The Liberation of Paris

General Choltitz, the German officer who refused to destroy Paris

May 18, 2008

In 1944, Paris was occupied and slated for destruction, but the German Governer in charge refused to carry out Hitler's insane orders, General Dietrich von Choltitz

Liberating Paris was not high on the Allied "Things to do list" but extreme pressure from French General Charles de Gaulle and intervention from unlikely sources changed everything.

It made very little military sense to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of all forces in Europe to divert troops to Paris when the overall objective was to invade Germany.

The allies had suffered extreme losses at Normandy and had fought for every liberated town in France in pitched street to street battles with retreating German forces.

But a very remarkable thing happened that set up a chain of events that would lead to the liberation of Paris.

The “Fuhrer” Adolf Hitler ordered Major General Dietrich von Choltitz to take over as Governer of Paris.

Choltitz had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless destroyer of cities and was renowned as a commander who obeyed orders to the letter regardless of cost to lives or property.

Adolf Hitler knew that Paris would fall to the allies because he lacked the remaining military strength to hold it. Choltitz had been purposely chosen as the weapon Hitler wanted in Paris to carry out his diabolical plan to leave Paris in rubble.

General Charles de Gaulle argued his case with passion and appealed to General Eisenhower to liberate Paris, but Eisenhower was not convinced and de Gaulle’s pleas were denied.

Major General Jacques Leclerc, commander of the French 2nd armored division prepared his forces to attack Paris. The French intended to take Paris back with or without support and permission from their American allies.

But before things got out of control, unprecedented events caused General Dwight D. Eisenhower to relent and agree to the liberation of Paris.

First, a delegation from Paris arrived with word that Paris was going to be leveled to the ground if not liberated, but the most remarkable thing about this delegation was that they had been allowed to leave Paris unmolested with the permission of Paris’s occupying commander Choltitz.

Upon realizing that the liberation of Paris was eminent, Adolf Hitler ordered Choltitz to carry out his order to burn Paris to the ground and leave nothing behind but scorched earth and smoldering bodies.

Without intervention, one of the most beautiful and cultured cities in the world would indeed be lost forever, so Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for General Jacques Leclerc and the U.S. 4th Infantry to attack.

General Charles de Gaulle was furious to liberate Paris for the obvious reasons, but also political consideration prevailed as well. The city was in an uproar with the Germans contending with two factions in the city rebelling.

One faction, the Gaullist’s were fiercely loyal to de Gaulle and already considered him the exiled leader of France. The other rebelling faction was the communists who were led by a man named Roger Villon who was determined to be the leader of France.

Major General Dietrich von Choltitz was distraught over his last meeting with Adolf Hitler and was convinced the he was being given orders by a raving madman, and he made a remarkable decision that went against everything he knew.

Choltitz, in direct disobedience to the “Fuhrer” refused to destroy Paris and saw absolutely no military benefit to it and he didn’t want to be remembered as the destroyer of Paris.

He ordered his outnumbered and over-matched troops to defend Paris but under no circumstances to sack the city.

On the morning of August 25th 1944, French General Jacques Leclerc closely followed by the U.S. 4th Infantry battled the German defenders and successfully liberated Paris after four years of occupation.

General Dietrich von Choltitz’s forces had been overcome and he was taken prisoner and officially surrendered the city to General Leclerc.

General Charles de Gaulle arrived an hour later to take control of Paris and declare himself supreme. The communist leaders hopes of reigning over Paris were forever dashed and de Gaulle was unopposed as the leader of all France.

The citizens of Paris steamed out of the shambles of their homes waiving flags and flourishing the conquering hero’s with wine and kisses, even though shots were still being fired and men were still dying to liberate Paris.

As Choltitz was escorted by 30 armed guards to meet with Leclerc, people cursed him and spat upon him, unknowing that he had refused to destroy Paris and had saved the city and probably had doomed his family in Germany to certain reprisals from Hitler.

The liberation of Paris had cost Choltitz his career, his liberty, and possibly his own life. He was arrested and imprisoned and their was talk of him being charged as a war criminal.

The copyright of the article The Liberation of Paris in WW II History is owned by Jim Osborn. Permission to republish The Liberation of Paris in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.