The The Surrender of General von Choltitz and the Liberation of Paris

General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered to Général de brigade Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (Commander 2e Division Blindée), 25 August 1944. On 7 August previously he was appointed as Kommandierenden General und Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris (Military Governor of Paris). At a meeting in Germany the following day, Hitler instructed him to be prepared to leave no Parisian religious building or historical monument standing. After Choltitz's arrival in Paris on 9 August, Hitler confirmed the order by cable: "The city must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete rubble." A week later Hitler, in a rage, screamed, "Brennt Paris?" (Is Paris burning?).

On 15 August 1944, the Paris police went on strike, followed on 19 August by a general insurrection led by the French Communist Party. The German garrison under Choltitz fought back but was far too small to quell the uprising. He brokered a ceasefire with the insurgents on 20 August, but many Resistance groups did not accept it, and a series of skirmishes continued on the next day. On 25 August, Choltitz surrendered the German garrison of 17,000 men to the Free French, leaving the city largely intact. Because Hitler's directive was not carried out, Choltitz has been described by some as the "Saviour of Paris". General von Choltitz later claimed in his memoir of 1951 that he defied Hitler's order to destroy Paris because he loved the city and had decided that Hitler was by then insane.

It is known that the Swedish consul-general in Paris, Raoul Nordling, and the president of the municipal council, Pierre Taittinger, held several meetings with Choltitz, during which he negotiated the release of political prisoners. The all-night confrontation between Nordling and Choltitz on the eve of the surrender, as depicted in the 1965 book and 1966 film, Is Paris Burning?, and again in the 2014 film Diplomacy — in which Nordling persuades Choltitz to spare the city in return for a pledge to protect his family — was reported as factual in some newspaper stories, but lacks a definitive historical basis.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_von_Choltitz
https://wtop.com/europe/2019/05/rare-color-footage-brings-d-day-memories-alive-75-years-on/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbBA77lgbak

Celebration in Liberated Paris

Celebration in Paris after the French capital was liberated in August 1944

After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division on 25 August 1944. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its liberation. Choltitz signed a formal surrender that afternoon, and on August 26, Free French General Charles de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.

Paris fell to Nazi Germany on June 14, 1940, one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France. Eight days later, France signed an armistice with the Germans, and a puppet French state was set up with its capital at Vichy. Elsewhere, however, General Charles de Gaulle and the Free French kept fighting, and the Resistance sprang up in occupied France to resist Nazi and Vichy rule.

The French 2nd Armored Division was formed in London in late 1943 with the express purpose of leading the liberation of Paris during the Allied invasion of France. In August 1944, the division arrived at Normandy under the command of General Jacques-Philippe Leclerc and was attached to General George S. Patton’s 3rd U.S. Army. By August 18, Allied forces were near Paris, and workers in the city went on strike as Resistance fighters emerged from hiding and began attacking German forces and fortifications.

At his headquarters two miles inland from the Normandy coast, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had a dilemma. Allied planners had concluded that the liberation of Paris should be delayed so as to not divert valuable resources away from important operations elsewhere. The city could be encircled and then liberated at a later date.

On August 21, Eisenhower met with de Gaulle and told him of his plans to bypass Paris. De Gaulle urged him to reconsider, assuring him that Paris could be reclaimed without difficulty. The French general also warned that the powerful communist faction of the Resistance might succeed in liberating Paris, thereby threatening the re-establishment of a democratic government. De Gaulle politely told Eisenhower that if his advance against Paris was not ordered, he would send Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division into the city himself.

On August 22, Eisenhower agreed to proceed with the liberation of Paris. The next day, the 2nd Armored Division advanced on the city from the north and the 4th Infantry Division from the south. Meanwhile, in Paris, the forces of German General Dietrich von Choltitz were fighting the Resistance and completing their defenses around the city. Hitler had ordered Paris defended to the last man, and demanded that the city not fall into Allied hands except as “a field of ruins.” Choltitz dutifully began laying explosives under Paris’ bridges and many of its landmarks, but disobeyed an order to commence the destruction. He did not want to go down in history as the man who had destroyed the “City of Light”—Europe’s most celebrated city.

The 2nd Armored Division ran into heavy German artillery, taking heavy casualties, but on August 24 managed to cross the Seine and reach the Paris suburbs. There, they were greeted by enthusiastic civilians who besieged them with flowers, kisses, and wine. Later that day, Leclerc learned that the 4th Infantry Division was poised to beat him into Paris proper, and he ordered his exhausted men forward in a final burst of energy. Just before midnight on August 24, the 2nd Armored Division reached the Hótel de Ville in the heart of Paris.

German resistance melted away during the night. Most of the 20,000 troops surrendered or fled, and those that fought were quickly overcome. On the morning of August 25, the 2nd Armored Division swept clear the western half of Paris while the 4th Infantry Division cleared the eastern part. Paris was liberated.

In the early afternoon, Choltitz was arrested in his headquarters by French troops. Shortly after, he signed a document formally surrendering Paris to de Gaulle’s provisional government. De Gaulle himself arrived in the city later that afternoon. On August 26, de Gaulle and Leclerc led a triumphant liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees. Scattered gunfire from a rooftop disrupted the parade, but the identity of the snipers was not determined.

De Gaulle headed two successive French provisional governments until 1946, when he resigned over constitutional disagreements. From 1958 to 1969, he served as French president under the Fifth Republic.

Source :
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/paris-liberated

Christmas with the British Liberation Army in Holland 1944

Christmas with the British Liberation Army in Holland, November 1944. A unit postman from 4th Armoured Brigade with a sack of Christmas parcels decorated with holly near Weert, Limburg, Netherlands. The picture was taken by Captain E.G. Malindine from No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit.

Source :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_With_the_British_Liberation_Army_in_Holland,_November_1944_TR2567.jpg
http://www.desertrats.org.uk/bde/4thABartefacts2.htm

Christmas with the British Tank Crew in Holland

Christmas with the British Liberation Army in Holland, November 1944: A tank crew of the 4th Battalion, the Royal Tank Regiment, 4th Armoured Division, unpack a Christmas parcel near Weert in Holland. The crew - who are shown with their camouflaged tank looking like a 'travelling Christmas tree' - had been together for three years. They had seen action in Libya and Italy before coming to Holland. Left to right: Trooper R Buckley; Trooper J Round; and Sergeant H Kirk. The picture was taken by Captain E.G. Malindine from No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit.

Source :
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205189095

Captured German Kübelwagen in the Liberation of Paris

Paris, France, 26 August 1944: Car carrying journalists and photographers of YANK magazine give a ride to French partisan and unidentified woman during parade held the day after the liberation of Paris by Allied troops. They are using a captured VW Kübelwagen Typ 82, a light military vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Volkswagen during World War II for use by the German military (both Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS). Based heavily on the Volkswagen Beetle, it was prototyped as the Type 62, but eventually became known internally as the Type 82. Kübelwagen is an abbreviation of Kübelsitzwagen, meaning "bucket-seat car" because all German light military vehicles that had no doors were fitted with bucket seats to prevent passengers from falling out. The first VW test vehicles had no doors and were therefore fitted with bucket seats, so acquiring the name VW Kübelsitzwagen that was later shortened to Kübelwagen. Mercedes, Opel and Tatra also built Kübel(sitz)wagens. The picture was taken by Frank Scherschel from LIFE magazine.

Source :
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2100326/Stunning-rare-colour-images-World-War-II.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_K%C3%BCbelwagen
https://www.gettyimages.com/license/72430265