Analysis on Documents During WW1

Question: Discuss about the Analysis on Documents During WW1. Answer: Introduction: The inception of the twentieth century was going under a tremendous political and social shift with the proximity of an inevitable war. During World War I, the European home front had a turbulent impact of the war since it was a war primarily declared within the countries of Europe divided as Allies and the Central Powers[1]. In this essay, it has been argued whether World War I was responsible to bring a change in the political equations of European countries and to what extent it had an impact on European economy and society. To provide an argument on the subject of the thesis several famous musical pieces composed during the time of the war have been chosen as authentic documents. The musical numbers are Keep the Home Fires Burning composed by Ivor Novello in the year 1914 and Nol des enfants composed in 1915 by Claude Debussy. While the song Keep the Home Fires Burning deals with participation in war as national duty and the gloom of being parted with the brave sons, the latter encompasses the trauma and havoc that European society bears due to the war. Keep the Home Fires Burning is written at the onset of the World War I, which became much popular with the British soldiers marching towards the warfront. The song Keep the Home Fires Burning document the urgency with which the soldiers were called to join in the war and the misery that the families go through being parted with their brave sons[2]. The song emphasizes the fact that how participating in the war is a proud obligation for every Englishman and states how it is a noble duty for every gallant son of Freedom to answer the tyrant i.e. Germany[3]. Besides, the song expresses a positive note that the gloom of war will be over soon and the brave sons would return their homes safe and unharmed. This musical piece authentically documents the distress of the European home front where lives were being continually sacrificed in the name of honor and how the families were compelled to live under the continuous shade of fear. On the other hand, the French number Nol des enfants is a C hristmas carol that tellingly shifts the spotlight to the deplorable condition of the homeless children victimized by the World War I[4]. This song focuses on how the war was a direct attack on human existence and how it had been ruining the society. The uncountable number of deaths had its obvious repercussions on the social structure by raising the number of orphans and homeless children. The song effectively details the condition of homeless children, demolition of educational institutions as well as the churches, which can be signified as assault on Christianity itself. The home front of Europe during World War I refers to the domestic, social, political as well as economic histories of the countries involved in the war[5]. In this essay, to document the ravaged social and political condition of the countries, two famous music pieces have been chosen that tell the stories of the two allies, England and France and of Europe in greater context. Though Novellos song does not directly refer to European home front but Canada as a British colony, the mood of immediacy to join the war and the grief of parting with the sons was of no exception. Besides, the song has a strong sense of patriotism revealed in the line Help a nation in distress, which was the principal propelling force behind the war. The other song Nol des enfants directly connects the audience to the adverse impact that the war had on the European social structure with families breaking apart, the number of such children whose Dad is at war, Poor mother is dead! rapidly rising[6]. In additio n, the song also documents the destruction happened due to the calamity of the war. The pictures of schools demolishing, churches burning and even killing of people exposed in the song re-establish the fact to what extent World War I had been perilous for European home front. Therefore, the two musical texts discussed above successfully serves the purpose of documenting the precarious condition of European society engaged in the war. Looking at the songs it can definitely be affirmed that European home front had suffered some damage beyond repair during the World War I. Bibliography: Bull, H., 2012.The anarchical society: a study of order in world politics. Palgrave Macmillan. Coffman, E.M., 2014.The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. University Press of Kentucky. Ferguson, N., 2008.The pity of war: Explaining world war I. Basic Books. Grayzel, S.R., 2014.Women's Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War. UNC Press Books. Maier, C.S., 2015.Recasting bourgeois Europe: stabilization in France, Germany, and Italy in the decade after World War I. Princeton University Press. Von Mises, L., 2012.Nation, state, and economy. Liberty Fund.ion, 2001.