World pays tribute to World War I fallen

For the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France appeared together at a ceremony Wednesday to commemorate the end of the conflict, saying it is now time to celebrate their countries' reconciliation and friendship.

"French-German friendship is sealed with blood," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said under the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe, site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel together laid a wreath of flowers at the tomb and symbolically relit the perpetual flame above it to mark the 91st anniversary of the end of World War I.

"This small flame is also ... the flame of hope," Sarkozy said.

The bold departure from traditional Armistice Day commemorations came two days after Sarkozy traveled to Germany to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"One must learn to rise above one's history," Merkel said in a speech. "What happened cannot be forgotten, but there is a force that can help us ... the force of reconciliation."

Tens of millions of civilians and soldiers were killed during what was labeled the Great War between Germany and allied nations France, Britain and its former colonies, including the United States, Australia and Canada.

Other nations that were hard hit by World War I, notably Britain and Belgium, also were marking Armistice Day. Services were also held in cities across Australia, and Veterans Day events were held in the United States.

Two minutes of silence
Britain held its first Armistice Day service at Westminster Abbey since the deaths of Britain's last World War I veterans — Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and William Stone. The service recognized the contributions of both the armed forces and civilians.

People across the country paused for the traditional two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. — as did the Bank of England, which interrupted its news conference on its quarterly economic update, an event closely watched by financial markets.

At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918 — the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — an armistice ended fighting on the Western Front, signed by the Allies and Germany in a railroad car outside Compiegne, north of Paris.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath of poppies on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in London's Westminster Abbey, where a service commemorating the war dead was held.

"We remember, with grief, the gas and the mud, the barbed wire, the bombardment, the terror ... and with gratitude, the courage and sacrifice," John Hall, the Dean of Westminster, said while opening the service.

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