On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,1918, the guns fell silent on what had been, at that time, the largest, deadliest, and most significant conflict in human history.
The Great War, what we today call World War I, had begun in 1914 and was fought on every continent but Antarctica; involved over 30 nations; had placed over 70 million people into uniform, and directly resulted in the deaths of nearly 17 million soldiers and civilians.
“It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of the Great War in world history,” says Northeast Georgia History Center Executive Director Glen Kyle. “The fact that many Georgians, including those from Hall County and Gainesville, participated in such far-reaching events gives some indication of how world-shaping factors were shaped, and greatly affected, every family and every home.”
To share the stories of Americans, especially those from northeast Georgia, the History Center has three events planned for November marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the war.
The first is a special exhibit "Over Here & Over There: Georgia and Georgians in the Great War," featuring original artifacts and memorabilia from the war along with local stories. The display will be open now through January 12, 2019.
Also, on Tuesday, November 13 at 7 pm the History Center will host its last forum of the year on "The Great War and the World it Made," an examination of what effects the war, and the resulting Treaty of Versailles, had on today's political, social, and economic climate. Admission will be $3.
And, on November 11 between 1 pm and 4 pm, on the actual day of the 100-year anniversary of the cease-fire, the History Center will present "The End of the War to End All Wars," a free-to-the-public Family Day program exploring this defining moment of the 20th century with living history demonstrations, hands-on activities, special gallery tours, and performances.
“We feel it’s important to remember the events of one hundred years ago; to reflect on the sacrifices, the beliefs, and the efforts of those who fought the Great War,” says Kyle. “To most Americans, the Second World War tends to overshadow the first because it’s still within living memory; but a century later a close reflection on World War I provides us with a much clearer view of why the modern world is the way it is. It brings World War I out of the shadow of more recent events and helps us understand why a better name for the conflict is the one used by those who lived through it: The Great War.”
More information can be found by going to www.negahc.org, calling at 770-297-5900, or following the History Center on Facebook.
