Which land did France lose to Germany in 1871?

Answer 1

This question is rather vague, but I would assume the piece of land you are referring to is the Rhineland.

The French lost the Rhineland to the Germans at the beginning of World War One (1914-1918). It was a rather important piece of land to the French, as it contained a lot of useful farmland as well as raw material deposits useful for industrial progression. The Germans eventually lost the war in 1918, unexpectedly surrendering (there is controversy as to whether, had they not surrended, they would have actually won World War One). The following year, a treaty was made in which was outlined various sanctions on Germany, such as having to pay costs for damage (reparations), and forbidding Germany to have an army bigger than 100,000 troops. One of these conditions was that the Rhineland was to be given back to the French, and that it would become a demilitarised zone. So the German Army was forced to stay out of the Rhineland.

Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 30th January 1933, and began to break many conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. The other countries didn't see him as a threat at first, and by the time they did he had become very strong and they didn't want to anger him (Poland was the last straw in Sept 1939). He made the army bigger than 100,000 troops and started manufacturing weapons. He marched in and took back the Rhineland in 1936, where it remained under German control until the latter half of the Second World War.

I don't know whether it is the Rhineland you are talking about, so there's a bit of background so you can work out whether we're on the same wave-length.

Hope that helps.

Qu.mstr

Answer 2

Rhinelands