I remember reading an interview von Choltitz gave to Paris Match decades ago. He said that his meeting with Hitler convinced him that Hitler was mad and that destroying Paris was useless as he considered that Germany had already lost the war.
He forgot to say to Paris Match that not burning Paris was also part of a bargain to save his German war criminal ass from hanging from the gallows at Nuremberg...😇
From what I had read on the matter it was not that he saved Paris, the circumstances saved Paris, he didn't have neither the manpower nor the means to do anything, everything had been withdrawn and the French Resistance had made his life a misery.
Going into Paris did NOT delay the end of the war in Europe. Eisenhower only allowed one French armored division and one American infantry division to enter Paris. The two divisions in Paris did not affect the allied armies progress towards Germany, because the allies did not have the transport at that time to move all of their available divisions eastward immediately. Many had to be temporarily left behind. The real problem for Eisenhower caused by the liberation of Paris was how to feed and heat Paris after the liberation. It was the need to transport food and coal to Paris that caused some delays in troop movements, but those delays were not the real barrier to victory in 1944. The biggest factor in delaying victory was Monty's failure to seize the Scheldt Estuary immediately after capturing Antwerp. The two month delay in opening Antwerp to allied shipping is what really prevented the defeat of Germany in 1944.
@@inominate2024 Actually, I have a very clear idea of the unnecessary problems faced by the Canadian Army in the Scheldt due to Monty's inexcusable delay in seizing the Scheldt. I have read "Eight-Five Days: The Story of the Battle of Scheldt" by Capt. R.W. Thompson which describes those events in detail. I have also read the post-war memoirs of Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley (both books) and Monty's chief of staff Frederick de Guingand. I have also read all of the books on the ETO in the US Army's official history of the US Army in WW2. Please note that my comments were in no way critical of the Canadians who were the victims of Monty's delay. You should remember that Monty eventually admitted that he probably should have sent troops to the Sheldt earlier that he in fact did. This is, to my knowledge, the only mistake he ever admitted having made. Finally, know that I am named after an uncle was was KIA on March 22, 1944.
I always thought it was more about the lost supplies, that were supposed to go to feeding and supporting troops, that now were spent on feeding a large city.
In fact one can argue that the proclamation of the French Republic accelerated the liberation of France as the french government gathered military intelligence from the french administration behind the German lines giving to the allies a great deal of tactical efficiency. Also what remained of the French Army was mobilized and fresh troops sent to the front.
@@srfrg9707 Oh, the French army at this time was virtually non'existent. They dwaddled forever around Strasbourg, infuriating Patton who was late to the "Bulge."
I read that later on, Paris honored the general with a medal for his role in NOT destroying the city. There's much more to the story than this short documentary covered.
One thing not covered in detail is that von Choltitz' staff and confidants were concerned that committing an act like this on Paris, considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, would lead to a horrible revenge by the French. If you thought the Treaty of Versailles was bad...
They were allies up to that point. This might have something to do with the decision not to destroy their allies city. Who did America and friends fight in North africa? the nazis and unfortunately the French. (vichy regime) these people had no problem rounding up their own jews for the final solution. barely 1 percent of the French pop. was in the resistance. (another tall tale france likes to tell) the exiled French army in Britain, if you could call it an army. were cool. but cmon, don't kid yourself. if Roosevelt didn't die before the war ended, there would have been a few Frenchmen on trial at Nuremberg. it's sad really.
@@UA-cam-C.I.A I think your assessment of the French is a little harsh. Yes, some did work with the NAZI's, but most did not. Most French soldiers did not want to surrender in '40, but their leadership screwed that pooch. They fought, very half-heartedly with the Germans in Africa, but mostly to prevent the complete invasion of Vichy, which, in essence, the NAZI's were holding hostage. When the French troops did go over to the Allies in Africa the NAZI's did invest Vishy. As to the Jews and the resistance, most French who tried were caught and executed. We are judging France on the few, not the many or the situation they were in. I will respectfully disagree. (Who would think two people on the Internet would disagree?)
@Vlad Impaler hey I agree. My assessment is a little harsh. Do you not think helping the nazis with their final solution was a bit harsh to? Like not everyone was evil. Look at the nazi who "saved" paris. Or von Stauffenberg? Do we give the nazis a pass because of those two good men? All I'm saying is they are the forgotten Allie of the nazis. Whether they were coerced,just capitulated or held hostage? Could you see britain doing that at the time? "Fighting it the fields, beachs etc.?" Or even america? It's possible I guess... 🤷
As a kid, my mother told me about this piece of history. She illustrated it with the film " Is Paris burning". It left an impression. Thank you for sharing.
