Christophe Droesch

Christophe Droesch was born and raised in Alsace. He works as a translator and has translated numerous blog posts from German into French.

Hot porridge all the way from Zurich to Strasbourg: an oat-standing achievement

Christophe Droesch 13.08.2026 In 1456, a pot of millet porridge was transported by boat from Zurich to Strasbourg in a single day. It was still warm on arrival. The trip was repeated in 1576 and feted as a great achievement, but it mainly served to solidify the alliance between the two cities in a politically and religiously charged period.

Full speed ahead to Strasbourg! The ‘Hirsebreifahrt’, 1797.

Alsatian conscription evaders in Switzerland

Christophe Droesch 18.11.2025 After Alsace-Lorraine was annexed from the rest of France in 1942, the German Reich forcibly conscripted young men from these regions to fight for the Wehrmacht. This led many to try and flee to Switzerland, including René Grienenberger, the only survivor from a group of 18 young men who tried to escape.

Two members of the Swiss Armed Forces and a member of the German Wehrmacht at the border between France and Switzerland near Goumois (canton of Jura), 1940.