Then began the period of reconversion for the Alsaciennes. The
children were taught a new language, new customs, and lived under
a
new type of government. And as we know, this continued until
1918
when the citizens of Metz welcomed the victorious Allied army with
cheers and flowers. Metz had once again rejoined France.
We all know the beginning of the recent chapter - France's surrender in
1940 and Germany's reoccupation of Metz. Later the picture again
changed - the Americans hammered at the forts of Metz and their
German occupants. It was not cavalry and sabers this time - it was
heavy shells, flame-throwers, airplane bombs and oxy-acetylene torches
that melt through the steel doors in the underground passageways. It really makes no difference if it is a Roman sword or a 240 millimeter shell - these are just weapons that the people of the time think suitable for warfare. If it is 2000 years ago or today, we find at the bottom of these hundreds and thousands of years of war human nature's desire to conquer. Science has been accused of aiding and abetting wars - but men fought and died years before the invention of gunpowder, the internal combustion engine, the submarine, airplane, sulfa drugs or Penicillin..   
|
