Socialism and National Identity in Alsace from Reichsland to République, 1890-1921

Abstract

This article traces the evolution of socialism in Alsace through an analysis of socialist attitudes towards the nation and region. After Alsace’s annexation into Prussia in 1871, socialism in the province developed under the auspices of the German social democracy. This did a great deal to integrate Alsatian workers into a wider national political culture, while local militants retained the symbols and language of the French revolutionary tradition. Such flexibility eased the transition from German to French rule when the province was returned to France after the First World War. However, this flexibility also masked a range of contradictions in the socialist analysis. These contradictions meant that during the later years of annexation, during the War and the Revolution of 1918, the Alsatian socialist idea of the nation was still being shaped and contested. At the Tours Congress, the party’s militants explicitly stated their attitudes towards Alsace, France and Germany, yet the tensions resulting from their dual heritage were never satisfactorily resolved. The result was the clash of expectations, and of political cultures, which characterizes French governmental attempts to reintegrate its lost provinces. The discussion here addresses the evolution, articulation and application of Alsatian socialist attitudes towards nation and region as their province was transferred from German Reichsland to French République.

The view from the border: a comparative study of autonomism in Alsace and the Moselle, 1918–29

“…These divisions were a major factor in the party's split into SFIO and SFIC (Parti Socialiste: Section Française de l'Internationale Communiste, later the PCF). 46 The Bas-Rhin Federation was particularly affected: by 1921, the departmental Communist section had around 4000 members, a figure which dwarfed the Socialist membership of 1000. 47 After the split, the PCF maintained its analysis of French imperialism in the province.…”

The Origins of Common Identity: Division, Homogenization Policies and Identity Formation in Alsace-Lorraine

“…As part of the "Kulturkampf", government regulations restricted particular types of education (Silverman, 1966) and restrictions on the press were not lifted until 1898. The government also kept the French dictatorship paragraph of 1849 in force, that allowed house searches, expelling agitators and prohibiting political organizations (Carrol, 2010). In terms of public education policy, Strasbourg University was reopened as "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität" with the specific aim to replace regional traditions and assimilate the annexed region (Höpel, 2012).…”

“…Historical evidence clearly documents harsh measures to homogenize and suppress regional associations, parties or newspapers (Callender, 1927). Important pillars of these policies were also, among others, the denial of full democratic representation (Carrol, 2010), the continued use of an intrusive "dictatorship paragraph" by the Germans (Carrol, 2010), and the imposition of a Frenchness Commission after WWI , as well as restrictions on the use of local dialects (Callender, 1927) by the French government after WWI. More details are provided in, e.g., Carrol and Zanoun (2011); Höpel (2012); Rothenberger (1975) and Vajta (2013).…”

Les historiens anglophones et l’Alsace : une fascination durable

“…L'étude a mis en relief les interactions du régionalisme, du patriotisme et de l'internationalisme socialiste, et elle a aussi tenté de mettre en relief les différents aspects de la politique socialiste. Comment les socialistes alsaciens promeuvent le dialecte alsacien ou même la langue allemande 11 1� . Ce mouvement intellectuel a produit des études importantes sur la Bretagne, les Pyrénées, le monde flamand, mais l'Alsace reste la région française la plus étudiée par les historiens anglo-saxons 14 .…”