War isn’t just hell, it’s complicated hell. One thing is clear, von Choltitz was given strict orders and yet the Paris landmarks still stand. He may not have had the resources to level the entire city but destroying the symbols of Paris was well within his capabilities. Let’s be fair, his own account of his actions was almost certainly self serving and exaggerated. It looks to me like he slow walked his orders until events overtook him. He was thinking of the future when Hitler and his high command thought history ended with themselves.
I completely agree..He was a great self-promoter after the war. Although, based on records of the French bomb defusing crews he most certainly was wiring the city to carry out the order and probably would have, he just ran out of time.
Look at Dresden, Tokyo and even San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. One you get a city burning and prevent anyone from putting it out, it is not that hard to burn it to the ground.
Yeah he was definitely covering his own ass... Like Himmler would later think he could do for himself.... Uh, no dude you're still a mass murderer. Just a cooperative mass murderer
In my university thesis I explored those that disobeyed direct orders from Supreme Command and were correct in doing so. There is no question that Dietrich von Choltitz is the one that saved the faith of many and landmarks of history. It's sad that several historians will not accept that fact. Because on that day Choltitz made the right decision.
Even if the ressources of the Germans were too limited to burn Paris to the ground, Paris and France owe a lot to General von Choltitz, and his memory should be respected by the French as a loyal combatant!
Thank you for a clear,concise coverage of those very,very critical days before liberation.For those who never knew what War II meant,or how devastating it was,or how close freedom was from being set free,this coverage removes all doubts.We are indeed grateful for those unknown bravehearts who laid their life on the line to rescue and secure humanity for the future.Thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻
Yeah. Man. I like these a lot, he does a good job. That archetype of the General saving Paris must be commended, but still punished. Not undermining any of the war crimes of the Nazis or him. But this man knew he couldn't go against Hitler without knowing he'd die(along with his family). But he did it and Paris is still standing. I think it was for his conscience more than anything. I think deep down he was trying to convince himself rather than us.
So many untold stories of bravery and treachery from The Great Wars. Thanks Dark Docs for telling us about another one that at least I didn't know about.
Great quality content and thank you! Your editing and narration is Awesome. You’ve (in my opinion) hit a Bullseye. You’ve edited (video) and narrated great historical stories into 10-18min videos; not easy. In todays modern (ADHD) society, this is how content is being viewed. Your ability to create this quality historical content in this format, it’s just brilliant! Thank you 🙏
It also has to do with an ever increasingly busy and burdened society that's being led to a point where there's no time for anything longer than 30 minutes for any downtime or learning anything in their "free time," among other things.
@@westnblu uh. No. The election is over and ballots keep appearing? Trump won, the left panicked and cheated. “No way HE is getting back in the White House !”
I love how UA-cam says they monitized history channels, but I haven't seen an ad on any of your channels for almost 6 months now. They should stand by their own rules and pay you what you are owed for your work.
"The fact that the life of our nation was in the hands of an insane being, who could no longer judge the situation, or was unwilling to see it realistically depressed me immensely" Words which truly outlived the time in which they were spoken.
It's amazing to hear that a Nazi general finally tell Hitler no is nothing short of startling. It takes true courage to say no to Hitler and I'd like to say thank you to the Nazi general who essentially saved Paris from destruction! Without him, Paris wouldn't be around today.
There is an argument to be made that Paris wouldn't have needed saving if he hadn't been. Nazi to begin with. How many cities and cultural sites did he destroy before arriving at Paris? I'm not gonna thank that monster for having a change of heart when he realized he was loosing.
@@halogeek6 France was the one that declared war on Germany, so there is an argument to be made that if French (and British) goverments hadnt declared war, Paris wouldnt need saving to begin with. In fact, there is an argument to be made that if France hadnt declared war on Germany, WW2 would have never happened. There are many arguments to be made when it comes to a massive event like WW2 , so I wouldnt be so judgy of an officer or general, if I were you.
