benjamin lu big is a rapper. he feels that fluency in both french and german is an integral part of the regional identity. he has performed in alsatian german and campaigns against right-wing extremism. >> my brother, an alsatian german wearing a palestinian scarf. what we want to do is tackle preconceptions. >> preconceptions such as the idea that germans are all neo- nazis. >> the problem was hitler. hitler crippled the people of alsace when he forcibly recruited our fathers and grandfathers, even though they were french. this is a trauma that we have never come to terms with. >> not even margin's family. at the start of the war, his father served in the french army, but at the end of the war, he was wearing a uniform. 130,000 men were forcibly recruited by the nazis. hitler annexed the land, claiming the population is ethnic germans. that experience cast its shadow well beyond the post-war years. >> how could they explain to their mothers and wives what they had seen and possibly even done in russia? they coul