Changing+attitudes+of+Allied+and+German+soldiers+to+the+war+over+time

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/launch_ani_wwone_movies.shtml

The Soldier If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

//Rupert Brooke// (1887-1915)

Contrast this to Charles Hamilton Sorley's (1895-1915) sonnet 'When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead': When you see millions of the mouthless dead Across your dreams in pale battalions go, Say not soft things as other men have said, That you'll remember. For you need not so. Give them not praise. For, deaf, how should they know It is not curses heaped on each gashed head? Nor tears. Their blind eyes see not your tears flow. Nor honour. It is easy to be dead. Say only this, ‘They are dead.’ Then add thereto, ‘Yet many a better one has died before.’ Then, scanning all the o’ercrowded mass, should you Perceive one face that you loved heretofore, It is a spook. None wears the face you knew. Great death has made all his for evermore.

British Soldiers quotations

[|Attitudes towards the home front]

[|German experiences of the war]

How to analyse a primary source

Every source is biased in some way. Documents tell us only what the creator of the document thought happened, or perhaps only what the creator wants us to think happened. As a result, historians follow these bias rule guidelines when they review evidence from the past: Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically. No piece of evidence should be taken at face value. The creator's point of view must be considered. Each piece of evidence and source must be cross-checked and compared with related sources and pieces of evidence.
 * Bias rule**


 * Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources**

Who created the source and why? Was it created through a spur-of-the-moment act, a routine transaction, or a thoughtful, deliberate process? Did the recorder have firsthand knowledge of the event? Or, did the recorder report what others saw and heard? Was the recorder a neutral party, or did the creator have opinions or interests that might have influenced what was recorded? Did the recorder produce the source for personal use, for one or more individuals, or for a large audience? Was the source meant to be public or private? Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade others? (Check the words in the source. The words may tell you whether the recorder was trying to be objective or persuasive.) Did the recorder have reasons to be honest or dishonest? Was the information recorded during the event, immediately after the event, or after some lapse of time? How large a lapse of time? Source: http://www.edteck.com/dbq/more/analyzing.htm#time