Annexation and Emigration in
Alsace-Lorraine 1871-1872
and their influences
on French and German Nationalism in the Region
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Annexation and Emigration in Alsace-Lorraine 1871-1872 |
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and their influences
on French and German Nationalism in the Region
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| On May 10, 1871 when the French and German governments signed the Treaty of Frankfurt that formally ended the Franco-Prussian War and that included measures for the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany, French residents of the area were given until October 1, 1872 to choose whether they would emigrate to France and keep their French citizenship, or stay in Alsace-Lorraine (now Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen) and have their nationality legally change to German. By 1876, 100,000 residents of the annexed region had emigrated to France. | ||||||||||||||||
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Economic Significance of Emigation from Alsace-Lorraine: An example from the manufacturing city of Bischwiller. (data from Rose, J. Holland. The Origins of the War. New York and London: The Knickerbocker Press, 1918.) |
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1871
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after emigration
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# Cloth manufacturers ___________ |
96
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21
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| # Looms |
2,000
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650
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Military Significance of Annexation of Alsace-Lorraine: 250,000 Alsatians fight for Germany in WWI. (Glazier, Kate. "Problems of Collaboration in Alsace" in War and Society in twentieth-century France, Eds. Michael Scriven and Peter Wagstaff. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.) |
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German Perspectives on the Annexation & Emigration |
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French Perspectives on the Annexation and Emigration |
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The Germans proffered the option of emigration to residents of the renamed Reichsland, but for those who chose to stay in the annexed region, Germany immediately began a deliberate effort to instill German nationalism in the inhabitants of the region. Measures to promote German nationalism that were in effect in Elsaß-Lothringen in 1876: •French language proscribed. •Freedom of the press revoked. Germany used newspaper as a means of promoting the German interests by presenting the benefits of the annexation to the residents of Elsaß-Lothringen in an effort to direct public sentiments away from French nationalism and toward German nationalism.. •German newspapers reported that: 1. Old German ways were being revived in the newly annexed territory. 2. University of Strasbourg had been established. 3. A steamboat service had been established. |
How did the people who had been living in Alsace-Lorraine prior to annexation feel? •Bourgeoisie: had participated in French politics; considered themselves French. •Rural/urban popular: men who had served in the French army felt loyalty to France. •Those people who chose to stay in Alsace-Lorraine did not necessarily support German nationalism. Economic situations, i.e., not being able to afford to emigrate, or uncertainty about the availability of employment in France forced many families whose loyalties belonged to France to stay in Alsace-Lorraine and take on the imposed German nationality. |
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