Hello my name is London. I'm looking for Primary sources for the Christmas Truce of 1914, World War I. Thank you.

Thank you for contacting History Hub. Since the truce was between British and German troops, we suggest you contact the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ, England via http://www.iwm.org.uk/; The National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU, United Kingdom via http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/; and the Bundesarchiv Abt. VI - Militärarchiv, Wiesentalstraße 10, 79115 Freiburg, Germany via https://www.bundesarchiv.de/index.html.en for records that may be in their custody.

Also, the U.S. military was not officially part of WWI until 1917 but there may be something about the truce mentioned in US-UK diplomatic messages or correspondence. Please contact the Textual Reference Archives II Branch at archives2reference@nara.gov for a search of State Department records.

Please let us know how your research progresses.

Becky Collier

In addition to what Rebecca Collier has suggested, you might also look into the archival holdings of newspaper outlets who reported on the Christmas Truce at the time. The New York Times ran a series of articles about the truces and British newspapers like the Mirror, Telegraph, and London Times reported first-hand accounts in some cases. Unfortunately in France, where the truce occurred, there was widespread press censorship and even talking about the truce amounted to treason, which might make searching French newspapers about the truce slightly more difficult.

A noted British soldier who documented events on the Western Front was Edward Hulse. Though he died during the war, his diary and letters were still published and they cover a large swath of how British, French, and German soldiers behaved and wrote at length about the events surrounding the Christmas Truce. The collection of letters is called 'Letters from the English Front in France.' 

Good luck with your research!