No Easy Occupation: French Control of the German Saar, 1944-1957

Bronson Long

doi:10.1017/9781782045618

After 1945, France and West Germany were involved in a bitter dispute over the Saar, a small, coal-rich, culturally German territory bordering France's Lorraine region that France had occupied at war's end. French officials and the Saar's political elite attempted to wrest the territory from Germany and make it an independent nation oriented culturally towards France. Although France's occupation officially ended in 1947 with the ratification of a new constitution and elections, the new Saar state was not fully sovereign, as French control persisted until 1955. The Saar's status was an increasing concern for West Germany, partly due to its implications for the division of Germany. After lengthy negotiations, France and West Germany agreed to turn the Saar into a European territory and the seat of European institutions, much as today's Brussels. Saarlanders, however, saw this as a French ploy to maintain control, and in a heated 1955 referendum voted against it, leading to the territory's reunification with West Germany. This is the first study in English dealing with the German research of recent decades and citing original French and German sources.Bronson Long is Associate Professor of History at Georgia Highlands College.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Acknowledgments
pp vii-viii
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List of Abbreviations
pp ix-xii
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Introduction
pp 1-14
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Part I - Military Occupation, 1944–47
pp 15-16
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1 - France Acquires the Saar
pp 17-38
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2 - Nazi Ghosts and Military Rule
pp 39-58
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3 - De-Prussianizing the Culture
pp 59-80
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Part II - Nation-Making, 1947–52
pp 81-82
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4 - Marianne Gives Birth to an Autonomous Saar
pp 83-109
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5 - Breaking and Remaking Cultural Bonds
pp 110-132
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6 - West Germany Enters the Fray
pp 133-164
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Part III - France Loses the Saar, 1952–57
pp 165-166
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7 - Cultural Quagmire
pp 167-186
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8 - “Europe’s District of Columbia”
pp 187-207
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9 - The Climatic Referendum
pp 208-233
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Conclusion
pp 234-238
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Bibliography
pp 239-250
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Index
pp 251-256
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No Easy Occupation

French Control of the German Saar, 1944-1957

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Acknowledgments
pp vii-viii

List of Abbreviations
pp ix-xii

Introduction
pp 1-14

Part I - Military Occupation, 1944–47
pp 15-16

1 - France Acquires the Saar
pp 17-38

2 - Nazi Ghosts and Military Rule
pp 39-58

3 - De-Prussianizing the Culture
pp 59-80

Part II - Nation-Making, 1947–52
pp 81-82

4 - Marianne Gives Birth to an Autonomous Saar
pp 83-109

5 - Breaking and Remaking Cultural Bonds
pp 110-132

6 - West Germany Enters the Fray
pp 133-164

Part III - France Loses the Saar, 1952–57
pp 165-166

7 - Cultural Quagmire
pp 167-186

8 - “Europe’s District of Columbia”
pp 187-207

9 - The Climatic Referendum
pp 208-233

Conclusion
pp 234-238

Bibliography
pp 239-250

Index
pp 251-256

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No Easy Occupation

French Control of the German Saar, 1944-1957

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