The period of occupation in France is preferred to be remembered as a heroic time. Charles de Gaulle, the Resistance... However, the impartial footage of the photo chronicle shows that everything was not quite the way the veterans tell and write in the history books. These photographs were taken by a correspondent for the German magazine Signal in Paris 1942-44. Color film, sunny days, smiles of the French, welcoming the occupiers. 63 years after the war, the selection became the exhibition "Parisians under the Occupation". She caused a huge scandal. The mayor's office of the French capital banned its display in Paris. As a result, permission was achieved, but France saw these shots only once. Second - public opinion could no longer afford. The contrast between the heroic legend and the truth turned out to be too striking.
photo by Andre Zucca from the exhibition in 2008
2. Orchestra on Republic Square. 1943 or 1944
3. Changing of the guard. 1941
5. The public in the cafe.
6. Beach near the Carruzel Bridge. Summer 1943.
8. Parisian rickshaw.
Regarding the photographs "Parisians during the Occupation". What hypocrisy on the part of the city authorities to condemn this exhibition for the "lack of historical context"! Just the photographs of the journalist-collaborator remarkably complement other photographs on the same topic, talking mainly about Everyday life Wartime Paris. At the cost of collaborationism, this city avoided the fate of London, or Dresden, or Leningrad. Carefree Parisians sitting in a cafe or in a park, roller-skating boys, and fishermen on the Seine are the same realities of wartime France as the underground activities of the Resistance. For what it was possible to condemn the organizers of the exhibition, it is not clear. And there is no need for the city authorities to become like the ideological commission under the Central Committee of the CPSU.
9. Rue Rivoli.
10. Showcase with a photograph of Collaborator Marshal Pétain.
11. Kiosk on Avenue Gabriel.
12. Metro Marbeuf-Champs Elysees (now - Franklin Roosevelt). 1943
13. Shoes made of fiber with a wooden block. 1940s.
14. Poster for the exhibition at the corner of rue Tilsit and the Champs Elysees. 1942
15. View of the Seine from the St. Bernard embankment, 1942.
16. Famous milliners Rosa Valois, Madame le Monnier and Madame Agnes during Longchamp, August 1943.
17. Weighing jockeys at the racetrack Longshan. August 1943.
18. At the grave unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, 1942
19. In the Luxembourg Gardens, May 1942.
20. Nazi propaganda on the Champs Elysees. The text on the poster in the center: "THEY GIVE THEIR BLOOD, GIVE YOUR WORK to save Europe from Bolshevism."
21. Another Nazi propaganda poster, issued after the bombing of Rouen by British aircraft in April 1944. In Rouen, as you know, the French national heroine Joan of Arc was executed by the British. The inscription on the poster: "KILLERS ALWAYS RETURN.. ..TO THE CRIME SCENE."
22. The caption to the picture says that the fuel for this bus was "city gas".
23. Two more automonsters from the time of the Occupation. Both pictures were taken in April 1942. The top picture shows a car fueled by charcoal. The bottom picture shows a car running on compressed gas.
24. In the garden of the Palais Royal.
25. The central market of Paris (Les Halles) in July 1942. The picture clearly shows one of the metal structures (because the pavilions of Baltar) of the era of Napoleon III, which were demolished in 1969.
26. One of the few black and white photographs of Zukka. On it is the national funeral of Philip Enriot, Secretary of State for Information and Propaganda, who advocated full cooperation with the occupiers. On June 28, 1944, Enrio was shot dead by members of the Resistance.
27. Playing cards in the Luxembourg Gardens, May 1942
28. The public in the Luxembourg Gardens, May 1942
29. In the Parisian Central Market (Les Halles, the very "womb of Paris") they were called "meat dressers".
30. Central Market, 1942
32. Central Market, 1942
33. Central market, 1942
34. Rue Rivoli, 1942
35. Rue Rosier in the Jewish quarter of the Marais (Jews had to wear a yellow star on their chest). 1942
36. in the Nation quarter. 1941
37. Fair in the Nation quarter. Pay attention to the funny carousel device.
Forget everything, forget everything, forget everything.
Forget forever in a slow waltz
Forty years of the century.
Louis Aragon
Forget
In 1944, Paris was liberated from the Nazi occupation.
wanted forget All.
Forget marching under the Arc de Triomphe of German soldiers and Hitler, photographed against the background eiffel tower.
Forget, as Edith Piaf sang in occupied Paris, Louis de Funes played the piano, Gerard Philippe, Jean Marais, Daniel Darier began their careers. The famous film "Children of Paradise" was filmed.
Forget, how they sent wagons full of Jews to Auschwitz. How well the invention of the French genius - the guillotine - functioned.
Forget that when General de Gaulle called on the French to resist by radio from London, he was not taken seriously, and Pétain was called the savior of the nation.
Forgot!
The year 1944 has come. The French not only supported de Gaulle, they succeeded forget that in 1940 they supported Pétain, who was now called the infamous nickname Puten (putain - a whore).
