100 years since the end of the war to end all wars

Editor's note

On Sunday, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we will pause to mark 100 years since the armistice that brought an end to the first world war. As Romain Fathi writes, the armistice in 1918 ended the carnage that had raged since August 1914, killing more than 10 million combatants and 6 million civilians.

Since then, Armistice Day – Remembrance Day – has been marked in many countries every year. But as we move further from the first world war, the way we are doing so has changed, including remembering those who have died in more recent wars.

As we remember the sacrifices made in the “war to end all wars”, writes Rick Sarre, it’s also time we remembered – and honoured – those who argued against it, including in anti-conscription rallies and as conscientious objectors.

And in our Friday essay, Margaret Hutchison considers how Australia’s war art scheme helped shape national mythologies of the first world war. Unlike similar schemes in Britain and Canada, she writes, no women artists here were invited to paint aspects of the war; nor was the war experience at home considered a worthy subject for artists.

Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society

Top story

A crowd at Martin Place, Sydney, celebrates the news of the signing of the Armistice on November 11 1918. Australian War Memorial

100 years since the WWI Armistice, Remembrance Day remains a powerful reminder of the cost of war

Romain Fathi, Flinders University

This year marks 100 years since the fighting stopped in the first world war. The commemoration of the armistice, Remembrance Day, remains potent but is also changing with the times.

An anti-conscription rally in Melbourne, 1916. Heritage Council of Victoria

It’s time Australia’s conscientious objectors of WW1 were remembered, too

Rick Sarre, University of South Australia

It's time the Australians who voiced vociferous opposition to war in general and conscription in particular were commemorated as an important part of our history.

Will Dyson sketching close to the German lines on the Western Front, 29 May 1918. AWM E02439

Friday essay: how Australia’s war art scheme fed national mythologies of WW1

Margaret Hutchison, Australian Catholic University

Australian authorities sent artists to the WW1 battlefields to interpret and commemorate war. But unlike similar schemes in Britain and Canada, ours neglected the war experience at home and the perspective of women artists.

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