The Jewish Chronicle
On this day: The liberation of Paris
August 25 1944: Vive Paris
August 25, 2011 08:48
August 25 1944: Vive Paris
August 25, 2011 08:48The city had been occupied by Hitler's forces for four long years, but finally General Charles de Gaulle and the allied forces were able to march back into Paris.
After several days of fighting sparked by an uprising by the French resistance, the allies prevailed. On August 24, the French 2nd Armoured Division became the first one in, followed by other American and French troops and cheered on by residents.
The following morning the occupying forces led by General Dietrich von Choltitz, the commander of the Paris garrison, signed a document of surrender at Montparnasse station and ordered his troops to cease their fire.
As president of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, De Gaulle's first stop in the reclaimed city was the town hall, where he said "Vive Paris".