We also dealt with the so-called. "horizontal collaborationism". Women who loved the Germans flashed their shaved heads.
Forgot, that the same hairdressers who, under the hooting of the crowd, cut the criminal French women bald, quite recently served the gentlemen of the German officers with all respect.
Is it possible to reproach the French, who wanted and were able to forget everything?
Do we, who live in a different time and in different circumstances, have the right to judge and condemn them?
The memory of the war was heavy. And sometimes shameful. I wanted to forget about it. And many have succeeded. But we must not forget that in France during the occupation, not only sang and danced. There were people who had nothing to be ashamed of. And what they did in occupied France did them honor in the eyes of contemporaries and descendants. Let's remember!
Charles Aznavour
“Cultural life did not stop even after the fall of Paris. Charles Aznavour was not left without work either, ”they wrote about the famous chansonnier in 2015. It really was. However, a year and a half later, this is what happened.
On October 26, 2017, in Israel, Charles Aznavour and his sister Aida were awarded the Raoul Wallenberg medals. This was a recognition of the heroism of the entire Aznavour family, which during the Nazi occupation of Paris helped the hero of the French Resistance Misak Manouchian. They also hid Jews in their apartment. Is it worth remembering what the risk was? Charles Aznavour himself once said: "I ... knew hatred, pain, thirst and hunger, I knew what it was like to feel fear every day."
And to sing in front of the invaders ... yes, the future great chansonnier sang. He sang alone, sang in a duet with Pierre Roche. He composed songs, sang them in nightclubs. Maybe for camouflage purposes. Or maybe just helping the family survive...
Receiving the Raoul Wallenberg medal, Aznavour said bitter words: "Recognize the whole world the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust might not have happened."
Edith Piaf
It was said that some soldiers who went through the war spat after her. Her trips with tours to the Reich were condemned. For night performances, she rented the top floor of a brothel. She performed in Germany in front of French prisoners of war. Photographed "as a keepsake" with German officers.
All of this was true. During the occupation, Piaf's career in Paris was on the rise. She really sang on one of the floors of the brothel, receiving big money for her concerts. And on the other floor they hid the Jews, which she, of course, knew about. Most likely, her singing in front of gentlemen German officers as spectators was an excellent cover ...
She helped the Jewish musicians escape. Their names are known: Michel Emer, Norbert Glanzberg, who later joined the Resistance.
She sang in Germany in the camps for French prisoners of war. And under the guise of autographs, she handed over fake documents to the prisoners.
There is a short story by Turgenev about a brave sparrow who protected a chick from a huge dog. The French sparrow was called Edith Piaf. Coincidence.
Sad Clown Beep
"Poet of Silence", "Wizard of Silence", " speaking tongue hearts”, “Pierrot of the 20th century”... All this is about the French mime Marcel Marceau.
In the 40th year, the Germans entered Strasbourg, the hometown of Iser (Marseille) Mangel. He himself spoke about it:
“Strasbourg was empty… At the age of seventeen I joined the Resistance, and after the liberation of Paris, I joined the French army.”
In honor of General Marceau-Degravier, Marseille took the surname "Marceau".
In the underground, Marseille not only fought the Nazis, he also learned how to forge bread cards - after all, he had to eat something.
And his acting talent and the gift of reincarnation are due to the rescue of 70 Jewish children, who were transported in small groups across the Alps to Switzerland. Marseille, as a guide for the "tourists", passed by the sentries many times, and each time it was a "different" person.
After the liberation of Paris, Marcel Marceau joined de Gaulle's Free French Army and served as a liaison officer with General Patton's units.
And after the war, he became the Marcel Marceau that the world knows. And once he uttered piercing words: “... In 1944, my father died in a concentration camp ... For the world, he is one of the millions of nameless, tortured by the Nazis. And for me - the one to whom I devoted all my work.
Sad clown Bip in a striped T-shirt and crumpled hat. In addition to many theatrical awards, he received the Order of the Legion of Honor - the highest state award in France.
Tankman of the ninth company
Tankers of the ninth company of the Second Panzer Division of the French army participated in the liberation of Paris. They fought in the battles on the Moselle and, supported by American infantry, were the first to enter Strasbourg.
The most "old" tanker was Jean Alexi Monkorzhe, who fought in North Africa and later participated in the Normandy operation. For heroism, he was awarded the Military Medal "Médaille Militaire" and the Military Cross "Croix de Guerre".
The name of Jean Alexi Moncorger is practically unknown. The whole world knows him by his stage name - this is the great French actor Jean Gabin. Gabin did not want to shoot in occupied Paris. He went to the USA, filmed, met Marlene Dietrich... In her memoirs, she writes: "Once she and Gabin heard on the radio how de Gaulle called on the French to resist." And she accompanied Gabin to the war.
