News flash! Germany lost WWII!

[+ Unicorn]

Matt Colmar (Alsace) is listed as being in Germany. The city of Colmar and the Alsace region have been a part of France since the Alies liberated them from the Nazis in 1944..

[Doe Be Doe]

This is correct. Is it not also correct that many Alsatians speak German or a mixture of French and German? I also thought that there was an irredentist movement there, although it is rather small?

[kjun]

"irredentism": An interesting word. Never heard of it before. Thanks. I learned something new.

 

the Cajun

[Houston Bonfires]

Oh yea, I know that word...that's what they do to McDonald's milk so the expiration date can be several years from now and the little precious children can drink milk from cows living and dying 20+ years before the milk is processed as wholesome and healthy...

 

Oh wait... that's irradiation... NEVER MIND

 

I miss Emily Latella

[pierrot]

Irredentism is a very good word and I'm glad to read it here. In my travels in Alsace I have heard only French, but it's true that many Alsatians speak their native dialect which is similar to German. The history of Alsace is that it became part of France in the expansionist wars of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century. It has been French since, except for two brief periods when it was conquered and annexed by Germany, from 1870-1917, and from 1940-45.

What irredentist movement exists in Alsace must be tiny, and with the European Union becoming ever more centralizing, there's not much difference in being part of France or Germany anyway.