Published on 11 October 2018
The end of the First World War is to be commemorated with a thought-provoking conference at the University of Sunderland reflecting on some of the key issues which influenced the global conflict.
The one-day conference: Propaganda, Revolution and Victory, takes place on Saturday, October 13, 9am-4pm, in Hope Street Xchange, City Campus, Sunderland.
Hosted by the University’s School of Culture to commemorate 100 years since the end of one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history (1918-2018), keynote speakers will include Peter Hart (author of The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front 1918) and Taylor Downing (author of Secret Warriors: Key Scientists, Code Breakers and Propagandists of the Great War).
As part of the conference there will also be three exhibitions available to view: John Buchan Director of Intelligence 1918 (The John Buchan Story Museum Peebles), Finding the Women: German Revolutionaries 1918/19 (University of Leeds) and Sunderland and the Great War (Sunderland Antiquarian Society).
Steve Watts, head of the School of Culture, says: “We are delighted to be hosting this conference. Most people will know somebody with connections to that terrible conflict and our conference intends to acknowledge the stories of those who endured, suffered and led us to victory on November 11th 1918.
“The School of Culture has an excellent record of working with the community and this conference is open to the public and free so that we can all share in marking this momentous event. The conference also looks to address what happened immediately after the war in both Britain and Germany and reminds us that the struggle on the Western Front and other theatres of war might have ended that November, but there was still a great deal of conflict at home as the soldiers returned and the peace still needed to be won.”
The conference coincides with Sunderland's annual Literature Festival, celebrating the city's rich literary talent with local authors, local artists and local themes. The festival is organised by Sunderland Libraries Services in partnership with the School of Culture, and begins on Friday 28 September and runs through until Saturday 3 November 2018.
Propaganda, Revolution and Victory is FREE to attend, but you will need to book a place through Eventbrite.
For more information go to http://bit.ly/UoS-1918-2018or download the conference programme.
For more information about the School of Culture and updates on the conference, please visit the School of Culture blog.
World War One facts
- World War One had more than 70 million soldiers involved over a four-year period.
- Over nine million soldiers lost their lives.
- Approximately 16,000 British conscientious objectors refused to fight during the war
- 12 million letters were delivered to the front every week
- WW1 sparked the invention of plastic surgery as shrapnel was the cause of many facial injuries. Horrified by the injuries he saw, surgeon Harold Gillies, took on the task of helping victims and pioneered early techniques of facial reconstruction in the process.
- The map of Europe was redrawn due to the war. Germany was forced to give up territory to several other countries including Belgium and Czechoslovakia.
- After the war the League of Nations was formed to help avoid future large scale conflicts. With World War Two beginning a few decades later it was unsuccessful.
- The War saw state intervention into the lives of its citizens and paved the way for what emerged as the Welfare State in 1948
- The end of World War One laid the seeds for World War Two. The treatment of Germany after the war led to conditions that allowed fascism to rise and eventually for the Nazis and Adolf Hitler to gain power.