Pic Courtesy – Reuters
As the world saw the completion of 100 years of the ceasefire agreement of World War 1, a rare embrace of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron made major headlines across the globe. This marked the centenary of the end of the First World War at a special ceremony at Compiègne, in the woods north of Paris.
The two global leaders were seen warmly embracing each other. They were spotted at the unveiling of the commemorative plaque at the railway carriage site where military leaders signed a ceasefire on 11 November 1918. The original wagon, on which it was modelled, was used by Adolf Hitler to accept France’s capitulation to Nazi Germany in June 1940.
Both leaders have been keen to showcase the strength of their alliance that now unites these formerly warring nations.
Coincidentally the Armistice deal happened on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, ending four years of fighting leading to the death of nearly 10 million soldiers.
While President Emmanuel Macron, 40, sported a cornflower a French equivalent of a remembrance poppy — in his lapel, 64 year old Merkel held hands and rested heads against each other.
History buffs write that this was an enactment of the historic moment when President François Mitterrand and Chancellor Helmut Kohl held hands on the battlefield of Verdun.
With this Merkel becomes the first German leader since World War Two to visit the forest.
The World War I is also referred to as the First World War or the Great War that originated in Europe lasting from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918.Often called the war to end all wars it mobilized over 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans. An estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a direct result of the war.It also resulted in genocides and epidemics. Unresolved rivalries at the end contributed to start of the Second World War about twenty years later.
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