Press and newspapers

Alsace has a close link with the history of the press. Indeed, it is the region where the first weekly gazette in the world appeared : the Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien was first published in 1605 in Strasbourg at the initiative of Johann Carolus.

The end of the 19th century and the Belle Époque marked the heyday of the Alsatian press. Hundreds of titles were published, focusing on politics, of course, but also on culture and fashion. Numerous specialised press titles appeared as well, covering a wide range of subjects: sports news, women's press, children's press, religious press.

As can be seen elsewhere, Alsace also saw the development of a satirical press, particularly from the 1860’s. The specific history of the region and the influence of its carnival culture make this type of press particularly interesting : the French and the Germans were mocked alternately. Sometimes the writers used Alsatian, a vehicle for the region's particularism and a uniting element for Alsatians, against a power that is necessarily seen as external.

This particular history also made it possible to build an extremely rich collection of trench newspapers during the First World War, most of which have been digitised. These documents bear witness to the daily life of soldiers, particularly Germans, on the Vosges front, but also to the influence Expressionism had on their illustrators.