Imagine Armistice in Chicago: 11/11 A Day Dedicated to Peace

November 11, A Day Dedicated to Peace

Allies and Germany put into effect an armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month to end World War I in 1918. November 11 was designated as Armistice Day “a day dedicated to the cause of world peace and hereafter celebrated.” After WW2, the U.S. Congress named 11/11 “Veterans Day” and the day has morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war. The Chicago Chapter of Veterans For Peace reclaim 11/11 as a day dedicated to peace, to bring together those who are working to stop all forms of violence and share their work with the community.

On Monday November 11th for the national holiday, a panel of community groups, individuals and youth will come together and share the work they do to stop all forms of violence – guns, police, sexual, racial, nationalistic, domestic, military.

Over one hundred years ago, Jane Addams founded the American Women’s Peace Party to oppose World War I, which became the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF). Jane Addams Hull-House Museum’s current exhibition True Peace: the Presence of Justice commemorates Jane Addam’s peace efforts and explores what fighting for peace looks like today.