I remember when the last WW1 veteran died. Slowly we are reaching the same point for WW2. My two WW2 vet family members both passed in the last 3 years, having lived full lives into their mid 90s
It's commonly told that German general Choltitz refused to raze the city before retreating as he was ordered by Hitler because he loved Paris and saw the futility of the war.
However, many historians believe he had already lost control of the city to partisans and could not have followed the orders even if he had wanted to.
By the time Charles de Gaulle arrived in Paris, the French Resitance had already liberated large parts of the city and the German troops were caught in pockets unable to escape, so gun fights broke out throughout the day (and even while De Gaulle was visiting the Notre Dame!)
This finally ended when Choltitz officially surrendered. He was only kept as POW until 1947, probably because he played up his role as "saving" Paris.
JezebelRaven on February 21st, 2023 at 14:19 UTC »
Merci Simone, et bon repos.
11000MileBay on February 21st, 2023 at 16:32 UTC »
I remember when the last WW1 veteran died. Slowly we are reaching the same point for WW2. My two WW2 vet family members both passed in the last 3 years, having lived full lives into their mid 90s
Sad
DoomGoober on February 21st, 2023 at 16:46 UTC »
It's commonly told that German general Choltitz refused to raze the city before retreating as he was ordered by Hitler because he loved Paris and saw the futility of the war.
However, many historians believe he had already lost control of the city to partisans and could not have followed the orders even if he had wanted to.
By the time Charles de Gaulle arrived in Paris, the French Resitance had already liberated large parts of the city and the German troops were caught in pockets unable to escape, so gun fights broke out throughout the day (and even while De Gaulle was visiting the Notre Dame!)
This finally ended when Choltitz officially surrendered. He was only kept as POW until 1947, probably because he played up his role as "saving" Paris.