I think it is interesting for those who have ancestors in Alsace-Lorraine.
But, beware! Not to be confused with current regions of Alsace and Lorraine!
Alsace-Lorraine is an ancient region of Germany which is now in the Departments of Bas-Rhin (in Alsace), Haut-Rhin (in Alsace), and Moselle in Lorraine (except region Briay).
(Translation by software):
"On May 10, 1871, France ceded to Germany by the Treaty of Frankfurt, departments and Haut-Rhin (except Belfort and its environs), Moselle (except Briey
Basin), and a portion of the former department of Meurthe.
Following the annexation, french thousands of residents were summoned to choose their camp:
German and become stay at home or leave their region to settle in France, maintaining their nationality. They were very likely to choose the second option, and opted for French nationality. 600 000 official documents have recorded the path of this choice.
The cards issued for this purpose are now available on GeneaService duly digitized, and they are available at low cost, in addition to all the funds available GeneaService.
"
Here the link of geneaservice:
http://geneanet.geneaservice.com/archives/optant.phpA page that explains how it works:
http://blog.geneanet.org/index.php/post/2007/10/GeneaNet-%3A...If you do not understand the french, try using a translation software (Google:
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en )