In December of 1914, the men of World War I found themselves in cold, muddy trenches along the Western Front.

But on the Dec. 24, they found a little slice of peace in their own living hell.

This day is known as the Christmas Truce of 1914 and Park University has celebrated its remembrance for the past five years.

“This is our fifth production and our first time at the (National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial) partially due to the 100^th anniversary and partially because of our relationship with the museum,” said Dr. Timothy Westcott, associate professor of history.

When the idea first came about, the history department knew that they wanted to highlight World War I and to also get the community engaged.

“It took us about a year to find the letters and get the music together,” said Westcott. “The most difficult was finding the German letters.”

The German letters that are used are originals found in Germany and were translated by a former Park University student.

Each year, volunteers, who are all from the Zeta Omicron Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society this year, read the letters from the soldiers.

Each letter that is read is a personal account from a soldier on that unusual but enjoyable Christmas.

This year the German letters were read in their original form by history major, Alexander Hahn.

“I think it is a great tradition the history department has created,” said Laurel Bruening, a senior history major. “The letters show how the men in the trenches felt about the war, how they were able to put aside differences for 48 hours in 1914 and celebrate with enemies in peace.”

The production is usually done on campus but this year the department had the opportunity to perform at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.

“I like the intimacy of our own theater but being at the memorial lends its own ambiance,” said Westcott.

For Bruening the experience of the production was one of a kind.

“It was great to have the museum involvement,” she said. “Being able to be in the museum with the artifacts from the war really made the production more special for me.”

The performance usually falls on the first part of December but this year the department decided to hold it earlier in an attempt to make it closer to Veterans Day.