Jean Gabin returned to Paris as a liberator. They say that Marlene Dietrich was in the crowd meeting the Parisians and, seeing Gabin driving into Paris in a tank, rushed to him. Like it or not - God knows. But already in her old age, the great actress wrote in her diary: “My love for him remained forever.”
Vichysto- ré persistence
“Vichy-Resistance” was the name after the war for those who, collaborating with the Vichy regime, sympathized and secretly helped the Resistance. Perhaps the most famous of them was...
Francois Mitterrand
When the journalist Pierre Péan published a photograph of the young Mitterrand with Pétain in his book The French Youth, the French were shocked. And this was done with the permission of Mitterrand. His Vichy past was known, and he made no secret of the fact that he had once admired Marshal Pétain. And who did not admire the hero of the First World War at one time? No wonder de Gaulle named his son Philippe in honor of Pétain. And didn’t grateful France sing the song “Marshal, we are here”, which was, in fact, the anthem of Vichy France. More on this later. In the meantime - about Mitterrand.
Captured at the beginning of the war, he fled, got to the free (relatively speaking) zone. Collaborated with the Vichy regime, was awarded the Vichy "Order of Francis".
At the same time, the "order bearer" made fake documents for French prisoners who fled from the Nazi camps. At the end of 1943, the Germans suspected something, and Mitterrand managed to escape: first to Algiers, then to London. In December 1943 he met with de Gaulle. Returned to France, went underground. François Morlan, under this name he was known in the Resistance, created an underground organization - " national movement prisoners of war and deportees.
Nevertheless, Mitterrand's collaboration with the Vichy regime was remembered at every opportunity and inconvenience. That did not prevent him from leading the Fifth Republic for 14 years.
General Giraud
Speaking of vichy-resistance, it is impossible not to say at least a few words about General Giraud. His role in the war is evaluated differently. It is known that de Gaulle did not like him. There is a photograph where Giraud and de Gaulle shake hands. They say that the photo turned out almost the fifth time - such disgust was written on the faces of both generals.
Giraud twice, in 1914 and in 1940, fell into German captivity and ran away twice. At the beginning of the war, his army fought fiercely with the Germans, resisting the enemy outnumbered to the last. In 1942 he again escaped from captivity. The Germans demanded his extradition, Pétain refused. The Gestapo General's family was held hostage in Germany.
American intelligence sent him to Algiers. On November 8, the Allies under the command of General Eisenhower landed in North Africa. With the assistance of General Giraud, the Vichy troops went over to the Allied side.
Remember
It will not be possible in the framework of a magazine article to name all those who defended the independence and honor of France with arms in their hands.
The French, who did not bow their heads before the enemy.
German antifascists.
Russian emigrants and citizens of the USSR.
The Spaniards who fought shoulder to shoulder with the French as part of the legendary ninth company.
The hero of the French Resistance, writer and journalist Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie, sadly admitted after the war:
"I think if a referendum had been held in 1940, 90 percent of the French would have voted for Pétain and the prudent German occupation."
Do not rewrite the history of France, which sang in the 40th year:
“... You are saving the Motherland for the second time:
After all, Pétain is France, and France is Pétain!”
By the way, the history of the creation of this song, which appeared in 1940, fully corresponded to the spirit of that time. The authors of the words and music were André Montagar and Charles Courtue. In fact, they wrote new words to the music of the song "La margoton du bataillon". Its author, the composer Casimir Oberfeld, was a Jew and died in Auschwitz.
The fortieth anniversary of the twentieth century was tragic and heroic at the same time. Those who can forget him will forget.
The rest will remember.
Irina Parasyuk (Dortmund)
If we recall which of the states in its history has not been occupied by another state, then there are few such pleasant exceptions. Maybe those that arose quite recently somewhere on the islands. And others will always find sad examples when foreign conquerors marched through the streets of cities and villages. There were such invaders in the history of France: from the Arabs to the Germans. And between these extreme examples, there was just no one.
Nevertheless, the occupation of 1815-1818 was noticeably different from the previous ones. France was captured by a coalition of states that imposed the regime they needed and for several years made sure that the French did not destroy this regime.
The re-capture of France was not cheap for the interventionists. And it was not the talents of the defeated emperor. Napoleon abdicated just four days after Waterloo on June 22, 1815, however french army resisted the interventionists even without the famous commander. One of the culprits of the defeat, Marshal Grouchy, managed to deal a painful blow to the Prussian avant-garde under the command of Pirkh.
Anglo-Prussian troops crossed the French border on June 21 and stormed the fortresses of Cambrai and Peronne. In the absence of the emperor, Marshal Davout took command of the defeated army, who led the battered troops to Paris. On July 3, under pressure from the allied forces, the old Napoleonic commander concluded an agreement on the withdrawal of the French army beyond the Loire in exchange for security guarantees for Napoleonic officers (these promises did not save Marshal Ney). The capital of France was occupied by Prussian and English troops. However, the fall of Paris did not lead to a cessation of hostilities.
