And then there was Oradour Sur-Glane
You may recall it from the opening episode of "The World at War."
Posted on 08/25/2010 7:35:34 PM PDT by Ready4Freddy
Slideshow of newly-released photos.
In the long, cruel conflict that was World War II, opportunities for jubilation were scarce. But even among the era's handful of "wish you were there" moments -- VJ Day in Times Square; Russian and American troops meeting at Germany's River Elbe in April '45 -- for sheer, cathartic elation, none came close to the Liberation of Paris. On August 25, 1944, after a week of street battles, the German military garrison in the French capital surrendered to Allied forces. LIFE photographer Ralph Morse was there, and on the anniversary of the liberation, he spoke with LIFE.com about the atmosphere in and around the city; his trek with American troops (and Ernest Hemingway) through France toward the Rhine; and the photographs -- some seen here for the very first time -- that he shot during those extraordinary days in 1944 when Paris was, once again, free. Above: A previously unpublished photo shot by Ralph Morse, Paris, August 25, 1944.
“Is Paris Burning?”
Hopefully our country will celebrate like that when we’ve taken it back from the Socialists in November.
Thanks for the post.. My dad, rest his soul, helped liberate France! God Bless the WWII Vets!
Thanks for posting this.
I am hungry to see photos of Americans celebrating in the streets in November when we liberate ourselves from this statist regime.
I am hungry to see photos of Americans celebrating in the streets in November when we liberate ourselves from this statist regime.
It’s embarrassing to the French because their capital was unscathed due to their cowardice. Warsaw was destroyed, but NO ONE will ever accuse the Poles of being cowards like the french.
The French would have licked the Nazi boot for centuries had it not been for the Anglosphere to rescue their ass.
You are soooooooo right. When in Poland......I had a Pole who actually apologized (out of the blue) to me for WW2. I almost cried.
Wrong, the USA
She probably just needs a prescription from her doctor, and it’ll clear right up.
/sarc
Their cowardice? Was Choltitz (sp?) a coward also, for disobeying Hitler's direct orders?
bump for later
It’s embarrassing to the French because their capital was unscathed due to their cowardice.
I am unable to cast that stone. I have seen the rolls of those killed in WWI in the villages thoughout France.
That they were unwilling to have thier sons and husbands killed in another war like they had seen their fathers and brothers killed is not too hard to imagine.
And then there was Oradour Sur-Glane
You may recall it from the opening episode of "The World at War."
Their cowardice? Was Choltitz (sp?) a coward also, for disobeying Hitler's direct orders?
An elderly French woman once told me about standing with her countrymen and waiving at the German Army as they marched into France.
At a memorial service at St Avold, France, several elderly French men thanked me for the liberation of France.
An Elderly man in Germany told me about his service in Hitler's Bundeswehr. He had escaped an American POW camp in Germany and ended up in a POW camp with the British. He prefered his treatment in the American POW camp.
He apologized for his government's actions during the war and thanked me for the acts of the American soldiers.
Beyond this, all I know is the numbers of French Resistance members swelled in the days following the liberation of Paris.
That’s not my point: if the standard to be set is that you are not a he-man unless your capital is destroyed, then you must still account for the possibility that the occupying commander will refuse orders to destroy it.
Every German I knew who was captured by Americans pretty much raved about the experience (as much as they could). The two I knew who were brought to the U.S. (one to Oregon, one to New England) became life-long fans, and one worked for the Americans in Germany his entire career after the war.
Electing Republicans won't liberate us from anything.
thanks for the post.
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