During WWII, Nazi Germany implemented in Alsace a policy of Germanization and Nazification to change Alsatians into German citizens. Nowadays, a unique blend of French and Germanic cultures can still be found all around, as much in the capital city

The Natzweiler Struthof concentration camp operated from April 1941 until September 1944. During this time an estimated 22.000 inmates died to disease, exhaustion, maltreatment or execution by the camp guards. The former camp currently houses a museum and the European centre of deported resistance members.

During the Second World War the U.S. Armed Forces were segregated based on race. The 761st Tank Battalion, known as the Black Panthers, was a ‘black unit’ and consisted mostly of African-Americans. Sergeant Ruben Rivers was part of this unit and like many other American soldiers would help liberate Europe.