Napoleon had already surrendered to the British, and some French garrisons continued the war. For almost a month, the Landrecy fortress resisted the Prussian troops. For two months the fortress of Guningen withstood the Austrian siege. Longwy resisted the same amount. Metz survived for a month. Phalsburg surrendered to Russian troops only on July 11 (23). For a month and a half, the fortress of Valenciennes fought off foreign troops. Grenoble briefly, but fiercely repelled the attacks of the Piedmontese army (among the defenders of the city was the famous Egyptologist Champollion). Strasbourg managed to conquer the second time.
Only in the autumn were the interventionists able to dictate their terms to the defeated. The basis for the occupation was the Second Treaty of Paris of November 20, 1815, according to which, to ensure its implementation, occupying troops of no more than 150 thousand people were stationed in France.
The winners also insisted on the return of France to the borders of 1789, the occupation of 17 border fortresses, the payment of an indemnity of 700 million francs and the return of art treasures seized by Napoleon. On the French side, the contract was signed by the same Duke ("Duc") Richelieu, whose memory is carefully preserved by the inhabitants of Odessa.
The main participants in the anti-Napoleonic coalition were represented in the occupying forces on an equal footing. England, Russia, Austria and Prussia provided 30,000 soldiers each. The participation of other countries was more modest. 10 thousand gave Bavaria, 5 thousand - Denmark, Saxony and Württemberg. By the end Napoleonic Wars many of these armies already had experience of interaction.
On October 22, 1815, the conqueror of Napoleon Arthur Wellesley (aka the Duke of Wellington) was appointed commander of the occupying army in France. The headquarters of the interventionist troops in January 1816 was located in Cambrai, away from restless Paris. At first, the winner of Napoleon settled down in the “Franqueville” mansion (now the municipal museum), but with the arrival of his wife he moved to the old abbey of Mont Saint Martin, turned into the personal residence of the commander. For the summer, Wellington returned to his homeland, where awards and numerous ceremonies awaited him, such as the opening of Waterloo Bridge on June 18, 1817.
The king of France, Louis XVIII, did not skimp on awards to the winners, who awarded Wellington with the Order of Saint-Esprit with diamonds, and then presented him with the Grosbois estate. Other compatriots of the Bourbons showed less warm feelings for the commander of the occupying army. On June 25, 1816, in Paris, someone tried to set fire to the Wellington mansion on the Champs Elysees during a ball (August 15, 1816, the Boston newspaper The Weekly Messenger reported the fire on June 23). On February 10, 1818, the commander-in-chief tried to shoot the former Napoleonic non-commissioned officer (sous-officier) Marie Andre Cantillon, who was put on trial, but pardoned. Under Napoleon III heirs failed terrorist received 10,000 francs.
The regiments of the 1st Infantry Division of Great Britain covered the main apartment of the occupying troops in Cambrai. Parts of the 3rd Infantry Division were stationed nearby in Valenciennes. A British cavalry division was stationed at Dunkirk and Azbrouck. The ports of northern France were used to supply the English army. The performance of surveillance and police functions no longer required the presence of selected units. Therefore, the British government in the summer of 1816 withdrew from France the famous guards regiment Coldstream.
Next to the British in the Douai area was the Danish contingent under the command of Frederick (Friedrich) of Hesse-Kassel. Hanoverian units adjoined the British troops. The army of Hanover, barely recreated in 1813, sent about 2 brigades to the occupying group (the Hanoverians were reinforced by soldiers of the Royal German Legion of the British Army dissolved on May 24, 1816). Parts of the Hanoverian group were located in Bushen, Cond and St. Quentin (the headquarters was in Conde).
The Russian occupation corps included the 3rd Dragoon Division (Kurland, Kinburn, Smolensk and Tver Dragoon Regiments), the 9th Infantry Division (Nasheburg, Ryazhsky, Yakutsk, Penza Infantry and the 8th and 10th Jaeger Regiments) and 12 -th Infantry Division (Smolensky, Narva, Aleksopolsky, Novoingermanlandsky Infantry and the 6th and 41st Chasseur Regiments). The former head of the 12th Infantry Division, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, who distinguished himself at Borodino, was appointed commander of the "contingent".
At first, the Russian zone of occupation was mainly the regions of Lorraine and Champagne. In the summer of 1816, part of the Russian troops was transferred from Nancy to the Maubeuge area. Maubeuge (near Cambrai) housed the headquarters of Vorontsov, commander of the expeditionary force. Near the headquarters were the Smolensk and Narvsky (Kuto called this regiment Nevsky) regiments of the 12th division. Parts of the Alexopol regiment of the same division were scattered between Aven and Landrecy. The Novoingermanland Regiment (Regiment de la Nouvelle Ingrie) was stationed in Solesma. In Solre-le-Chateau was the Nasheburg Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. The Le Cateau area was occupied by the 6th and 41st Chasseurs.
