The view from the border: a comparative study of autonomism in Alsace and the Moselle, 1918–29
This article offers a comparative analysis of the origins and development of autonomism in interwar Alsace and the Moselle. Upon the liberation of the provinces in November 1918, the local populations of Alsace and the Moselle enthusiastically welcomed French troops. For President Raymond Poincare´ this enthusiasm constituted a clear ‘plebiscite’. But, in light of perceived heavy-handedness on the part of the new French rulers, this enthusiasm proved short-lived and rapidly gave way to a widespread malaise. In response to local fears for the preservation of their distinctive social, linguistic and religious traditions, Autonomist organisations emerged to oppose the loss of what they perceived to be the soul and character of Alsace and the Moselle. They rapidly became a pervasive force in local politics, cutting across ideological and class barriers and dividing parties. For the French government, autonomism represented a serious threat to national unity. For local autonomists, however, it represented an attempt to preserve local socio-economic structures and linguistic and cultural practices. The discussion here seeks to reposition autonomism within the context of local politics and to compare the distinct experiences of Alsace and the Moselle in the decade after their return to French rule.
From Communism to Nazism: The Transformation of Alsatian Communists
When Charles Hueber, the charismatic leader of the Alsatian communist autonomists, mayor of Strasbourg (1924-36; 1942-3), and key local official of the Nazi Party, died in August 1943, his political life had come full circle from communism to nazism. In his obituary of Hueber, Paul Schall, an Alsatian nazi and autonomist colleague, struggled to reconcile Hueber's career with nazi ideals. Hueber, he claimed, had always chosen the high socialist path, 'which did not deny the connection between the Volk and its history', over the low path, 'which was purely doctrinaire and built on destruction'. Throughout his 'lifelong struggle [Kampfleben]', Hueber consistently believed 'that the goal of German workers must be Germany'.' Such verbal gymnastics, however revealing about the nazi view of socialism, shed little light on the communist autonomists' convoluted path from communism to national socialism. In general, conversions from communism to fascism have been a source of historical controversy. Were ex-communists, like the 'beefsteak nazis' in Germany, 'brown on the outside, red on the inside'?2 This interpretation posits that conversion to nazism was superficial and opportunistic and implies that fascism had its roots in communism. Opposing this view is the idea that fascism was largely a right-wing phenomenon. According to this interpretation, communists who converted to fascism jettisoned their Marxist ideology and became well-done nazis, brown all the way through.3 The case of the communist autonomists, the only group in Alsace that did not come to fascism from the right, substantiates the latter argument.4 The term 'communist autonomist' refers to those Marxist Alsatians whose affinity with Germany caused them to place the issue of Alsatian autonomy above the traditional Marxist concern for class conflict.5 Although not a contemporary term, 'communist auto-
Kitchen Conversations: Democracy in Action at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Abstract This article describes the Lower East Side Tenement Museum9s ongoing public dialogue on immigration, the first in the United States. As she joins facilitators in reflecting on the importance of dialogue in a democracy, museum president Ruth J. Abram explains how and why the program was initiated, the obstacles that had to be overcome, and the public reaction to it. Kitchen Conversations represents the museum9s commitment to the proposition that historic sites must function as places of civic engagement, using the history they interpret as a starting place for dialogue on related contemporary issues.