Alsace-Lorraine
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
al'sas-lor-ran', a province of the German Empire . It is situated on the west bank of the Rhine and touches also the Moselle. Area, 5,604 square miles. Population, 1,719,470. Under the name of Elsass-Lothringen it was originally a province of the old German Empire. It was ceded to France at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and formed a part of that country until the close of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. Alsace with a part of Lorraine was then demanded as a part of traditional German territory. During the two hundred years of French occupation, it is claimed, German continued to be the language of the people in the greater part of the province. Newspapers were necessarily published in both languages. The populace was reluctant to sever relations with France. Although the German speaking inhabitants outnumbered the French four to one, 50,000 people left their homes and went into exile rather than become subjects of Germany. It is claimed that the great body of the people, having been well treated, are now reconciled to German schools, German rule, quiet, and prosperity. A garrison of 74,000 men is maintained at Metz. Strasburg, with a population of 167,000, its famous cathedral, wonderful clock, and a university, is the capital and chief city. The province is productive. Wheat, oats, rye, barley, tobacco, grapes, vegetables, and wine are produced in great abundance. Rich mines yield iron and coal. Pasture and meadow afford dairy products. One-third of the province is in productive forests. Manufactures of iron, cotton, wool, silk, glass, paper, and chemicals employ a considerable part of the population. See Strasburg ; Germany
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Aiton's wrote this in 1910 the region was "a province of the German Empire" whose people were said to be "reconciled to German schools, German rule." It returned to France under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940 — with tens of thousands of Alsatian men conscripted into the Wehrmacht as the malgré-nous — and has been French since 1944-45. The border is now open and unguarded, and Strasbourg, the "capital and chief city" of 167,000, was chosen after the war as the seat of the Council of Europe and later the European Parliament, precisely as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation. The Germanic dialect that Aiton's said outnumbered French four to one has declined steeply, spoken now mainly by older residents; Alsace itself lost its status as a separate French region in 2016, folded into the larger Grand Est.
Written for this edition, 2026.