The invasion of Alsace Lorraine by the German Empire (1870-1918)

Résumé du document

The regions of Alsace-Lorraine shaped the relationship between France and Germany ever since its integration in the German Empire in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war of 1871, and until its recovery by the Third Republic of France in 1918. During this period from 1871 to 1918, both sides argued in a passionate climate about the recurrent question: are Alsatians and Lorrains German or French? There was of course an economical interest of both countries to possess these regions as regards to the importance of iron and steel industry in Lorraine by instance. However, the heart of the "Alsace Lorraine question" is mostly symbolic. Indeed, Alsace and Lorraine were an important political symbol for societies and governments on both sides of the Rhine.

On the one hand, the integration of Alsace and Lorraine permitted to glorify and legitimate the newly created German Empire in a pangermanist perspective. On the other hand, the desire for the recovery of these regions was used by French Third Republic leaders to heighten French nationalism and patriotism after a great humiliating defeat and another change of political regime.

Originally Alsace-Lorraine was a part of France where the Alsatian dialect, grammatically close to German, was spoken. During the Franco-Prussian war, though, those two regions were invaded by Prussia. In the wake of the French defeat, the Frankfort Treaty was signed the 10th of May 1871 .The integration of Alsace and Lorraine was of great symbolic importance for the new German Empire founded the 18th of January 1871 in Versailles and an important shift in the balance of power in Europe.

Extraits

[...] The goal was to distinguish Alsatians and Lorrains from ones, those who collaborated with Germans, who harbored sympathy for them, who denounced “good Alsatians”, etc. These events are barely erased from the collective memory. Conclusion. The Alsace-Lorraine question was a war of memory which shaped the relationship between France and the German Empire for decades. On both sides of the Rhine, Alsace and Lorraine became a symbol, an instrument of politics. For the German Empire as well as France, the issue was to unite their population around a new regime and so give it legitimacy. [...]

[...] The difficulty for Alsatians and Lorrains was to reconstruct a feeling of French identity after having been German for the most part of their lives. French troops were welcomed in Alsace and Lorraine like Liberators, but this had more to do with the end of war and the hope that Alsace Lorraine would not pay the price of military defeat while conforming to the French's expectations. For example, local authorities asked women to wear traditional regional costumes to greet the French soldiers. [...]

[...] Nationality in the French definition then depends not on ethnic criteria but on the will of populations to be part of the same society. Nation in his sense is plébiscite de tous les jours”. And indeed, Renan was in favor of the organization of a real referendum in Alsace and Lorraine to legitimate its recovery by France. Anyway, the new definition of nation were used during the First World War by French leaders to convince the national and international opinion that Alsace Lorraine should be restored to France. II. The reality of the situation in Alsace-Lorraine. [...]

[...] In the 1870s, the German historian Theodore Mommsen exposed the traditional German criteria to define the concept of nation, which were mostly ethnic and linguistic such as the blood, the race, the language. Mommsen's view was that people can't choose their nation just as they can't choose their own parents. Because people living in Alsace-Lorraine spoke German or German dialect, they were German. The French criteria began to differ sharply as the intellectuals redefined it to ensure that Alsace Lorraine would be considered as French. [...]

[...] The difficulties of Alsace and Lorraine under the German rule became even greater during the First World War. Alsatians and Lorrains were supposed to fight within the German army, but a part of them left to fight with French troops. In consequence, Alsatians and Lorrains were fighting against each other. Besides, during the conflict the regions were placed under a harsh military rule, with strict censorship and limited freedoms. B. Rise of French “revanchard” nationalism. After France lost the two regions in 1870, the popular emotional attachment to them grew from 1871 to 1918. [...]