Away from the headquarters of the corps on the territory of the Ardennes department in Rethel and Vuzier stood the Tver, Kinburn, Courland and Smolensk regiments of the 3rd Dragoon Division. Two Don Cossack regiments under the command of Colonel A.A. Yagodin of the 2nd (among the French - Gagodin) and military foreman A.M. Grevtsov of the 3rd were located in Briquette (Brick?). He commanded the Cossack brigade L.A. Naryshkin. Luka Yegorovich Pikulin (1784-1824) was appointed chief physician of the Russian corps. The total strength of the Russian corps is estimated differently. Some authors proceed from the official quota - 30 thousand people, others raise this figure to 45 thousand, but the number of 27 thousand people with 84 guns seems to be more reliable.
The organization of service in the Russian corps was exemplary. Violations of discipline were suppressed without leniency. The corps commander reacted just as harshly to attacks from local residents. When a French customs officer killed a Cossack smuggler, and the royal officials in Aven allowed the killer to escape, Vorontsov threatened that "every Frenchman guilty of us will be judged by our laws and punished according to them, even if he were to be shot." In addition to disciplinary measures, educational ones were also encouraged in the Russian corps. At the initiative of Vorontsov, a system for teaching soldiers to read and write was developed. To eliminate illiteracy, 4 schools were opened at the corps according to the “Landcaster method of mutual education”. The command tried not to resort to the usual corporal punishment in the Russian army.
Despite the remoteness of Vorontsov's troops from the borders of Russia, St. Petersburg looked after these garrisons. From time to time high-ranking officials appeared at the location of the corps. In March 1817 he arrived in France Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich (future Emperor Nicholas I). On this trip he was accompanied by the Duke of Wellington himself. At the request of Alexander I, Nikolai Pavlovich did not stop by in Paris. On his way to Brussels, the Grand Duke stopped for several hours in Lille and Maubeuge, where the noble guest was met by Russian and French aristocrats. In response to the greetings, Nikolai Pavlovich called the Russian troops and the French National Guard "brothers in arms." As expected, the official part ended with a "corporate party" and a ball. Among the less important visitors to Maubeuge was the famous partisan Seslavin.
The most brutal of the participants in the anti-Napoleonic coalition were the troops of Prussia, who played a decisive role in the battle of Waterloo. Many of these units distinguished themselves in the battles of 1815. Lieutenant General Hans Ernst Karl von Ziten was appointed commander of the Prussian occupation corps, located in the Sedan area, on whose account there were successful battles with Napoleon and the capture of Paris. Near the headquarters was the 2nd Infantry Brigade under the command of Colonel von Othegraven (Othegraven). The 1st Prussian Infantry Brigade, led by Colonel von Lettow, was located at Bar-le-Duc, Vaucouleurs, Ligny, Saint-Miguel and Mézières. The 3rd Infantry Brigade, under the command of Colonel von Uttenhofen, occupied the Stenet-Montmedy area. The 4th Infantry Brigade, led by Major General Sjoholm, was stationed at Thionville and Longwy.
The Prussian reserve cavalry brigade of Colonel Borstell (4 regiments) was located in Thionville, Commerce, Charleville, Foubecourt and Friancourt. The hospitals of the Prussian corps were located in Sedan, Longwy, Thionville and Bar-le-Duc. The field bakeries of the Prussian Corps were concentrated in Sedan.
The Austrian troops, having entered the war later than the British and Prussians, nevertheless, by the end of 1815, were able to establish control over almost all of southeastern France from the Rhine to the Cote d'Azur. The corps under the command of Colloredo invaded French territory from the Rhine, and the troops led by Frimont broke through the Riviera into Provence, defeating Murat's army along the way (the interventionists acted less successfully against Marshal Suchet's Alpine army).
Later, the main part of the Austrian troops was concentrated in Alsace. For example, the 2nd Dragoons were stationed at Erstein, the 6th Dragoons at Bischweiler, the 6th Hussars at Altkirchen, and the 10th Hussars at Enishheim. The headquarters of the Austrian "observation" corps, commanded by Johann Maria Philipp von Frimont, was located in Colmar. Next to the Austrians were the Württemberg troops, who in 1815 reached the Allier department almost in the center of France. Baden and Saxon units were also located there in Alsace. In addition to the old members of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, Swiss troops were active in the Jura mountains, and Piedmontese in Haute-Savoie.
Relations between the French and the occupiers remained moderately hostile. The actions of the interventionists gave many reasons for discontent, and sometimes even for open conflicts. According to Lauren Dornel, there were also fights. In 1816 there were skirmishes with the Prussians in Charleville, the department of Meuse and Longwy. The Danes also got it in Douai. The following year, 1817, brought new clashes between the inhabitants of the Meuse department and the Prussians, and the unrest also swept the administrative center - Bar-le-Duc. There were speeches against the Russian troops in the department of the Ardennes.
