fairly peripheral to WW2 apart from playing
whingeing nondescripts in "In which we serve" where they were a very long
way from real bullets.

John Clare
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Brown" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2001 10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [WW1] The Somme



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