Tensions catholiques franco-allemandes au lendemain de la Grande Guerre

• Main Author: Lalao Soa Adonis Tsiarify
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes (LARHRA UMR 5190) 2021-03-01
• Series: Chrétiens et Sociétés
• Subjects: Catholicism; Franco-German conflicts; Great War
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/chretienssocietes/7614

Using documents from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives as well as the Auswartiges Amt Archives, the article analyses the Franco-German Catholic tensions in the aftermath of the First World War. Chronologically, the study focuses to the first half of the twenties (1920s), between the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno agreements. This period proved to be critical, since the risk of new clashes between France and Germany was huge. In this tense post war context, the relations between the German and French Catholics were marked by contradictory patriotic spirits despite sharing the same religious convictions. The long and complex history of the Franco-German conflicts had influenced the attitude of the clergy members on both sides of the Rhine. In Germany as in France, the ecclesiastical milieu was becoming a field of struggle for influence. The tense post-war context did not provide a good environment that allows to dissociate national politics and religious affiliation. This investigation shows that the repercussions of the upheavals of the post-war period were not reduced only to political, economic, demographic, spatial, etc. dimensions but affected the realm of religion as well.