In the same place in the Ardennes, civilians heard cries against the Prussian general Ziten who visited this region. The British also fell in the area of Douai, where, in addition, there were skirmishes with the Danes. In Valenciennes, in 1817, the notary Deschamps was put on trial for hitting a Hanoverian officer. In Forbach, the Bavarian soldiers became the object of discontent among the locals. 1817 was marked by fights with Danish dragoons in Bethune and Hanoverian hussars in Brie (Moselle department). At the same time, the issue of a fight between the French and the British was being considered in Cambrai. Again there were fights between local residents and the British and Danes in Douai. In the following year, 1818, skirmishes in Douai with the British, Danes, Hanoverians and Russians occurred repeatedly.
Less noticeable was the constant discontent caused by requisitions for the needs of foreign troops. The invaders took away food, took "for temporary use" horses. And besides, the French paid a huge indemnity according to the Treaty of Paris in 1815. All this taken together made the presence of foreign troops undesirable for the vast majority of the inhabitants of France. However, there was a minority in power who willingly put up with the occupation. One of the royal ministers, Baron de Vitrolles, with the consent of the Count of Artois, even sent a secret note to all the monarchs of Europe, in which he demanded that pressure be exerted on the Bourbons, demanding a more conservative policy.
When the king found out about the behind-the-scenes negotiations, he immediately fired Vitrolles. Louis XVIII, unlike many royalists, understood that foreign bayonets could not be an eternal support for an unpopular regime, and in 1817 inserted into the throne speech a hint of the upcoming withdrawal of foreign troops. To strengthen the royal army, a law was passed to increase the armed forces of France to 240 thousand people.
At the same time, the occupying troops were slightly reduced. Since 1817, the gradual withdrawal of Vorontsov's corps from France began. At the same time, some units (the 41st Jaeger Regiment) were sent to strengthen the Caucasian Corps of General Yermolov. There is an opinion that the transfer of the Russian occupation corps to the Caucasus was a manifestation of a kind of disgrace for the troops, imbued with liberal views in France. Of course, such an influence cannot be denied, but for categorical statements it is not enough to refer to the Decembrists, among whom far from all were in France.
It must also be borne in mind that before the eyes of the soldiers and officers of the Russian corps passed the panorama of not a revolutionary country, but a society crushed by the interventionists and their own royalists. In fact, the reorganization of the occupation corps was reduced to the transfer of infantry regiments to other corps and divisions. According to the memoirs of A.A. Euler sent five artillery regiments from France to the Bryansk and Zhizdrinsky districts. The withdrawal of the Russian units was led by the brother of Alexander I, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. The former corps commander had other troubles at that time. Following his troops, Vorontsov took his young wife, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Branitskaya, to Russia.
The time had come when the major powers of Europe had to decide on the withdrawal of foreign troops. According to the Second Treaty of Paris in 1815, the occupation of France could last 3 or 5 years. However, the occupiers themselves were not very enthusiastic about continuing their stay in France. The least interested person in the occupation was Emperor Alexander I, for whom the stay at the other end of Europe of the Vorontsov corps did not bring great political dividends. The authority of Russia was very weighty for the Prussian king to join the opinion of the "partners".
The British government had enough opportunities to influence the French court even without Wellington's troops, and Lord Castlereagh decided to continue to protect England from direct intervention in intra-European conflicts. Austria was the least interested in restoring French sovereignty, but Metternich remained in the minority. The most ardent opponents of the withdrawal of the occupying troops were the French royalists, who felt with all their bodies that their compatriots would not leave them alone. They tried to scare their foreign sponsors with impending upheavals, but that didn't work. The question of the withdrawal of the occupying troops was a foregone conclusion.
Diplomats Holy Union” had to figure out how to improve relations with France without military pressure. For this purpose, delegations from five countries gathered in the German city of Aachen (or in French - Aix-la-Chapelle). England was represented by Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington, Russia by Emperor Alexander I, Austria by Emperor Franz I, Prussia by King Frederick William III and France by Duke Richelieu. The Aachen Congress lasted from September 30 to November 21, 1818.
Through the efforts of diplomats, France moved from the category of supervised recidivists to the rank full member group of great powers, which was transformed from the Quartet to the Five. The occupation has become a complete anachronism. On November 30, 1818, the allied troops left the territory of France. The last echo of the Napoleonic wars has fallen silent. Before the overthrow of the Bourbons, 12 years remained.
On the eve of World War II, the French army was considered one of the most powerful in the world. But in a direct clash with Germany in May 1940, the French were enough for a few weeks of resistance.
Useless superiority
By the beginning of World War II, France had the 3rd largest army in the world in terms of the number of tanks and aircraft, second only to the USSR and Germany, as well as the 4th navy after Britain, the USA and Japan. The total number of French troops numbered more than 2 million people.
The superiority of the French army in manpower and equipment over the forces of the Wehrmacht on the Western Front was undeniable. For example, the French Air Force included about 3,300 aircraft, of which half were the latest combat vehicles. The Luftwaffe could only count on 1,186 aircraft.
