The future of Alsace

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In French propaganda from the First World War, imagery related to the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine often played a central role. Though key to French ambitions, the French did not take the regions’ future status as a given. Among the many targets of the government commission charged with the bulk of Alsace-Lorraine related propaganda (Bureau d’Etudes d’Alsace-Lorraine, or BEAL) were American policymakers, and more broadly, the American populace. This chapter will explore French efforts to present its claims to Alsace-Lorraine to an American audience. Starting with an overview of Bureau d’Etudes d’Alsace-Lorraine, the chapter will turn to French propaganda aimed at American audiences. The chapter will lay out the ways in which the French sought to influence domestic opinion in America through a variety of means including publications in English, appeals to American political leaders and attempts to nudge American opinion leaders in the right direction. While in retrospect such efforts might have seemed unnecessary – President Wilson after all made the return of Alsace-Lorraine one of his 14 points – the French efforts masked a fear of the French that the region would undergo a plebiscite at the end of the conflict. Interestingly, French appeals to America also marked a shift in their message about Alsace-Lorraine. Whereas early in the war French officials framed their argument in legalistic terms, when appealing to American (and often British) audiences, French efforts reflected a return to an older set of arguments about Alsatians and Lorrainers; they wanted to be French. Such arguments rooted in civic nationalism aligned better with the spirit of the Wilsonian notion of self-determination. They also point to the adaptability of French modes of communication in attempting to ensure the return of the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.