On August 25, 1944, during World War II, Paris was finally liberated from German control by America and her allies after four brutal years of occupation. Troops of the French 2nd Armored Division and the American 4th Infantry Division captured the city after encountering only light resistance from Germans under the command of General Dietrich von Choltitz. This was in stark contrast to the orders Choltitz had received from Hitler just days before, in which the Fuhrer had instructed him to fight to last man, and to leave the allies only “a field of ruin”. Hitler even went so far as to instruct Choltitz to destroy all of the city’s famous landmarks, but this order, too, was not obeyed. On the 25th, as the city was falling, Choltitz was arrested by the allies, at which time he promptly signed a document surrendering the city to Charles De Gaulle’s new French government. The city of lights was finally back under French control.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 23:11:55 +0000
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