With the arrival of reinforcements from the British Isles - an expeditionary force in the amount of 9 divisions, as well as air units, including 1,500 combat vehicles - the advantage over the German troops became more than obvious. However, in a matter of months, there was no trace of the former superiority of the allied forces - the well-trained and tactically superior army of the Wehrmacht eventually forced France to capitulate.
The line that didn't defend
The French command assumed that german army will act as during the First World War - that is, it will attack France from the northeast from Belgium. The entire load in this case was to fall on the defensive redoubts of the Maginot Line, which France began to build in 1929 and improved until 1940.
For the construction of the Maginot Line, which stretches for 400 km, the French spent a fabulous amount - about 3 billion francs (or 1 billion dollars). Massive fortifications included multi-level underground forts with living quarters, ventilation systems and elevators, electrical and telephone stations, hospitals and narrow gauge railways. railways. Gun casemates from air bombs were supposed to be protected by a concrete wall 4 meters thick.
The personnel of the French troops on the Maginot Line reached 300 thousand people.
According to military historians, the Maginot Line, in principle, coped with its task. There were no breakthroughs of German troops on its most fortified sections. But the German army group "B", having bypassed the line of fortifications from the north, threw the main forces into its new sections, which were built on swampy terrain, and where the construction underground structures it was difficult. There to hold back the pressure german troops the French couldn't.
Surrender in 10 minutes
On June 17, 1940, the first meeting of the collaborationist government of France, headed by Marshal Henri Petain, took place. It lasted only 10 minutes. During this time, the ministers unanimously voted for the decision to turn to the German command and ask him to end the war on French territory.
For these purposes, the services of an intermediary were used. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, P. Baudouin, through the Spanish ambassador Lekeric, conveyed a note in which the French government asked Spain to turn to the German leadership with a request to stop hostilities in France, and also to find out the terms of the armistice. At the same time, a proposal for a truce was sent to Italy through the papal nuncio. On the same day, Petain turned on the radio to the people and the army, urging them to "stop the fight."
Last stronghold
When signing the armistice agreement (act of surrender) between Germany and France, Hitler was wary of the vast colonies of the latter, many of which were ready to continue resistance. This explains some of the relaxations in the treaty, in particular, the preservation of part navy France to maintain "order" in their colonies.
England was also vitally interested in the fate of the French colonies, since the threat of their capture by German forces was highly valued. Churchill hatched plans for a French government in exile that would grant virtual control of Britain's French overseas possessions.
General Charles de Gaulle, who created a government in opposition to the Vichy regime, directed all his efforts to seizing the colonies.
However, the North African administration turned down an offer to join the Free French. A completely different mood reigned in the colonies of Equatorial Africa - already in August 1940, Chad, Gabon and Cameroon joined de Gaulle, which created the conditions for the general to form the state apparatus.
Fury of Mussolini
Realizing that the defeat of France from Germany was inevitable, Mussolini on June 10, 1940 declared war on her. The Italian Army Group "West" of Prince Umberto of Savoy, with forces of over 300 thousand people, with the support of 3 thousand guns, launched an offensive in the Alps. However, the opposing army of General Aldry successfully repelled these attacks.
By June 20, the offensive of the Italian divisions became more fierce, but they managed to advance only slightly in the Menton area. Mussolini was furious - his plans to seize a large piece of its territory by the time of France's surrender had failed. The Italian dictator has already begun to prepare an airborne assault, but has not received approval for this operation from the German command.
On June 22, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, and two days later a similar agreement was signed between France and Italy. So, with a "victorious embarrassment" Italy entered the Second World War.
Victims
During the active phase of the war, which lasted from May 10 to June 21, 1940, the French army lost about 300 thousand people killed and wounded. Half a million were taken prisoner. The tank corps and the French Air Force were partially destroyed, the other part went to the German armed forces. At the same time Britain liquidates french navy to avoid falling into the hands of the Wehrmacht.
Despite the fact that the capture of France took place in a short time, its armed forces gave a worthy rebuff to the German and Italian troops. For a month and a half of the war, the Wehrmacht lost more than 45 thousand people killed and missing, about 11 thousand were wounded.
The French sacrifices of German aggression could not have been in vain if the French government had made a number of concessions put forward by Britain in exchange for the entry of the royal armed forces into the war. But France chose to capitulate.
Paris - a place of convergence 
According to the armistice agreement, Germany occupied only the western coast of France and the northern regions of the country, where Paris was located. The capital was a kind of place of "French-German" rapprochement. Here, German soldiers and Parisians coexisted peacefully: they went to the cinema together, visited museums, or simply sat in a cafe. After the occupation, theaters also revived - their box office receipts tripled compared to pre-war years.
Paris very quickly became the cultural center of occupied Europe. France lived as before, as if there were no months of desperate resistance and unfulfilled hopes. German propaganda managed to convince many French people that capitulation is not a disgrace to the country, but a road to the “bright future” of a renewed Europe.
