Alsace-Lorraine

Background

The will of a people has nothing to do with the distribution of its soil. [German historian von] Treitschke well defined German doctrine in speaking of Alsace-Lorraine: "We Germans who know Germany and France, know better what suits the Alsatians than the unfortunates themselves. In the perversion of their French life, they have no exact idea of what concerns Germany." [The 1871 pamphlet from von Tretschke is alternatively translated by University of Wisconsin professor, Barry Cerf, as saying, "We Germans who know Germany and France, know better what is good for Alsace than the unhappy people themselves, who through their French associations have lived in ignorance of the new Germany."]