Follow
The Saarland had been annexed by France repeatedly, but the Rhineland and other parts of Western Germany as well. Historical background is that Germany had been East Francia while France had been West Francia in medivial times, originally ruled by the same kings ( most famous example is king Charlemagne / König Karl der Große/ Rex Karolus Magnus ). Burgundy for example had been a German Hohenstaufen duchy in the 12th century ruled by the Dukes of Andechs. Similar situation with Lorraine and Alsace. But as France sometimes regards itself as the sole heir of central Europe as a whole, it sometimes tries to claim possession of the BeNeLux, England, Suizerland or Germany, citing historic rights of ownership. Hitler did the same thing, but vice versa. Similar situation with Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and so on. Therefore almost any possesory title can be claimed/ raised from any side regarding medivial possessory rights. "Modern" conflicts started with Louis XIV, were aggressively aggravated by Napoleon (he even wanted to conquer England "because" of the medivial Norman possesory titels) and took on until the 1920s, when Rhineland had been occupied by France, using troops from its colonies, raping and looting - and thus helping Adolf Hitler to gain power. Today, Saarland is a part of Germany, mainly because ethnic cleansing done by (modern) French Republic in the 1920s had been less intense than in other regions. Saarland is relatively small. Its size is comparable to a nice county around a medium town in the South of Great Britan. So its rather an area than a region.
https://www.thelocal.de/20170323/six-things-you-should-know-about-s...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saarland
https://www.britannica.com/place/Saarland
https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/saarland-cuisine/
https://www.mygermancity.com/saarland