Tudor has a famous work, The Last Lesson, about the cessation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, and the prohibition of learning French in local schools. This article is a work full of patriotism, mobilizing the national feelings of the French people after the defeat in the war through the French language. However, it has been suggested that what was said in Tudor's article was untrue, because there were many German speakers in Alsace-Lorraine, and the local people did not have such a strong sense of belonging to France. So, what are the facts of history?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Alsace-Lorraine before the Franco-Prussian War</h1>
The Alsace-Lorraine region has long been the focus of competition between France and Germany. France has been trying to reach and maintain its so-called "natural boundaries", namely the Pyrenees to the southwest, the Alps to the southeast, and the Rhine to the northeast. This strategic proposition led France to gradually annex the territory of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine.
In the 17th century, France gradually conquered the area of present-day Alsace under the rule of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, and the Lorraine region gradually fell into French hands from the reign of Henry II in the 16th century to Louis XV in the 18th century. So from this point of view, the Alsace-Lorraine region can indeed be said to have been taken by the French from the Germans. Nevertheless, the people of Alsace-Lorraine played an important role in the history of France, and the famous hero of French history, Joan of Arc, was a rural girl born in the Lorraine region. However, it was the French Revolution that gave the Alsace-Lorraine region a real sense of belonging to France.
Statue of Joan of Arc
In 1789, the French Revolution, which shocked Europe, broke out, and the French people raised the banner of freedom, equality and fraternity to attack the old system. In order to strangle the revolution in its cradle, feudal monarchs from other European countries invaded France. The combined Austrian and Prussian forces invaded the northeastern border of France, killing and looting along the way, which aroused strong resentment among the local people. Alsace-Lorraine is geographically close to the two countries, and as a result, even the German-speaking inhabitants are not spared.
At the call of the government, the French people took up arms to fight the enemy, and the Alsace-Lorraines defended their homeland and joined the National Guard in the heroic battle against foreign enemies. The original name of the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, was the Anthem of the Legion of the Rhine, which was first sung in the Alsace-Lorraine region.
After the Victory of Valmy, the Austro-Prussian army was driven out of France. In this crucial battle to save the French Revolution, the French commander, Kellerman of Alsace, was instrumental, and his troops were mainly made up of Alsace-Lorraines. This army later evolved into the German Legion and became the mainstay of Napoleon's southern conquests in the German region. Because of their hatred of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire, Alsace-Lorraine was once again plundered after the Invasion of France in 1814.
Battle of Valmy
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > second, ceding Alsace-Lorraine</h1>
In the middle of the 19th century, Prussia began the process of establishing a unified German nation-state. In 1864 and 1866, Prussia defeated the Kingdom of Denmark and the Austrian Empire, unifying much of Germany and stepping just one step away from completing the cause of unification. At that time, some states in southern Germany were not very enthusiastic about the cause of Prussia's unification, so Prussian Chancellor Bismarck decided to wage another war to stimulate the national feelings of the German people and promote the final completion of the cause of unification.
The enraged French Emperor Napoleon III declared war on Prussia, and Prussia took the opportunity to attack France, and the Franco-Prussian War broke out. In September 1870, the two countries fought a decisive battle in Sedan, and finally France was defeated, and the Franco-Prussian War ended in the victory of Prussia, and Prussia also completed the great cause of unification.
Napoleon III (left) and Bismarck (right)
In 1871, after the victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the newly formed German Empire demanded that France cede Alsace-Lorraine. This move is actually very controversial among Germans. Bismarck initially opposed this, believing it would lead to permanent Hostility towards Germany in France. However, the German Emperor Wilhelm I agreed to the proposal for France to cede Alsace-Lorraine, believing that Alsace-Lorraine would provide an important strategic buffer zone for France and Germany. In addition, the iron ore resources in the Alsace-Lorraine region are also very important. Thus, Germany and France signed the Treaty of Frankfurt, and Alsace-Lorraine was ceded to Germany, which led to Tudor's "Last Lesson".
Dude
After World War I, under the Treaty of Versailles, Alsace-Lorraine returned to the arms of France. Now, with the development of Franco-German reconciliation and European integration after World War II, the feud between France and Germany over Alsace-Lorraine has long been resolved.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" > third, Alsace-Lorraine's sense of belonging</h1>
So, what kind of national identity does the people of the Alsace-Lorraine region have? Is Tudor's lamentation of the people of Alsace-Lorraine, who broke away from their homeland, the truth of history? I think the answer should be yes, the people of Alsace-Lorraine already regarded themselves as French and Germans as occupiers and invaders.
Alsace-Lorraine was also once a territory occupied by France from the Holy Roman Empire, so why did the peoples of these two regions have a sense of identity with France? This has an important bearing on the Ideas of the French Revolution, which swept through europe, violently attacked the old European institutions, and fought against foreign enemies in order to defend the fruits of the revolution and their homeland. The same was true of the people of the Alsace-Lorraine region, who joined the French army in order to defend their homeland, and in the baptism of the Revolutionary Movement, the French identity of the people of Alsace-Lorraine was greatly enhanced.
French Revolution
In addition, the people of Alsace-Lorraine were given many opportunities for development and political rights during the Revolution. The French Revolution, with equality as one of its slogans, gave many people of civilian origin the opportunity to make meritorious achievements, many of whom achieved high social status through their efforts and talents during this period, as did the people of Alsace-Lorraine. For example, the French commander Kellermann mentioned above was an Alsatian. Of the 24 French marshals that Napoleon ennobled before 1814, the Alsace-Lorraine accounted for 1/8 of the total, considering that the population of the Alsace-Lorraine region was less than 2% of the total french population, it can be said that this proportion is quite high.
Marshal Ney from the Lorraine region
In the baptism of revolution and war, the political identity of the Alsatian-Lorraine people also began to gradually tilt towards France. It is also for this reason that when the French Republic was promoting the French language in the country in order to spread new ideas and arouse French national sentiments, the Alsace-Lorraine region did not impose measures to promote the French language, because it was already a revolutionary place and there was no need to force them to learn French. It was not until 1853 that France began to make French the only language of instruction in the Alsace region and limited the length of time german courses were taught.
This sense of identity did not disappear even after the German occupation, and the people of Alsace-Lorraine were largely second-class citizens in the German Empire, and the German government retained a large number of garrisons and police to monitor the area. Moreover, during World War I, Germany rarely recruited troops from the Alsace-Lorraine region, fearing that the Alsace-Lorraines would turn against each other on the battlefield.
Alsace-Lorraine today
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > Wen Shijun said</h1>
Although Tudor's The Last Lesson is only a literary work, the emotions and events expressed in it are also derived from reality. Although there are many people in the Alsace-Lorraine region who speak German rather than French, this does not change the fact that they identify themselves as French, and language is not the whole basis for national identity and identity, but more importantly, it depends on their performance. Even if a significant portion of the people of Alsace-Lorraine do not speak French, the patriotic sentiments they express prove that Tudor's work does not lie.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="29" > references</h1>
Andrew Roberts: Napoleon the Great, Social Science Literature Press, 2016.
Jeffrey Wavro, Franco-Prussian War: German Conquest of France from 1870 to 1871, translated by Lin Guorong, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2020.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi · Friends of ABC)
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