What about Alsace-Lorraine during WW2?
Because when you hear 'Alsace-Lorraine' you most will think of the Franco-Prussian War
where Alsace-Lorraine became part of the German Empire.
What happened in Alsace-Lorraine during WW2?
Did the Germans in WW2 re-annex the area?
Yes.
And was there any difference for the people living here and elsewhere in German-occupied
France?
Yes.
So, that's what we're gonna talk about today: Alsace during WW2.
What I call Alsace-Lorraine in this video is the territory France lost after the Franco-Prussian
War, retook after the First World War and what was re-annexed by Germany during the
Second World War.
This territory encompassed almost all of the Alsace region and over a quarter of the region
of Lorraine.
That's the area we're talking about.
A more accurate name would be Alsace-Moselle (Moselle, which is the northeastern part of
Lorraine).
In this video I'll mostly refer to it as Alsace since that was the bulk of the region.
When WW1 was over the short-lived Alsace-Lorraine Soviet Republic (1918) saw the light of day,
but was dissolved after the French forces moved in and the area was incorporated into
the French Republic.
Reintegrating the region into France wasn't an easy task.
German became a foreign language, and Alsatian was seen as a folk dialect.
The population had a hard time adjusting to French legislation and was soon confronted
with the economic and political problems of France.
Meanwhile the Maginot Line was built on the Franco-German border.
When France and Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, after Germany had invaded
Poland one third of the population of Alsace – from Strasbourg and the border cities
to the south-west of France – was evacuated.
In May 1940 the Germans launched Operation Fall Gelb and Fall Rot: the invasion of the
Benelux countries and France.
France was defeated and an armistice was signed.
Italy could annex some parts.
There was the pro-German puppet government of Vichy France.
The north-west of the country became German-occupied and Alsace was annexed to the Third Reich.
Robert Heinrich Wagner became the Gauleiter of Baden-Alsace and was at the head of the
civil administration.
He answered to Hitler directly.
The administrative system was copied from the German system.
Civil servants had to be re-educated to take part in the application of the Führerprinzip
('leader principle') prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the Government
of Nazi Germany.
Under pressure about one third of the population joined some of the branches in the Nazi party.
All what reminded of France was suppressed, such as language, books and names.
The Lorraine area (or Moselle) was added to Gau Westmark.
In July the people who were evacuated in 1939 could return except for the Jews.
Some 50,000 people were expelled.
Resistance was organised, first it was passive, but it become more and more active.
For example facilitating escape routes for those who wanted to get out of the reason.
I get to that in a second.
And later armed resistance took place, but this came with a risk.
Because if you were caught you'd be sent to a concentration camp.
Several concentration camps were set up in the region, such as the Schirmeck Camp and
Struthof where around 52,000 prisoners were held of which 22,000 died.
Concentration camp inmates originated from countries such as Poland, the USSR, the Netherlands,
France, Yugoslavia and Norway).
Since the region was annaxed by Germany, its inhabitants became German citizens and therefore
its man could be drafted in the German Army.
These men are referred to as Malgré-nous (French: "against our will").
Gauleiter Wagner demanded that Alsatians be drafted, but German commanders doubted the
reliability of Alsatian conscripts.
It happened after August 1942.
About 160,000 Alsatians and Mosellans were drafted into the German Army and served mostly
on the Eastern Front where 50,000 died.
Many others were POWed by the Soviets who did not see them als French citizens or unwilling
combatants.
Around 40,000 avoided the draft or deserted.
Some joined the French resistance; others tried to make it to Switserland.
But I read that this had nasty repercussions because the Nazis threatened that families
sent to work or concentration camps.
Not all of these men were victims:
“Twelve Alsatians formed part of the notorious Waffen-SS unit that committed the massacre
of French civilians at Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10, 1944.
They were tried and convicted by a French court for war crimes in 1953, but, as their
former commander remained in impunity in West Germany, they were subsequently pardoned.”
After the Normandy break-out in the Summer of 1944 the Western Allies quickly liberated
the most of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and the southern part of the Netherlands since
Operation Market Garden failed.
Strasbourg was liberated in November.
Mid-December the Germans launched a surprise counterattack in the Ardennes (Operation Wacht
am Rhein) also known as: the Battle of the Bulge.
Hitlers idea was to push for Antwerp and deliver the Allies a fatal blow.
A second attack – Operation Nordwind – was carried out in the Alsace region and was almost
as large as the operation in the Ardennes.
This Operation was a series of German attacks to recapture the Alsace.
Initially these attacks were successful since the Allies had no reinforcements to bring
in, since these were fighting in the Ardennes.
However, when the tide turned the Germans were driven back.
What remained in German hands were some small areas and the Colmar Pocket.
The Allied plan for reducing the Colmar Pocket was named Operation Cheerful.
On 20 January Operation Cheerful started in the midst of a heavy snowstorm.
Hitler declared Colmar a Festung (a fortress city), to be defended to the end.
Near the end of January German high command concluded the Colmar Pocket was doomed to
fall.
Some units were withdrawn to bolster the defense of the Black Forest in Germany.
Hitler partially agreed and wanted the pocket to hold as long as possible.
On 8 February Hitler gave permission to withdraw across the river.
The following day the Germans blew the final Rhine bridge at Chalampé.
That marked the end of the Colmar Pocket.
With that the most of Alsace was liberated although there were some areas around Hagenau,
such as the villages of Hatten-Rittershoffen, were not retaken until the March offensive into the Saar.