Alsace is sometimes said to be at the heart of Europe. The region has been shaped by its geography, its history, and its culture. Its position, between France and Germany, has been the cause of much crisis and suffering in its history. But its economic vitality and cultural richness are also born from this duality. From the Middle Ages to World War Two, Alsace was successively profoundly German and deeply integrated into France. Today, Alsatians are proud of Strasbourg being the strategic center of the European Union.