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August 1944: Liberation of Paris in Images

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By Callie Oettinger

Middle of August 1944 witnessed an uprising in Paris. By the 25th, the city was liberated, and the celebration followed. These images record the history of the last few days leading to the liberation and then onto the celebrations.

August 1944: Troops of the 2nd Armored Division en route to Paris, August 1944. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: Troops of the 2nd Armored Division en route to Paris, August 1944. Credit: ECPAD.
August 23, 1944: Insurrection of Paris, set to join the Resistance, to liberate the capital. Here they erect barricades. Credit: ECPAD.
August 23, 1944: Insurrection of Paris, set to join the Resistance, to liberate the capital. Here they erect barricades. Credit: ECPAD.
August 26, 1944: Troops from the 2nd Armored Division parade in a liberated Paris. They pass in front of City Hall. Credit: ECPAD.
August 26, 1944: Troops from the 2nd Armored Division parade in a liberated Paris. They pass in front of City Hall. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: "Kiss the Winners". Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: “Kiss the Winners”. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: General Leclerc, commander of the 2nd Armored Division, pushed the German General von Choltitz in his scout car, to take him to the police station in the Montparnasse train station, so that he signed the act of surrender. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: General Leclerc, commander of the 2nd Armored Division, pushed the German General von Choltitz in his scout car, to take him to the police station in the Montparnasse train station, so that he signed the act of surrender. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: The arrest of German troops by the population of Paris and the resistance during the uprising in the city of Paris. They were taken to police headquarters. Credit: ECPAD.
August 1944: The arrest of German troops by the population of Paris and the resistance during the uprising in the city of Paris. They were taken to police headquarters. Credit: ECPAD.
August 26, 1944: High ranking German officers seized by Free French troops which liberated their country's capital are lodged in the hotel Majestic, headquarters for the Wehrmacht in the days of the Nazi occupation. Paris, France. Credit: National Archives.
August 26, 1944: High ranking German officers seized by Free French troops which liberated their country’s capital are lodged in the hotel Majestic, headquarters for the Wehrmacht in the days of the Nazi occupation. Paris, France. Credit: National Archives.
August 26, 1944: Crowds of Parisians celebrating the entry of Allied troops into Paris scatter for cover as a sniper fires from a building on the place De La Concorde. Although the Germans surrendered the city, small bands of snipers still remained. Credit: National Archives.
August 26, 1944: Crowds of Parisians celebrating the entry of Allied troops into Paris scatter for cover as a sniper fires from a building on the place De La Concorde. Although the Germans surrendered the city, small bands of snipers still remained. Credit: National Archives.
August 29, 1944: Parisians line the Champ Elysees to cheer the massed infantry units of the American army as they march in review towards the Arc de Triomphe, celebrating the liberation of the capital of France from Nazi occupation. Credit: National Archives.
August 29, 1944: Parisians line the Champ Elysees to cheer the massed infantry units of the American army as they march in review towards the Arc de Triomphe, celebrating the liberation of the capital of France from Nazi occupation. Credit: National Archives.
August 1944: U.S. Tank in Paris. Credit: National Archives.
August 1944: U.S. Tank in Paris. Credit: National Archives.
Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees to view Allied tanks and half tracks pass through the Arc du Triomphe, after Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944. Credit: Library of Congress.
Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees to view Allied tanks and half tracks pass through the Arc du Triomphe, after Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944. Credit: Library of Congress.
August 29, 1944: American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees, Paris, in the `Victory' Parade." Credit: National Archives.
August 29, 1944: American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees, Paris, in the `Victory’ Parade.” Credit: National Archives.
Soldiers of the 4th U.S. Infantry Division look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, after the French capital had been liberated on August 25, 1944. Credit: John Downey, National Archives.
Soldiers of the 4th U.S. Infantry Division look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, after the French capital had been liberated on August 25, 1944. Credit: John Downey, National Archives.

 

CALLIE OETTINGER was Command Posts’ first managing editor. Her interest in military history, policy and fiction took root when she was a kid, traveling and living the life of an Army Brat, and continues today.

 

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