Liberation of Paris

Today has been a pretty leisurely Monday in Paris.  First of all we slept in--much later than we should have.  Kate said, "Isn't it great to sleep in?  You can see why I like it."  I wasn't so sure....  But it is my birthday and it didn't take us long to get ready and go out.  Today is cloudy and cool and I am liking this Paris weather much better than the hot!
We went to the Paris City Hall, Hôtel de Ville, where we watched the World Cup to see the special exhibit on the Liberation of Paris called "August 1944 - The fight for freedom."

Kate and Kelly at Hotel de Ville Exhibit

The exhibit mentioned that there are few historical exhibitions that can be held in the location where the events actually took place.  The leader of the Forces Française de l'Intérieur (the FFI) called the Parisians to arms on August 18, 1944 and with the aid of the Resistance, Paris began to be liberated. 
The Americans wanted to bypass Paris because it would bog them down as they headed to Berlin and they were afraid of many casualties.  But Paris was a major priority for General de Gaulle.  The French in Paris occupied the police station and then Hôtel de Ville on August 20th.  Barricades were put up in the street using the paving stones, sandbags, trees, and anything else the Parisians could find.  It was reminiscent of the revolutions in 1830 and 1848 and the barricades you see in Les Misérables.  There was bloody fighting on Ile de la Cité and the Latin Quarter.
On August 25th, the American 2nd Armored Division, guided by the FFI, cut back the German defenses in Paris and took General Von Choltitz prisoner.  Hitler had ordered him to burn and destroy Paris but Von Choltitz refused so Paris was liberated without being destroyed.  General de Gaulle arrived that evening.  The next day, he was cheered by the Parisians as their liberator and head of the provisional government in a parade down the Champs-Elysée.
We saw pictures and video of all of this.  General de Gaulle was at least a head taller than all the other Frenchmen.  He looked like a leader.  He stood in the open windows in Hôtel de Ville speaking to the Parisians gathered below.  He was in one of the windows where we had seen the photographers while we watched the World Cup last week.
The exhibit had some sketches by an American soldier of the different types of French soldiers.  We thought they were pretty interesting and liked having something in English to read.

 

 

The picture on the far right is a sketch of an FFI Chief who has gotten his old uniform out of hiding.  We really liked the second one from the right.  Here is a close up.

 

"City-bred FFI.  Good French man - enthusiastic underground fighter - intellectual - despises mob.  Poor, jobless, sickly, he hopes new French Gov't will give him work and a vacation on the Riviera to cure his tuberculosis."  Kelly really got a kick out of that one.  It was so dead on.

Tonight we plan to go out for a birthday dinner celebration.  Rain is threatening but at least it is cool!

Kate and Jeanene- Dinner at Bistro St. Dominique near the Eiffel Tower