After the previous entry about the Parisian Immortal regiment a discussion arose: are they celebrating the Victory here, what was the occupation and liberation for the Parisians? I do not want to give unambiguous answers, as well as draw any conclusions. But I propose to listen to the eyewitnesses, to look through their eyes, to think over a few figures.
German soldiers look at Paris from the Eiffel Tower, 1940
Robert Capa. Parisians at the victory parade, 1944
Here are some dry numbers.
- France was defeated by the Germans in a month and a half. She fought in World War I for 4 years.
- During the war, 600 thousand Frenchmen died. In World War I, there were one and a half million dead.
- 40 thousand people participated in the resistance movement (of which about half were French)
- De Gaulle's "Free French" troops numbered up to 80 thousand people (of which about 40 thousand French)
- Up to 300,000 Frenchmen served in the German Wehrmacht (23,000 of them were captured by us).
- 600 thousand French were deported to Germany for forced labor. Of these, 60,000 died, 50,000 went missing, and 15,000 were executed.
And any big whole is better perceived through the prism of small events. I will give two stories of my good friends who were children in occupied Paris.
Alexander Andreevsky, son of a white emigrant.
Alexander's mother was Jewish. With the arrival of the Germans, the French began to extradite the Jews or point out to the Germans people who were suspected of being Jews. “Mother saw how the neighbors began to look askance at her, she was afraid that they would soon inform her. She went to the old rabbi and asked what she should do. He gave unusual advice: go to Germany, work there for several months and return with documents that the Germans will issue "But so that when entering Germany, my mother's passport would not be checked, the rabbi told her to knock over a jar of honey in her bag. She did so, and the German officer at the border disdained to pick up documents soiled and stuck together with honey. For four months I lived with friends, and then the mother returned from Germany and no one else had any suspicions towards her."
Francoise d'Origny, hereditary aristocrat.
“During the occupation, we lived in the suburbs, but my mother sometimes took me to the city with her. In Paris, she always walked hunched over, quietly, like a mouse, looking at the ground and not raising her eyes to anyone. And she also made me walk. But one day I saw a young German officer looking at me and smiled back at him - I was 10 or 11 then. My mother instantly gave me such a slap in the face that I almost fell. I never looked at Germans again. we were riding in the subway and there were a lot of Germans around. Suddenly, a tall man called out to my mother, she was very happy, she straightened up and seemed to look younger. The car was crowded, but it was as if an empty space appeared around us, such a breath of strength and independence. I then asked, who was this man. Mother answered - Prince Yusupov. "
Look at some photos about life during the occupation and liberation of Paris, I think they give food for thought.
1. German victory parade at the Arc de Triomphe in June 1940 
2. Installation of German signs on Concord Square. 
3. Palace of Chaillot. The oath of civil servants and the police of the new government 
4. Champs Elysees, " new life", 1940
5. German propaganda truck in Montmartre. Broadcast music to commemorate the 30 days of the capture of Paris. July 1940 
6. German soldier with a Frenchwoman at the Trocadero 
7. In the Paris subway 
8. Saleswoman of German newspapers 
9. Andre Zucca. Hot day, Seine embankment 
10. André Zucca. Parisian fashionistas. 1942 
11. Tuileries Garden, 1943 
12. Return to horse traction. There was almost no fuel in the city 
13. Wedding in Montmartre 
14. Pierre Jean. Remelting of monuments into metal. 1941 
15. Sending workers to Germany. 
16. Deportation of Jews, 1941 
17. "Departure from Bobigny". From this station, trains went straight to the death camps. 
18. At the walls of the Louvre. Products were distributed according to cards, so many planted vegetable gardens. 
19. The queue at the bakery on the Champs Elysees 
20. Giving away free soup 
21. Entrance to the Paris metro - air raid alert 
22. Legionnaires of the Anti-Bolshevik Corps 
23. Volunteer French Legion goes to the Eastern Front 
24. Parisians spit on captured British paratroopers, whom the Germans are leading through the city. 
25. Torture of a member of the Resistance in the German police 
26. Captured members of the resistance movement are led to execution 
27. Robert Capa. German paratrooper, caught by resistance guerrillas 
28. At the barricade in Paris in August 1944 
29. Street fighting in Paris. In the center is Simon Seguan, an 18-year-old partisan from Dunkirk. 
30. Robert Capa. Resistance fighters during the liberation of Paris 
31. Skirmish with German snipers 
32. Pierre Jamet. Procession of the Leclerc Division, Avenue du Maine. Liberation of Paris, August 1944 
33. Robert Capa. Resistance fighters and French soldiers celebrate the liberation of Paris, August 1944 
34. Parisian with allies 
35. Robert Capa. Mother and daughter, who were shaved for cooperation with the invaders. 
36. Robert Capa. Paris welcomes General De Gaulle, August 1944 
P.S. And now the French imagine themselves to be the victorious nation in World War II, participate in the celebrations of the Victory ...
Yeah...
