In the short story 'The Last Lesson' by Alphonse Daudet, the atmosphere at the school on the day of the last lesson was quite different from usual. There was a lot of sadness and solemnity in the school due to the order from Berlin which stated that only German language would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
The French teacher, M. Hamel, was very sad and emotional that he would have to leave the school after forty years of teaching his mother tongue over there. There was also a profound change in his behaviour and he was more polite than usual.
He displayed his zeal and enthusiasm towards the French language by calling it the most beautiful, clearest, and the logical language in the world. He asked his students to guard their mother tongue among them and never forget or lose it under any circumstances. He asked the students to take a sense of pride in their native language. He supported his views with the reason that when the people of a country are enslaved and forced to use a foreign language, their mother tongue holds the key to their prison.
He had also brought new copies for the students in which "France, Alsace, France, Alsace" was written in beautiful round handwriting.
The back benches of the classroom were occupied by the village elders who were attending the class as a mark of respect for their mother-tongue.