World War I historical reenactments are theatrical performances about WWI, also known as The Great War, that can educate and entertain spectators and participants of all ages.
Like other battle reenactments, those depicting WWI require countless hours of historical research, weapons training, replica prop building, and event planning to ensure an accurate presentation of these historic times.
The Great War Association
Supporting the effort of keeping World War I historical reenactments accurate and keeping this important military history alive is the Great War Association, a group of military history enthusiasts focused on honoring those who fought in WWI and keeping their efforts and sacrifices alive today.
The organization, which has member military units based all over America and the world, focuses on creating detailed, accurate World War I battle reenactments and has become a great resource for those interested in World War I historical reenactments of all kinds.
Retelling The Brutality of World War I
The Great War is considered by many involved in battle reenactments and living history presentations to be the “reenactor’s reenactment” based on the idea that most participating in these reenactments do it for more historical reasons than to market performance to the public.
WWI history is brutal and overall, everybody dies;, which in itself can make these reenactments more controversial for performing for public audiences.
This is the main reason why most World War 1 historical reenactments designed to portray the actual history are done privately, organized by groups like the GWA.
The people involved in these reenactments strive to honor the sacrifices made by those who fought the war above all and do so in the most realistic way for the greatest appreciation.
The Great War Events
The GWA even goes to the length of organizing World War I battle reenactments with different units and armies representing the different countries involved in The Great War, with events planned in historically recreated trenches and battlefields throughout the U.S.
For these reenactors, telling the whole story as it happened in the past, regardless of “political correctness” as it is considered today, is the main goal.
To these reenactors and historians, the best story to tell is the true story, even though it involves showing the war from both sides of the trenches with participants playing roles as Allies and Central Powers forces.
See The Big Picture of The Great War
Of all the wars and all the war and battle reenactments performed in America and throughout the world, those organized by members of the Great War Association are some of the most grisly and most accurate.
Still, there is a great deal to learn from these remarkable living history performances, about different points of view, how different forces participated in World War I, and most importantly, that sacrifice was made on all sides.
World War I historical reenactments organized by the Great War Association are some of the best!