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WWI Artifact: ‘The Revolution’ at Camp Ruhleben

(Source: http://ww1.canada.com/memory-project – ‘The Revolution’ at Camp Ruhleben, Germany in November, 1918 – Eileen Campbell, Thelma Johnson, Gail Campbell and Joan Chittick)

 

What does this artifact tell us about the First World War?
It tells us that not only the war is happening outside the countries, it’s also happening inside. Because of the declaration of wars, people who were the from the enemy’s country were considered as prisoners, like how British civilians became prisoned in German. Camp Ruhleben is an example, they imprisoned British people as the war started and they were treated horribly. This shows the effect of the war had to the people of their own country.
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Perceptions vs Reality: WWI

Explain the biggest differences between the perceptions of 1914 and the reality of war in World War One.

 

People, especially the poor ones, thought that enlisting to the army would give them a great opportunity to gain wealth, reputation, to show off, etc. Some were even excited to go to the war. However, little did they know that the life they would have was worse than the life they had back to their homes. They thought that after the war, they would live better than before, but the reality was very different. They had only thought that it would last for a year or two, but it lasted double than that. They weren’t prepared, so they didn’t get enough food later especially when the army doubled in size, some got depression due to the environment they live in, some inflicted wounds upon themselves, some committed suicide, and some even went insane. They didn’t get any medical treatment as technology wasn’t very advanced back then, so they got infected and most of them died. Not only did they not get the result they wanted, but it made their lives worse.