Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1870-09-22
How AIsace was lost to Germany.

GefmaDy lost AlSace ana bOtnrlDgtS Dy
the treachery and weakness of her rulers.
The first cities lost were Metz, Tull (foul)
and VIrten (Verdunt, all three, n,verthe-
less, national French cities, through the
treason of the Elector MoIitz of Sayony.
They were ceded TO France at the peace of
Westphalia, after attempts had been made
by the German Emperor to win them
back. Germany does not desire these
cities sgain; they are French in language
and character. and as such they may re-
main. But with Alsaco ard German Loth-
ringia, Germany will do her best to win
back these lost possessions. Alsace was
lost thus: During the Thirty Years War
Germany was the battlefield for all
Europe. The Catholic Emperor brought
Spanish and Slave soldiers; the Protest
ants were aided by Sweden, the Danes and
the French. At the peace of Westphalia
France demanded, as compensation for
the aid given, the entire German Alsace-
then purely German and the peace docu-
ment reads: ''The House of Austria cedes
tho city of Breisach, the landgrayiates Up
per and Lower Alsace, the Sundgau. and
the Jurisdiction over the ten FREQ cities in
Alsace, namely: Hagenau, Colmar, SchIetts-
tadt, Weissenburg, Landau, Oberehnhiem,
helm. All shall be Incorporated with the
crown of France. and the Emperor and
Empire (German) shall have no Iurther
claims upon this land"
The ten free cities, however, lost their
freedom Immediately, for in 1874, in time
OF peace. France took them by force OF
arms. Colmar Was taken after great resist
ance; in 1877 Lacrosse plundered the city
Of nht1rr off .1e. no 1o..
Hagenau in ashes, burning up with the city
women and children. Thus one city and
the other Was burned; and thus they were
made French, in spite of their desire to
remain German. The rest OF Alsatia fell
prey 10 the rapacious Louis XIV, in the
year 1851, in a time of profound peace
Strasburg was one of the last Alsatian
cities to give in; the French be.
sieged the city with forty thousand men;
leopold l., who then sat on tho German
throne, being threatened BY the Turks,
could render no assistance: and finally the
c'ty gave up further resistance. Louis
XIV. had promised TO allow the Strasburg
ers TO retain many Of their liberties; but
his first acts were to rob the Protestants
of their churches. and to give the cathedral
to the Bishop Of Zabern, one of the great
est traitors to his country. Thus the whole
OF Alsace was lost. Lothringia soon fel
prey TO France. Only the northeastern
portion is now inhabited by Ger
mans. In 1888 the land was given to the
Polish King Stanislaus, the father-in-law
of King Louis Nv, who resided until 176t
in NaDzig (Nancy) and Lunstadt Q,une
yille). After his death ii fell To the French
empire. Thus the two entire province,
were lost through treachery and force O.
arms. The Germans wished to recover
these lost territories at the end of the war
of liberation, bus Russia and Austria in
tervened IN favor of France, and only Ian
dau. with few other places, were givef
back 10y the treaty of 1916.
GERMANS AND FRENCH IN ArsAcE.
There thus fell into the hands OF the
French, exclusive of the French popula
tien, two hundred and thirty square Ger
,nau miles OF purely German district, con.
tanning 1, 1863. 900 German Inhabitants -,
district as large as the present Grand
Duchy oi Baden. And though over cen
tury has gone since Aisace and Lothringis
were entirely lost TO Germany, the celebrat
ed s.atisiician Bokh lin "Der Deutscher
Volsszshl und Sprachgebiet in den Eufo
paischen Staaten," Berlin, 1862 calcu
lates that in these lands, previously Ger
man, there are still living 1918, 96l Ger
mans. 1t liz fact that the
French language, Notwithstanding tha
ever since 1857 ii has been the language o
the schools, has made no real progress
The large cities, wherever tho railroads
and the official departments arc found
have naturally been FreDchifed; but, il
the villages, and especially among th,
| fl,xV sctr III.
language which the people use in theil
own homes. The Alsation peasant doe
mt speak French TO his wife, and hii
children do not know word of it until j
is forced into them at school. Ever
in Strasburg, itself, as every traveller
knows, the people are half German in thei
habits. In the cities the feeling towards
annexation with Germany is hostile. Ii
the valleys, among tho villages and til,
peasants, thsre is also a real dislike Il
Germany, though the traveller would hard
ly know that he was outside of Bavaria o
Baden. This dislike of Germany is his
torical, Alsace was lost to Germany at
period when the effects of the Thirt,
Years War were oppressive to Germany
the empire had been cut up into multi
tude of petty states, the rulers OF which ex
ercised almost absolcte power within tlei
own territories. The Alsatiana made NJ
some of the brsvest among the troops O
Louis XIV, and soon began to share tn
glories of their new kingdom. Under tn
German Empire the peasants mad beel
little better than serfs; while un
der France they attained to nu
merous privileges they had pre-
viously not known, and in this respec
were better off than the peasants of the re
naming departments of France. Alsac
furnished the bravest contingent to Ns
poleon's army. Kleber, Lefebre aud othe
renowned generals were her children, an
shared in the glory of the French arms ii
the fall OF Napoleon. Germany durin
J this time was split up into numerous prir
cipalities, and was at the lowest stage i
her history; while Napoleon had been tai
ing care in the intervals of war to devele
the industries of all parts of his country
THUS were various influences at work cor
stantly estTanging Alsace from the mothe
country. producing finally the feeling ths
is now met with in this previously Gcrma
land. N 7. Post