歷史重演 足球 休戰與聖誕

London — The Christmas Truce, when British and German soldiers were said to have suddenly stopped fighting on the Western Front for a few hours on Christmas Day 1914, is written in history.

倫敦——據說，1914年聖誕節，英軍和德軍士兵在西線突然停戰數小時——這就是被載入史冊的聖誕休戰(The Christmas Truce)。

What started with the singing of “Stille Nacht” on the German side, followed by a response of “Silent Night,” was said to have included an impromptu soccer game on the No Man’s Land between the opposing trenches.

先是德軍士兵用德語唱《平安夜》(Stille Nacht)，然後英軍士兵以英語的《平安夜》(Silent Night)迴應。據說他們在兩軍戰壕間的無人區進行了一場即興足球比賽。

“We all grew up with the story of soldiers from both sides putting down their arms on Christmas Day when gunfire gave way to gifts,” Prince William said at a ceremony in England two weeks ago to unveil a memorial to the event.

“我們從小就聽過這個故事，兩軍士兵在聖誕節那天放下武器，不再交火，而是交換禮物，”兩週前威廉王子(Prince William)在英格蘭爲該事件樹立的紀念碑的揭幕儀式上說。

“Football,” the prince continued, “has the power to bring people together and break down barriers. It is vital that 100 years on, we keep the Christmas Truce story alive. It remains wholly relevant today as a message of hope and humanity, even in the bleakest of times.”

王子繼續說道，“足球具有使人團結、打破壁壘的力量。重要的是，一百年來，我們把聖誕休戰的故事流傳下來。直至今日，它仍具有重要意義——它在最灰暗的日子裏傳遞出希望和仁慈。”

Hope and humanity and perhaps, ultimately, futility.

希望和仁慈，也許最終還是徒勞。

Soccer is a remarkable game that crosses boundaries around this world. But whatever took place on that day a century ago did not stop the carnage that took an estimated 16 million lives, nor did it break down barriers to prevent wars today.

足球是一項打破國界的偉大運動。但是，一百年前的聖誕節發生的任何事情都未能阻止那場奪去約1600萬條生命的大屠殺，也未能消除壁壘，阻止當今戰爭的發生。

“Sport, not war” has to be among the most contrite of phrases.

“要體育，不要戰爭”已成爲最有悔悟色彩的句子之一。

The sculpture unveiled by Prince William was designed by a 10-year-old boy, Spencer Turner. It depicts two hands clasped in friendship inside the outline of a ball. It is simple, brilliant and full of boyish hope.

威廉王子揭幕的雕塑是十歲男孩斯潘塞·特納(Spencer Turner)設計的。它塑造出一個球的輪廓，裏面有兩隻因友誼而緊握的手。它簡潔、絕妙，充滿孩子氣的希望。

And grown men are running with that hope. There have been re-enactments of the reported No Man’s Land game, including a match between the British Army and German Army teams in Aldershot, England, and a game in Belgium this week near the Flemish field where the truce happened.

成年人也在爲那種希望而努力。他們在英格蘭奧爾德肖特重演了傳說中的無人區遊戲，包括英軍和德軍之間的一場足球賽。本週還有一場比賽，將在休戰所發生的比利時佛蘭德戰場附近舉行。

UEFA, the European soccer authority, put together a short video in which former stars — England’s Bobby Charlton, Germany’s Paul Breitner and France’s Didier Deschamps — read a narrative and current players — Wayne Rooney, Philipp Lahm and Hugo Lloris — read aloud soldiers’ letters from the front lines in 1914.

歐洲足聯拍了一個短視頻，前足球明星——英格蘭的鮑比·查爾頓(Bobby Charlton)、德國的保羅·布萊特納(Paul Breitner)和法國的迪迪埃·德尚(Didier Deschamps)——朗讀關於此事的敘述；現役球員韋恩·魯尼(Wayne Rooney)、菲利普·拉姆(Philipp Lahm)和烏戈·洛裏(Hugo Lloris)朗讀1914年士兵們的前線來信。

All of it is heartfelt. For the record, Germany, the current world champion, has won four World Cups to England’s one in the sport now played by 209 national associations.

這一切都很感人。德國是目前的世界盃冠軍，它總共奪冠四次，英國曾奪冠一次。目前共有209個國家參與世界盃。

The brief cease-fire on the Western Front in Belgium followed a published letter from women’s suffrage advocates in England calling upon “the Women of Germany and Austria” to demand peace at Christmastime in 1914. Undoubtedly, some men on the front lines did leave their frozen, muddied trenches to not only bury their dead, but to exchange gifts of tobacco or even tunic button.

