Why Germany and France Hated Each Other

In June 1940, Hitler sat down in the exact railway carriage where Germany had surrendered in 1918. It wasn't a coincidence. It was the latest act in a cycle of revenge that began more than 250 years earlier. This video traces the rivalry between France and Germany from Louis XIV's seizure of Strasbourg in 1681 to the armistice at Compiègne in 1940: the burning of the Palatinate, Napoleon's humiliation of Prussia at Jena and Tilsit, the German revenge at Leipzig and Waterloo, the Rhine Crisis of 1840, Bismarck's Ems Dispatch, the fall of Napoleon III at Sedan, the German Empire proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors, the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, Verdun, the Treaty of Versailles, the Ruhr occupation, hyperinflation and the remilitarization of the Rhineland. Each generation inherited a humiliation, and each found a way to repay it. But was it really an ancient hatred, or a chain of decisions, symbols and strategic fears? Chapters: 0:00 The Carriage at Compiègne 0:35 Louis XIV Seizes Strasbourg (1681) 1:25 The Burning of the Palatinate 2:00 Napoleon Crushes Prussia (1806) 4:15 Leipzig and Waterloo: Germany Strikes Back 5:50 The Birth of German Nationalism 7:20 The Rhine Crisis of 1840 9:00 The Ems Dispatch 10:40 Sedan 1870: An Emperor Surrenders 12:15 The Siege of Paris 14:03 An Empire Born in the Hall of Mirrors 16:00 Alsace-Lorraine: Never Forget 16:40 Plan XVII vs. the Schlieffen Plan 17:55 World War I and Verdun 20:15 Compiègne 1918 21:35 The Treaty of Versailles 23:18 The Ruhr Occupation and Hyperinflation 24:26 Hitler and the Rhineland 25:55 Sedan 1940: History Repeats 27:35 Compiègne 1940: Revenge in the Same Carriage If you enjoyed this, watch our video on why Prussia and Austria hated each other:    • Why Prussia and Austria Hated Each Other   #History #EuropeanHistory #FrancoGermanRivalry