The rise of the national sentiment
A true national sentiment started to form after the creation of the Luxembourg state. In 1839, the population of the Grand Duchy, which in its majority had supported the Belgians in their revolution, was still regretting its separation from Belgium. But before long, the Luxembourg people became attached to their state and started to appreciate the advantages conferred by autonomy. Twenty years following the split, the Feierwôn, a patriotic song composed to celebrate the inauguration of the railway, declared: "Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin" ("We want to remain what we are"). It became a true national song. A different song, however, Ons Hémecht ("Our homeland"), was adopted as the official national anthem and performed for the first time in public in 1864. Ons Hémecht is a poem by Michel Lentz, set to music by Jean-Antoine Zinnen.
The rise of Luxembourg literature from the mid-19th century onwards, with its principal authors Michel Lentz (1820-1893), Edmond de la Fontaine, better known as Dicks (1823-1891), and Michel Rodange (1827-1876), also bore witness to the development of a national conscience.
The use of languages certainly played a major role in the construction of the nation. The 1839 split created the linguistic unity, since the Grand Duchy was reduced to its German-speaking part. Nevertheless, the law of 1843 on primary education made the learning of French compulsory, alongside German. The social elite remained in favor of the use of French and were intent on avoiding a linguistic separation from the working classes. All Luxembourg pupils have henceforth had to learn two languages: French and German. In everyday life, the Luxembourg people spoke their own Moselle-Franconian dialect, which right up until the end of the 19th century was referred to as Lëtzebuerger Däitsch (Luxembourgish German).
At the end of the 19th century, with the national sentiment gathering in momentum and maturity, Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch) asserted itself as the mother tongue of the Luxembourg people, rather than German. During the Second World War, the use of Lëtzebuergesch was to become the symbol of resistance and national cohesion. The occupier, pursuing its policy of forced Germanisation, tried to suppress its use. In 1984, a law ratified this secular trend by awarding Lëtzebuergesch the status of national language, without however calling into question the simultaneous use of French and German.
The Luxembourg patriotism that developed from the mid-19th century onwards was occasionally tinged with anti-German sentiment, since the risks of assimilation by Germany were particularly high. From 1815 to 1866, Luxembourg was a member of the German Confederation; from 1842 onwards, it was part of the German Customs Union (Zollverein); from 1872 onwards, the Luxembourg railway network was under German control. In addition to their political and economic ties, an undeniable cultural and linguistic connection also existed between the small country and its great neighbour.
In order to distance themselves from Germany, the Luxembourg people turned to France. They cultivated bilingualism, even trilingualism. French became the language of administration and justice as well as, generally speaking, that of the cultural and intellectual circles. Numerous craftsmen also travelled into France, while young women went to Paris to work as maids. In view of this openly displayed Francophilia, a resigned German diplomat once commented, shortly before the First World War: "With Germany, this little state entered into a marriage of convenience, but with France it was conducting a love affair."
In actual fact, by emulating its three neighbours, Luxembourg succeeded in carving itself an original identity, which was neither German, French nor Belgian, but a mixture of all three cultures.
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