Liberation of Paris after Four Years of Nazi Occupation (June to August 1944)

May 26, 2023 | This is an excerpt from the film "The Spirit of Liberation": click here. Between the 19th and 25th August 1944 during the Second World War and in the course of Operation Overlord, the liberation of Paris took place. The capital of France had been occupied by German troops since June 1940. In mid-August 1944, a general strike set in motion the events of the eventual liberation, and an open revolt by French resistance fighters followed from 19th August. Allied formations advanced towards Paris in support, and soon the German city commander Dietrich von Choltitz capitulated in defiance of explicit orders from Adolf Hitler.