Historian Dan Snow received hate mail for debunking World War I 'myths'

Dan Snow, the historian, has revealed he received hate mail for attempting to debunk the "myths" about the First World War, as he argues glorifying its "awfulness and tragedy" belittles the service of every other British soldier.
Snow, the television broadcaster, said he was abused by angry members of the public after trying to establish the truth about the conflict.
Speaking at Chalke Valley History Festival, he told an audience that painting the First World War as the worst conflict in British history could serve to "belittle" all soldiers serving in other conflicts.
The reality, he said, was "bad enough", adding: "That's why we need to remember it correctly."
Snow claimed he had received "hate mail" from the public after publishing a list debunking ten popular "myths" about the First World War earlier this year.

Among the accepted "facts" he disputes are that notions that shellshock was ignored, that the Versailles Treaty was unnecessarily harsh and that troops were "lions led by donkeys".
There was little evidence for the existence of the famous Christmas truce football match, he added, while some soldiers actually "enjoyed" the war.
Snow added much of the hate mail had come from people who had "read their great-grandad's diary", a single source they took to heart but which contradicted the experience of the majority.
He now hopes to convince the public to stop considering the First World War as the biggest wartime tragedy in British history, saying to do so "belittles" the efforts of troops in Afghanistan and other conflicts.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10931918/Historian-Dan-Snow-received-hate-mail-for-debunking-World-War-I-myths.html

I think the poets put it well enough! WWI was responsible for an entire generation of classic literature on the horrors of war ...

"The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html