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Dietrich von Choltitz: Saved of Paris From Destruction During World War IIWorld War II | one comment | Print This Post | Email This Post
Around 4:30 p.m., a three-car procession pulled up in front of the 2nd French Armored’s newly established headquarters at the Hotel de Ville. From the second auto, an open Hotchkiss, stepped General Charles de Gaulle. When Leclerc handed him a copy of Choltitz’s surrender paper, de Gaulle’s face hardened in anger. On the document, which he had had no chance to sign himself, was the signature of his Communist rival, Colonel Rol. However, in the coming victory-liberation parade, the general — his massive frame accentuating his imposing, formidable presence — would read a ‘proclamation of The Republic’ to the cheering masses. That was all it would require from this towering symbol of Free France to ensure that there would be no left-wing coup. Subscribe Today
In Germany a military tribunal convened to try Choltitz in absentia for treason. The defendant still had highly placed friends in the military, however, and they managed to delay the trial so that the war came to an end before the court-martial could come to order, thereby saving Choltitz’s wife and children from execution or imprisonment.
Ultimately, the liberation of Paris was to come at a great cost. Allied fuel reserves had been depleted, and those German forces that escaped reached the safety of the Siegfried Line. The Western Front stagnated with the approach of autumn and winter. There would be a great slaughter in the dreary Hurtgen Forest. The British would be crushed at Arnhem. There would be a Battle of the Bulge. Worst by far, innocents beyond counting would continue to die miserably in the death camps of the SS. It was a terrible price to pay for the grandest city in Europe.
This article was written by Kelly Bell and originally appeared in World War II magazine.
For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today! Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Foreign Affairs, Historical Conflicts, Historical Figures, World War II
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One Comment to “Dietrich von Choltitz: Saved of Paris From Destruction During World War II”
Excellent résumé of the events leading to the liberation of Paris. It would have been nice to add what happened to Choltitz afterwards. Presumably he survived the war. A lot of new information, for me. Some of it surprising. Useful to have some references. A friend of mine was a sergeant in the Leclerc’s DDB and present at the surrender in the Hotel Meurice. Apparently one of his men, a private was sneered at by a German officer for participating in the surrender procedure and promptly received a helmet head butt in belly as a reply. He told me lots of minor stories like this. His name was Charles Pomerat. He gave me a copy of a photograph where he is in one of a series a half-tracks lined up for inspection by de Gaulle near the Arc de Triomphe.
By Michael Scott on Jul 24, 2009 at 9:10 am