The order from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine perturbed the French greatly. Now they realized how important French was. The humdrum inside and outside the class was missing. The silence of the graveyard welcomed each one. Students and village people had a common people feeling of terror and of learning German under pressure. All were settled to take the last lesson seriously. They realized their blunder of not taking French seriously before. All sat with grim faces and their dislike for M. Hamel changes to admiration. Even M. Hamel presented a different facet of his personality. He wished he could teach the entire French in the Last Lesson. His patriotic fervour when he wrote 'Viva La France' inspired the French to earn their freedom back.
