Jesse:
I heard this story once, about when the…the Germans were occupying
Paris and they had to retreat back, they wired Notre Dame to blow. But
they had to…they had to leave one guy in charge of hitting the switch
and the guy, the soldier, he…he couldn’t do it. You know, he just sat
there, knocked out by how beautiful the place was.
This scene is from the movie Before Sunset.
The German surrender is discussed on the Wikipedia page about the Liberation of Paris:
Despite repeated orders from Hitler that the French capital "must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete debris" to be accomplished by bombing it and blowing up its bridges,[17] German General Dietrich von Choltitz, the commander of the Paris garrison and military governor of Paris, surrendered on 25 August at the Hôtel Meurice, the newly established headquarters of General Leclerc. Von Choltitz was kept prisoner until April 1947. In his memoir ... Brennt Paris? ("Is Paris Burning?"), first published in 1950, von Choltitz describes himself as the saviour of Paris.
There is a controversy about von Choltitz's actual role during the battle, since he is regarded in very different ways in France and Germany. In Germany, he is regarded as a humanist and a hero who saved Paris from urban warfare and destruction. In 1964, Dietrich von Choltitz explained in an interview taped from his Baden Baden home, why he had refused to obey Hitler: "If for the first time I had disobeyed, it was because I knew that Hitler was insane" ("Si pour la première fois j'ai désobéi, c'est parce que je savais qu'Hitler était fou")". According to a 2004 interview his son Timo gave to the French public channel France 2, von Choltitz disobeyed Hitler and personally allowed the Allies to take the city back safely and rapidly, preventing the French Resistance from engaging in urban warfare that would have destroyed parts of Paris. He knew the war was lost and decided alone to save the capital.[18]
However, in France this version is seen as a "falsification of history" since von Choltitz is regarded as a Nazi officer faithful to Hitler involved in many controversial actions:
A third source, the protocols of telephonic conversations between von Choltitz and his superiors found later in the Fribourg archives and their analysis by German historians support Kriegel-Valrimont's theory.[11]
Also, Pierre Taittinger and Raoul Nordling both claim it was they who convinced von Choltitz not to destroy Paris as ordered by Hitler[11]. The first published a book in 1984 describing this episode, ...et Paris ne fut pas détruit (... and Paris Was Not Destroyed), which earned him a prize from the Académie Française.
German losses are estimated at about 3,200 killed and 12,800 prisoners of war.
This scene is from the movie Before Sunset.
The German surrender is discussed on the Wikipedia page about the Liberation of Paris:
Despite repeated orders from Hitler that the French capital "must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete debris" to be accomplished by bombing it and blowing up its bridges,[17] German General Dietrich von Choltitz, the commander of the Paris garrison and military governor of Paris, surrendered on 25 August at the Hôtel Meurice, the newly established headquarters of General Leclerc. Von Choltitz was kept prisoner until April 1947. In his memoir ... Brennt Paris? ("Is Paris Burning?"), first published in 1950, von Choltitz describes himself as the saviour of Paris.
There is a controversy about von Choltitz's actual role during the battle, since he is regarded in very different ways in France and Germany. In Germany, he is regarded as a humanist and a hero who saved Paris from urban warfare and destruction. In 1964, Dietrich von Choltitz explained in an interview taped from his Baden Baden home, why he had refused to obey Hitler: "If for the first time I had disobeyed, it was because I knew that Hitler was insane" ("Si pour la première fois j'ai désobéi, c'est parce que je savais qu'Hitler était fou")". According to a 2004 interview his son Timo gave to the French public channel France 2, von Choltitz disobeyed Hitler and personally allowed the Allies to take the city back safely and rapidly, preventing the French Resistance from engaging in urban warfare that would have destroyed parts of Paris. He knew the war was lost and decided alone to save the capital.[18]
However, in France this version is seen as a "falsification of history" since von Choltitz is regarded as a Nazi officer faithful to Hitler involved in many controversial actions:
- In 1940 and 1941, he gave the orders to destroy Sevastopol and burn Rotterdam.[18]
- During the battle for Paris:
- On 23 August, he ordered the burning of the Grand Palais occupied by the FFI.[18]
- On 19 August, he ordered the destruction of the Pantin great windmills in order to starve the population.[18]
- On 16 August, he ordered the execution of thirty-five members of the Résistance at the Bois de Boulogne waterfall.[18]
A third source, the protocols of telephonic conversations between von Choltitz and his superiors found later in the Fribourg archives and their analysis by German historians support Kriegel-Valrimont's theory.[11]
Also, Pierre Taittinger and Raoul Nordling both claim it was they who convinced von Choltitz not to destroy Paris as ordered by Hitler[11]. The first published a book in 1984 describing this episode, ...et Paris ne fut pas détruit (... and Paris Was Not Destroyed), which earned him a prize from the Académie Française.
German losses are estimated at about 3,200 killed and 12,800 prisoners of war.
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