Alsace to the Alsatians? by Christopher J. Fischer

Author:Christopher J. Fischer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781845458065
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Planning for the Future

Throughout the war, Alsace’s leaders not only worried about the impact of the conflict, but also had to peer through the fog of war to plan for the eventual disposition of the region. Alsatian leaders exiled in Paris acted with an unwavering vision; France would reclaim its lost province and reintegrate Alsace into the French state. For Alsatian leaders in Germany, the future remained shrouded by the vicissitudes of war and the indecision of German authorities. Moreover, the changing conditions of the war, especially in the waning stages of the conflict, made the political calculus of Alsatian leaders all the more variable as they had to decide whether to side with a collapsing Germany, declare quasi-independence, or simply await the outcome of the war and peace negotiations.

Beginning in 1915, Alsatian leaders in Paris such as Emile Wetterlé, Daniel Blumenthal, and Anselm Laugel participated in a commission, the Conférence d’Alsace-Lorraine, to organize French control of Alsace during the war and the return of the two regions to France thereafter. The question of the reclamation of the regions never stood in doubt. It was an avowed goal of the French government and only grew in importance as the war progressed. Likewise, the members of the commission, especially the Alsatian representatives, never wavered in their belief that their long-sought goal, l’Alsace française, would be realized at war’s end.

The bulk of the commission’s work focused on such fundamental yet complex questions as the transition from German to French rule, which would necessitate easing Alsatians from the German legal and financial system to the French legal code. While important, it was other issues—administration, the religious question, and schools—that proved more contentious both within the Conference and in Alsace after the war. On a number of substantive issues, nearly unanimous agreement existed. For example, the Alsatian representatives all pushed for swift incorporation of Alsace into France after the war to avoid any transitional situation that might encourage notions of Alsatian autonomy—let alone the idea of a plebiscite—which could in turn allow the expression of anti-French or pro-German sentiments. Moreover, all concurred that Germans residing in Alsace should, in general, be expelled, though those married to Alsatians or wishing to naturalize might have the chance to stay. The representatives also pushed for the retention of German social laws until they could be squared with French law; representatives feared the immediate repeal of the more comprehensive German laws would cause a backlash against the French. And they all agreed that the “customs and traditions” of Alsace should be respected, although what this would mean in practice was never precisely defined.99

Alsatian representatives also delved into other potential sources of awkwardness between the “lost sisters.” Schools presented one area of concern. All the members of the commission believed that French language instruction should be immediately introduced; some representatives also pressed for allowing education in German to remain as well, if for no other reason than to avoid appearing “less liberal than German legislation.”100 More contentiously, Blumenthal pushed for the implementation of “French laws of free, obligatory, and lay primary education.

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