A moment's silence...

[nudemetalz]

..at 11.11am today in memory of Armistice Day.

Lest we forget our brave relatives that fought in the Great War.

[EJK]

[Ronin]

..........

[Smifffy]

They shall grow not old,
as we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning;
We will remember them.

[Bald Eagle]

we shall remember them

[RidingHard]

..........

[Oakie]

As I pondered on it this morning at 11 am I reflected somewhat on the fact that the conditions of the armistice (which allowed for the Treaty of Versailles in 1919) were responsible for the environment which lead to WWII. It signalled the end of one war and eventually made a second one almost inevitable.

from Wiki:
In January 1921, the total sum due was decided by an Inter-Allied Reparations Commission and was set at 269 billion gold marks (the equivalent of around 100,000 tonnes of pure gold), about £13 billion or US$64 billion ($778 billion in 2010), a sum that many economists at the time deemed to be excessive. The yearly amount paid was reduced in 1924 and in 1929 the total sum to be paid was reduced by over 50%. Payments ceased when Adolf Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party seized power in 1933, with about one-eighth of the initial reparations paid. The final payments were made on 4 October 2010, the twentieth anniversary of German reunification.

Apart from the financially crippling penalty, there was disputed land siezed (from my vague recollection of high school history 33 odd years ago) and also limitations on Germany's future military ability. The German population at large believed that it wasn't fair because they weren't responsible for the war. Perfect conditions for what became WWII not 21 years from Armistice Day.

Respect to all those from all nations who gave their lives believing it was for a just cause.