Everyman's History

Of all the weapons that France and Germany have used against each other, none has been quite so insidious as the history textbook. Last week the daily Stuttgarter Nachrichten reported that the weapon is at last losing some of its power. Partly because of the work of Brunswick's International Schoolbook Institute, French and German historians have begun to correlate their tunes. One case in point: Alsace-Lorraine, taken from France by Bismarck in 1871 and returned after the victories of Marshal Foch in 1918.

Before the end of World War II, the average French schoolchild would have read something like this: "Ever since 1871, the German Kaiserreich, founded through blood and iron and the theft of Alsace-Lorraine . . . has forced upon Europe a new law--the law of brute force."

At the same time, German students were reading this: "The voice of the [German] people demanded the return of Alsace-Lorraine. After all, it was German soil bound together by centuries of German history and culture . . . Now, Bismarck took this German soil back."

Today, however, all that has changed. Says a current French textbook: "The German public almost unanimously demanded the return of Alsace-Lorraine . . . This time Bismarck agreed with the German general staff and the public. All besieged France could do was to point to the protests of the Alsace-Lorraine population, based on arguments of self-determination."

Says a current German version: "The German public passionately called for the return of Alsace-Lorraine . . . The German general staff also called for the annexation of Metz. The population of the ceded areas was just as firm in wanting to remain with France . . . Bismarck was fully aware that annexation would be a great burden for Germany's future, but gave in to the military arguments."

Says the Stuttgarter Nachrichten happily: "Just one step further, and the two versions could be interchanged . . . A promising beginning."

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