Language, culture, and people of Alsace-Lorraine

Language, Culture, and People of Alsace-Lorraine

Cultural Arguments for French Nationalism in Alsace-Lorraine

• Historically, French was the language of Lorraine.

• While Alsatians spoke German, they considered themselves French and different from the Scwobe (Swabians) of Southwestern Germany despite similar customs and dialects shared by the two groups.

• On August 4, 1789, during the French Revolution, the people of Alsace-Lorraine enthusiastically swore their allegiance to France at the National Assembly.

• Men from Alsace and Lorraine fought for France in both the French Revolution and in the Napoleonic Wars.

• In the 1870s, La Ligue d'Alsace was created to maintain cultural ties with France after annexation.

Compare sample Alsatian words and phrases with French!

Cultural Arguments for German Nationalism in Alsace-Lorraine

• Alsatians were linked to the Swiss and to Baden Germans by shared race, language, and culture.

• Annexation strengthened cultural ties between France and the newly-unified German states, especially Baden, Württemburg, and Palatine of the Rhine in Western Germany.

•Germany was the language of religion for both Protestants and Catholics in Alsace-Lorraine.

•Germany was historically the mother-tongue of Alsatians: in 1789 the Revolutionary Declarations had been translated into German for Alsace by the National Assembly.

•In 1900 86.8% of those living in Alsace-Lorraine spoke German. (Harp, Stephen. Learning to be Loyal: primary schooling as nation building in Alsace and Lorraine. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 1998.) Prior to 1850 the majojrity of Alsace spoke German as well.

• Marriages, business deals, and vacations between Alsace-Lorraine and Germany demonstrated strong cultural rapport connecting the regions.

		*Language, Culture, and People of Alsace-Lorraine*

The identity of a people group is never easy to define: nationality, religion, class, race, and political affiliation all go into making up the identity of individuals and groups. In the region of Alsace-Lorraine, the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the subsequent annexation of the region by Germany made identity of those who lived in the region particularly difficult to define. Both France and Germany claimed the people as their own, and created contrasting arguments for either French or German cultural nationalism in Alsace-Lorraine. Each nation relied on language as the primary means for identifying and ensuring national loyalty to itself. This idea, that a common language is an integral part of the definition of nationalism, only began to be adopted in the early 19th century: "in 1815 no European state, including France, had established linguistic and cultural uniformity within its borders, and Alsatians generally saw no paradox between their Germanic language and culture and their French citizenship." (Harvey, David A. Constructing Class and Nationality in Alsace, 1830-1945. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 2001.) Prior to 1850 France had believed that one could be French without speaking French, as long as they, in the words of Napoleon "fight in French" (cited in Harvey, 2001).