 In the 1933 play Petermann schließt Frieden oder Das Gleichnis vom deutschen Opfer ( Petermann makes peace : or , the parable of German sacrifice ) , written by Nazi writer and World War I veteran Heinz Steguweit ( German ) , a German soldier , accompanied by Christmas carols sung by his comrades , erects an illuminated Christmas tree between the trenches , but is shot dead by the enemy . Later , when the fellow soldiers find his body , they notice in horror that enemy snipers have shot down every single Christmas light from the tree . 