比利時西線短暫停火之前，英國的婦女投票權倡議者們發表了一封公開信，號召“德國和奧地利的女人們”要求1914年聖誕節期間保持和平。毋庸置疑，在前線，有些男人的確離開了冰冷泥濘的戰壕，不僅爲了埋葬死者，也是爲了交換禮物——菸草，甚至是外衣鈕釦。

Henry Williamson, then a 19-year-old private in the London Rifle Brigade who survived the war to become an author, sent a letter from the front to his mother. “In my mouth,” he wrote, “is a pipe presented by the Princess Mary. In the pipe is German tobacco. Ha ha, you say, from a prisoner or found in a captured trench, Oh dear, no! From a German soldier. Yes a live German soldier from his own trench. Marvelous, isn’t it?”

當時，倫敦步槍旅的19歲二等兵亨利·威廉姆森(Henry Williamson)從前線給母親寫了一封信。信中寫道，“我嘴裏的菸斗是英國製造的。裏面的菸草可是德國的。哈哈，你可能會說，你是從俘虜那裏得到的，或者是在被佔領的戰壕裏找到的。哦，親愛的，不是！我是從一位德軍士兵那裏得到的。是的，是從一位活着的德軍士兵的戰壕裏得到的。很不可思議，是吧？”威廉姆森後來從戰爭中生還，成了一位作家。

Other letters, published in The Times of London, alluded to the game or games that broke out. Some suggest that they were kick-abouts, mainly between English soldiers using made up balls — some say a can of corned beef served as a substitute.

《泰晤士報》公佈的其他信件提到了那場，以及許多場足球賽。有些信件表明，比賽主要是在英軍士兵之間進行，只是隨便踢着玩，球是自制的——有人說是用一罐鹹牛肉當球。

Fewer accounts came from the German side, although Richard Schirrmann wrote the following December that his regiment, which was holding a position in the hills of occupied Belgium, received a request from Belgian troops to be allowed to send letters to their families. “Something fantastically unmilitary occurred,” Schirrmann reported. “German and French troops spontaneously made peace and ceased hostilities. They visited each other and exchanged wine, cognac and cigarettes for Westphalian black bread, biscuits and ham.”

德國那邊的記錄更少，不過理查德·席爾曼(Richard Schirrmann)在翌年12月寫道，他所在的團駐紮在被佔領的比利時山區的一個據點，他們收到比利時軍隊的一項請求，要求允許比利時軍人給家人寫信。席爾曼報告說：“發生了一些違反軍規的事，真是難以置信。德軍和法軍自發講和，停止敵對。他們互相訪問，用葡萄酒、白蘭地和香菸交換威斯特伐利亞黑麪包、餅乾和火腿。”

Schirrmann survived the war and set up the German Youth Hostel Association in 1919.

席爾曼從戰爭中生還，1919年創立了德國青年旅社協會。

By the following Christmas, the truce was banned under threat of a court marshal for any soldier on either side who dared to fraternize with the enemy.

到下一個聖誕節，休戰被禁止了，雙方任何士兵膽敢與敵軍親近，都將面臨軍事審判。

The story of the Christmas Truce, and soccer’s part in it, became gilded over the decades. It is implausible, but not impossible, that any soldier smuggled a leather ball — or even the inflatable pig’s bladder inside the casing — to the trenches. But that is how it has become depicted in accounts fictionalized and made more beautiful.

多年以來，聖誕休戰的故事以及其中的足球賽被美化了。某個士兵偷偷在戰壕裏藏了個皮球或者充氣豬脬球——這難以置信，但並非不可能。不過後來這個事件被演繹得更像小說，更美好了。

Robert Graves, the British poet and writer, in 1962 reconstructed a story of the event, with Germany’s 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment taking on what he called Scottish troops. In Graves’s account, the Germans won, 3-2.

1962年，英國詩人、作家羅伯特·格雷夫斯(Robert Graves)根據這個事件虛構了一個故事，在這個故事裏，德軍第133皇家撒克遜團和他所稱的蘇格蘭軍隊比賽。在格雷夫斯的故事裏，德軍贏了，比分是3比2。

In the match between the British and German army teams last week in Aldershot, the British won, 1-0.

上週在奧爾德肖特舉辦的英軍和德軍比賽中，英軍贏了，比分是1比0。

Soccer and war have intersected again over the past century. Perhaps the most evocative of triumphs was strife-torn Iraq emerging as the winner of the 2007 Asian Cup that was played across four countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

在過去一個世紀裏，足球和戰爭再次交織在一起。也許最令人難忘的勝利是2007年被戰火撕裂的伊拉克奪得亞洲盃冠軍，那年的亞洲盃決賽階段在四個國家舉行：印度尼西亞、馬來西亞、泰國和越南。

Soccer can indeed survive hostilities. But only at Christmastime will a story be believed that both sides would put down their arms to meet in No Man’s Land. A beautiful memory, made more beautiful in the subsequent years of man’s imagination.

足球的確能戰勝敵意。但只有在聖誕節，兩軍放下武器在無人區會面的故事纔會有人相信。這個美妙的故事在之後這些年人們的想像中變得更加美好。