The Franco-German Identity of Alsace-Lorraine: A Literary Analysis

This work analyzes the Franco-German identity in the Alsace and Lorraine regions of France. I begin by tracing the dual Franco-German history in the region from the time of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century to the second World War, but putting an emphasis one time period between the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the first World War (1914-1918). I then look at two texts that deal with the question of language and identity in this region. The first is Alphonse Daudet's "La Dernière Classe" ("The Last Class") written in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war . The second text is Jean-Jacques Waltz's "Mon Village" ("My Village") written in the years immediately preceding the first world war. The authors own lives and how they shaped their writing is considered in addition to what they wrote in seeking to understand the identity of the Alsace-Lorrainers.