These past few weeks have seen the deaths of the last British Tommy’s to have fought in the Trenches on the Western Front of World War I. Yesterday Harry Patch the last survivor was buried with full military honours as Britain mourned the loss of this generation, and the sacrifices they made for us.
But looking back on World War I, I have to ask, what was achieved? And I have to shake my head and say nothing, what did those 15 million die for?
Looking on the reasons for the outbreak of World War I, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, in retrospect it looks likes an excuse. If one were to forget the politicians, this looks like, from my point of view, like a family feud between the members of the European Royal Family, who were of course all related through Queen Victoria.
Before the war these individuals diverted an awful lot of their empires resources to building up modern armies and navies, each trying to outdo the other, the rivalry between Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire and King George V and their desire to build bigger capital warships than the other.
All involved believed it would be a short war, having studied medieval battles; many of the Generals did not appreciate how modern weapons and defensive tactics development would affect the war, despite the lesions of the Boar War and the Russo-Japanese War.
As a result, the war lasted for four very long years of trench warfare. A front developed across Europe from the North Sea in Belgium, down to Lorraine in France, a front which moved very little and saw the deployment in a war for the first time of the machine gun, the tank and poison gas.
As the leaders of the great empires poured more and more resources into this war, the citizens were neglected, leading to revolutions, which eventually lead to the end of the war, but the German, Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires had fallen, along with their rulers, and Europe was in a state of chaos which took years to settle down.
This family feud, grew and it unleashed, unimaginable horrors, and redrew the map of Europe, and lead to the rise of Ethnic Nationalism within many of these new countries, that combined with a peace treaty which sought to punish nations for the war rather than the individuals which started the war, left Europe primed for another war, just 21 years later, where over 60 million people died.
Looking back on things now, I can honestly say that all the signs pointed to a war like this happening, I am sure that if the rulers had stepped back and looked at the big picture they would have seen it coming Of course we can say that now, who knows if we ever get into the position Europe was in at the turn of the 20th Century, will we be able to step back and look what’s coming on the horizon, I just don’t know.
But some people did see the war coming and they spoke out against the on coming storm, The Bahá’ís saw this war coming. Between 1867 and 1870, Bahá’u'lláh wrote letters to the kings and rulers of the world, but he also wrote individually to the British Queen, the Prussian King, the Emperors of France and of Austro-Hungary, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the Shah of Persia and the Czar of Russia.
He wrote in general to all the rulers of earth, and counseled them not to use arms and war as a way to reconcile their differences, but to unite to find other ways to resolve the issues.
“O Rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.
Be united, O Kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your people find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.”
Baha’u'llah, The Proclamation of Baha’u'llah, p. 13
Most of the rulers that Bahá’u'lláh wrote to, ignored his message, among them only Queen Victoria took notice, she is reported to have said upon reading the letter:-
“If this is of God, it will endure; if not, it can do no harm”.
Over the next 50 years, the dynasties of the other rulers all came to an end, as they continued to use war as a way to solve their problems and treated their citizens with contempt.
When `Abdu’l-Bahá was released from his imprisonment in 1911, he set out on a great journey to the west, where he counseled people about the forthcoming war, advising them how the world could avoid falling into the abyss it was staring into.
“I wonder at the human savagery that still exists in the world! How is it possible for men to fight from morning until evening, killing each other, shedding the blood of their fellow-men: And for what object? To gain possession of a part of the earth! Even the animals, when they fight, have an immediate and more reasonable cause for their attacks! How terrible it is that men, who are of the higher kingdom, can descend to slaying and bringing misery to their fellow-beings, for the possession of a tract of land!
The highest of created beings fighting to obtain the lowest form of matter, earth! Land belongs not to one people, but to all people. This earth is not man’s home, but his tomb. It is for their tombs these men are fighting. There is nothing so horrible in this world as the tomb, the abode of the decaying bodies of men.
However great the conqueror, however many countries he may reduce to slavery, he is unable to retain any part of these devastated lands but one tiny portion — his tomb! If more land is required for the improvement of the condition of the people, for the spread of civilization (for the substitution of just laws for brutal customs) — surely it would be possible to acquire peaceably the necessary extension of territory.
But war is made for the satisfaction of men’s ambition; for the sake of worldly gain to the few, terrible misery is brought to numberless homes, breaking the hearts of hundreds of men and women!
How many widows mourn their husbands, how many stories of savage cruelty do we hear! How many little orphaned children are crying for their dead fathers, how many women are weeping for their slain sons!
There is nothing so heart-breaking and terrible as an outburst of human savagery!
I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.
Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.
When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other’s hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!”
`Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29
Alas the world did not listen, and over the next 40 year’s, 75 million people died in the two world wars.
`Abdu’l-Bahá had a solution though:-
“A Supreme Tribunal shall be established by the peoples and Governments of every nation, composed of members elected from each country and Government. The members of this Great Council shall assemble in unity. All disputes of an international character shall be submitted to this Court, its work being to arrange by arbitration everything which otherwise would be a cause of war. The mission of this Tribunal would be to prevent war.”
`Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 155
We have such an organisation today, the United Nations, its not perfect, yet, but if we all work together and give the UN the resources it needs, perhaps we can give a fitting tribute to the millions who have died, an end to wars of aggression.
Now wouldn’t that be a splendid tribute to the Tommy’s.
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