 Richard <unk> , who was in a German regiment holding a position on the <unk> , one of the mountains of the Vosges , wrote an account of events in December 1915 : " When the Christmas bells sounded in the villages of the Vosges behind the lines ..... something fantastically <unk> occurred . German and French troops spontaneously made peace and ceased hostilities ; they visited each other through disused trench tunnels , and exchanged wine , cognac and cigarettes for Westphalian black bread , biscuits and ham . This suited them so well that they remained good friends even after Christmas was over . " He was separated from the French troops by a narrow No Man 's Land and described the landscape as : " <unk> with shattered trees , the ground ploughed up by shellfire , a wilderness of earth , tree @-@ roots and tattered uniforms . " Military discipline was soon restored , but <unk> pondered over the incident , and whether " thoughtful young people of all countries could be provided with suitable meeting places where they could get to know each other . " He went on to found the German Youth Hostel Association in 1919 . 
