Abstract
This monograph deals with the consequences of the long-term territorial conflict between France and Germany. It offers a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the twinning of French and German towns from its very beginning to the year 2000.
The idea of bringing French and German citizens closer together and participating in joint projects, as a means of preventing another war, has evolved from an uncertain experiment into a common feature of everyday life in France and the Federal Republic of Germany. There were more than 2000 pairs of twinned Franco-German towns in the year 2000, which was by far the highest number of twinned villages, towns and cities recorded between any states in the world.
The book focuses on the developments and changes in the twinning of French and German towns in the course of the second half of the twentieth century. It examines the challenges to co-operation the towns had to face and the motives of those who organized the twinning programs.
Furthermore, it explores how much the degree of co-operation at the local level corresponded to the ups and downs experienced in the official relations between France and the FRG. The research is based on statistical data (which required thorough verification), on periodicals published by municipal associations, on a variety of local archival sources, and on semi-structured interviews.
The book concludes that similarly to 'high politics' at the national level, the town-twinning movement sought to achieve long-lasting co-operation between France and the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the co-operation at lower levels followed its own dynamic, influenced by local political events, socio-political circumstances, and symbolic factors.