Alsace-Lorraine

Alsace-Lorraine

The people of Alsace-Lorraine were caught in a tug of war game between Germany and France from 1871 to 1919. When the Treaty of Frankfurt officially established the German Empire’s control of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871 the people were suddenly imposed with Germanization. The German government proclamation concerning the conditions of the Treaty of Frankfurt in 1871 explained that Alsace had been restored to its rightful place, the newly founded German Empire. The Germans opinion was that France had tried to suppress the German language and German culture in Alsace, therefore it was Germany’s “national duty” to wean the people from the French. However, King Lois XIV reign of Alsace-Lorraine from 1641 to 1715 established strong citizen loyalty and identity to France. As Germany began attempts to suppress the Alsace’s cultural identity with France, the citizens retaliated with small steps of defiance. Jean-Jacques Waltz’s “The History of Alsace As Told to Small Children by Uncle Hansi” child’s book illustrates a German police officer taking note of barbershops sign illegally printed in French rather then German. Published in 1916 during World War I, this is the climax of Germany’s suppression of Alsace’s national identity; this Barber’s sign in French represents the citizen’s defiance to Germany’s attempted assimilation. German’s efforts to create an identity in Alsace-Lorraine was doomed, Prussian Prime minister in 1870 before Alsace fell into German hands stated that Metz was French and will be a hotbed of disaffection for a long time to come. He explains that Alsace-Lorraine formally governed by France will be difficult to impose new identities on. From 1870 to 1919 German suppression and French defiance fueled the fight for cultural and national identity in Alsace-Lorraine, through methods of terrorizing, censorship, and spoken language alliance.

After the Treaty of Frankfurt the German Empire’s rule commenced, they began attempts to change Alsace’s national and cultural identity, by trying to Germanize it. A German Government report in 1879 calculated the Dominant Language spoken in Lorraine, Lower Alsace, Upper Alsace, measuring by the number of communities and percentage of district population who spoke French, German, or neither language. As this report was issued by the German government in it’s early stages of reign over Alsace-Lorraine it is most likely skewed to favor Germany’s attempts to assimilate the Alsace’s to German national identity and promote success in their efforts. According to the governments results German is the most spoken language in Lorraine, lower Alsace, upper Alsace, and in the total count, giving the impression of Germany’s dominance over France and any other country. Germany continued it’s effort to create a strong national and cultural identity in Alsace through stronger imposing acts. Thirty three years after the governments report on the languages spoken in Alsace The president of the nationalist Pan-German League in “If I Were Kaiser” declared stronger German control on Alsace’s cultural identity liberty. He demanded it necessary that every adult declare publicly that the French language will not be used in the home, or in public, and that no newspapers, periodicals, or books are brought in from France. The consequence for refusing the obligation would be leaving the country because they would be considered to have opted against the German Empire. Further, more teaching in public schools were required to be in entirely German. Despite the attempts to quash French influence, it is stated that in Alsace-Lorraine the number of French speakers grew constantly since 1871 in resistance towards Germany’s attempts to control their national identity. Therefore these harsh steps of censorship are most likely part of Germans establishment of control and power over Alsace-Lorraine and a further effort in creating a national identity with Germany versus France. A newspaper article from Berlin in 1915 accused the Alsatian women of lacking close attachment to the German nationality, language, literature, and history. This German article is extremely hostile towards the Franco-Alsatian culture and feels as though it is smothering German culture. In 1915 the German Empire was only four years away from the Treaty of Versailles where France will regain Alsace and Lorraine territory. Therefore Germany’s frustration and resentment towards the citizens for culturally and nationally identifying themselves with France was strong at this time.

The people of Alsace-Lorraine developed a natural cultural identity with France during the entire period of King Louis XIV reign. In the Declaration to the French National Assembly, presented by Alsatian deputies themselves,