Volksfront (Alsace)
Encyclopedia
Volksfront was a political coalition in Alsace
, France
. Volksfront was formed in 1928 by the Popular Republican Union
(UPR), a group of communists
led by Charles Hueber
, Progressives led by Dahlet and the Landespartei. The goal of the Volksfront was to seek greater autonomy for Alsace; safeguards for the German language
, promotion of the Alsatian economy and administrative autonomy for the region. Largely Volksfront represented a continuation of the defunct Heimatsbund. The Volksfront showed some similarities of the 1911 National Union, which also had been a loose coalition. Cooperation between Alsatian communists and clerical autonomists had begun with the Bloody Sunday events of 1926
.
Regarding the sensitive issue of state-church relations, Volksfront avoided to publicly take a clear stand.
The Volksfront launched two candidates in a parliamentary by-election in 1928 (the election had been called as two elected autonomist assemblymen, Eugène Ricklin
and Joseph Rossé, had been refused to be able to take their seats), Marcel Stuermel and René Hauss.
Volksfront won the 1929 municipal election
in Strasbourg
, defeating the incumbent socialist
mayor Jacques Peirotes
(who was backed by an anti-clericalist and assimilations coalition). Volksfront won twenty-two seats in the municipal council. They formed a municipal government with Hueber as mayor and Michel Walter as deputy mayor. The coalition also gained a strong presence in the municipal election in Colmar
. After the election, the group around Hueber was expelled from the French Communist Party. They formed the Opposition Communist Party of Alsace-Lorraine
, which became a new constituent of the Volksfront.
As the Landespartei moved closer to National Socialism, with an increasingly anti-semitic and anti-democratic discourse, divisions began to appear in the Volksfront. UPR deserted the coalition (which were alienated by the anti-religious postures of the National Socialists), followed by Dahlet's Progressives in 1933. Volksfront was dissolved in 1935.
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Volksfront was formed in 1928 by the Popular Republican Union
Popular Republican Union
The Popular Republican Union was a Christian democratic party in Alsace, France during the Third Republic. Founded in 1919, the UPR became the dominant party in Alsace during the Interwar era. In Lorraine, the Lorrain Republican Union was considered the UPR's sister party...
(UPR), a group of communists
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
led by Charles Hueber
Charles Hueber
Charles Hueber was an Alsatian politician. He was the mayor of Strasbourg between 1929 and 1935, and a member of the French National Assembly twice....
, Progressives led by Dahlet and the Landespartei. The goal of the Volksfront was to seek greater autonomy for Alsace; safeguards for the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, promotion of the Alsatian economy and administrative autonomy for the region. Largely Volksfront represented a continuation of the defunct Heimatsbund. The Volksfront showed some similarities of the 1911 National Union, which also had been a loose coalition. Cooperation between Alsatian communists and clerical autonomists had begun with the Bloody Sunday events of 1926
Bloody Sunday (1926)
Bloody Sunday is a name given to political clashes that occurred in Colmar, Alsace, France on August 22, 1926. On that day the French Communist Party and the Colmar section of the Popular Republican Union had organized a joint protest meeting at the Salle des Catherinettes...
.
Regarding the sensitive issue of state-church relations, Volksfront avoided to publicly take a clear stand.
The Volksfront launched two candidates in a parliamentary by-election in 1928 (the election had been called as two elected autonomist assemblymen, Eugène Ricklin
Eugène Ricklin
- Biography :Eugène Ricklin was born in Dannemarie from a sundgauvian hotelier father and an Alsatian mother, Catherine Kayser. After his secondary education in a school in Belfort, he frequented the colleges of Altkirch and Colmar...
and Joseph Rossé, had been refused to be able to take their seats), Marcel Stuermel and René Hauss.
Volksfront won the 1929 municipal election
Strasbourg municipal election, 1929
Elections to the municipal council of Strasbourg, France were held in May 1929. The elected council would serve for a six-year mandate period. The election saw the autonomist coalition Volksfront defeat an anti-clericalist and assimilationist coalition of the incumbent socialist mayor Jacques...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, defeating the incumbent socialist
Sfio
Sfio, or Safe/Fast String/File I/O, is a C programming language I/O library developed by David Korn and Kiem-Phong Vo AT&T Labs Research, intended as a replacement for the standard C standard I/O library....
mayor Jacques Peirotes
Jacques Peirotes
Jacques Peirotes was a French politician, mayor of Strasbourg from 1919 to 1929.- Biography :The young Jacques Peirotes, son of a carpenter working at the locomotives factory of Graffenstaden, learned the job of typographer while entering into politics.Since 1900, he was editor of the Freie Presse...
(who was backed by an anti-clericalist and assimilations coalition). Volksfront won twenty-two seats in the municipal council. They formed a municipal government with Hueber as mayor and Michel Walter as deputy mayor. The coalition also gained a strong presence in the municipal election in Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
. After the election, the group around Hueber was expelled from the French Communist Party. They formed the Opposition Communist Party of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsatian Workers and Peasants Party
The Alsatian Workers and Peasants Party , initially the Opposition Communist Party of Alsace-Lorraine , was a political party in Alsace-Lorraine. The party was led by Jean-Pierre Mourer and Charles Hueber. The party was founded in late October 1929...
, which became a new constituent of the Volksfront.
As the Landespartei moved closer to National Socialism, with an increasingly anti-semitic and anti-democratic discourse, divisions began to appear in the Volksfront. UPR deserted the coalition (which were alienated by the anti-religious postures of the National Socialists), followed by Dahlet's Progressives in 1933. Volksfront was dissolved in 1935.