Paris and the entirety of France had been under German occupation since June 1940 marking one of the Allies’ greatest defeats at the start of the war. Although the French government continued to exist in exile, one of their main goals was to avenge their defeat and recapture their homeland. Thankfully the success of D-Day ensured this would happen sooner than later, allowing France to retake its plays as one of the main powers. This victory was captured in Charles de Gaulle’s speech after the liberation.
Charles de Gaulle’s Letter On French Liberation
By the summer of 1944, the tide of war had turned in favor of the Allies. One of the major events was the D-Day landings in Normandy which allowed them to establish a foothold in France. This invasion marked their return to the European mainland and allowed the Free French Armies under Charles de Gaulle to accomplish one of their long-time missions, the liberation of France and Paris.
As the Allies pushed in deeper, they made contact with the French Resistance, urging them to cooperate and help with the liberation. This proved to be an excellent strategy as within two months, the allies would enter Paris after the Resistance staged an uprising across the city, distracting the German forces and allowing the Allies to overrun them.
With the battle raging all around them, the German military governor of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz was ordered to destroy Paris to prevent the Allies from using it. Despite these orders coming from Hitler himself, the governor rejected them and instead spared the city and its civilian population. Just a week after the Resistance began its uprising, the Allied armies entered the city, forcing the German forces to surrender.
With the liberation of the French capital complete, Charles de Gaulle entered the city and wrote a letter, announcing that France had freed itself from the Nazis.
“Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people with the help of the armies of France, with the support and assistance of all France, of the whole of fighting France, that is to say, of the only France, of the real France, of the eternal France.”
“At this moment when Paris rises to its feet to be liberated, at this moment when the enemy collapses and is disconcerted, at this moment when this awful long night that had fallen over us is coming to an end, and when we can see daylight again, we must first of all speak a word of recognition to all those who have fought for this cause.”
-Charles de Gaulle, Free French President.
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