Alsace–Lorraine

Rare card · No. 25880

Alsace–Lorraine (German: Elsaß–Lothringen), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (German: Reichsland Elsaß–Lothringen), was a territory of the German Empire between 1871 and 1918, comprising most of Alsace and part of Lorraine. Its capital was Strasbourg. It was annexed by the German Empire following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War and formally ceded by France under the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871). French resentment over the loss of the territory was one of the contributing factors to World War I. Following Germany's defeat in that conflict in 1918, Alsace–Lorraine was taken by France; its cession was confirmed under the Treaty of Versailles. Alsace–Lorraine was the only territory of the German Empire administered directly by the imperial government rather than as a constituent state. It gradually acquired representative institutions, culminating in the 1911 constitution, an elected Landtag, and limited internal autonomy. It also elected deputies to the Reichstag,...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Drawing created by David Liuzzo, Attribution