Choltiz was one of the Old Guard; remember Hitler had the entire Wehrmacht swear a personal oath of obedience to HIM. Not the ruler of Germany. HIM, Adoph Hitler. For a group who were brought up from birth to believe that a personal oath was inviolate no matter what, this situation had to be true hell. Any intelligent officer knew the war had been lost two years earlier at Stalingrad. IF not then Kursk. The steady advance of all the Allies east and west for nearly two years at this point had to leave no one with any real common sense believing in any kind of victory. I have read and seen accounts of how Hitler could spellbind people; and that was another facet of all of this. A fervor like believing in a Prophet of God. All this should be taken into account when considering what Von Choltiz did. The sensible part of him KNEW destroying Paris was a criminal act. A war crime. But the part that was old Guard Prussian, had taken an PERSONAL oath to obey Adoph Hitler to the end, fought with the sensible part. The conflict I think is what caused him to slow walk everything. Hoping events would prevent him from having to do something terrible. And he got lucky.
The war was known to be lost even before Stalingrad. My grandfather was legal adviser in the air force ministry. One day, during a conference with big generals, a note was brought in. The general presiding read it and said: "Amerika hat den Krieg erklärt. Meine Herren, das wars dann wohl". (America has entered the war. Gentlemen, so much for the war) My grandfather got into REAL trouble for sharing this with his family. A party official wanted him executed, but some connections inside the military saved him.
Sometimes when your the “bad guy”, you may just live long enough to become the hero in the end. He risked his own families lives to refuse an order. Respect.
You're only the bad guy because history is written by the victors, If the Nazi's had won the war a different version of history would be taught in classrooms.
@@Eric-lv9id It is one thing to deny the people you are fighting and still have at least some reasonable options to slow or stop the use of the cities as they pursue and advance and a spiteful order to burn absolutely everything you can't hold onto. Hitler also demanded the destruction of all stores and supplies in Germany as Berlin was falling. Yet another general had to refuse to carry out this order. No tactical or military goal to it, simply his determination that Germans should cease to exist if he was not their overlord. It became more clear as tables turned that Hitler was raving mad. I don't give them much credit though. His policies at home and his outright murder of those that opposed or offended him was well known by the time Germany's conquest started to unravel. Let's also not forget that the Soviets were absolutely fine with starving conquered nations and were happily devouring eastern Europe as Axis allies right up until Hitler decided that was annoying him and turned on them. I'm sure that factored into people's view of any notion of Russian victimization at the hands of Germany.
Not really. Ever since the first French Revolution they've been gunning for what it is today. You just need to look deeper at who it is that's actually in control (not the government)
Exactly. I was born there. Every time I go back it gets worse and worse...the demographics are long gone. Funnily enough, the German propaganda at the time directed at France (specifically the one titled 'France 100 years from now') was spot on.
Another great video! I am curious: did von Choltitz' family members survive the wrath of the Hitler and his SS? I see a couple of other viewers have the same question...Thank you!
@@akkiaddizone6889 You can redeem yourself when you have the blood of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children on your hands. The only thing you can do after that is to make up for all the evil you've done. Von Choltitz was evil.
Raoul Nordling, consul of Sweden. He served as intermediary between the French Resistance and Dietrich von Choltitz, and persuaded him not to destroy Paris. But Choltitz took all the glory for it.
Consider - if Choltitz had followed orders and destroyed Paris landmarks, would Nordling have accepted ANY of the blame for failing to persuade Choltitz? I think not. So, therefore, Nordling should get as much 'glory' for Choltitz's good decision as he would have gotten 'blame' if Choltitz had made a bad decision. Fair is fair.
While sure Raoul’s advice and persuasion was no doubt a contributing factor, he wasn’t the one disobeying orders, Choltitz was. Nordling faced absolutely no risk or consequences from giving his recommendations. While Choltitz faced the very real possibility of a court martial where he would’ve likely been shot or hung for his defiance; plus given that punishment for failure at that time was so severe, it was very likely that his family would’ve been suffered also. Von Choltitz risked losing literally everything for his decision, yet did it anyways, which is exactly why he is recognized for his actions.
I find it most incredible that the sycophants of Hitler held onto their belief in him even when he was clearly loosing his mind and health, in a normal course of events he would have been either persuaded to relinquish power or removed using any means necessary, but not in Hitlers case, even to the bitter end there were a number of his inner circle who, even knowing the war was lost, were prepared to obey his orders, even when they were plainly crazy, without question. It is a good thing that some came to their senses and disobeyed them, Von Choltitz and Albert Speer being two notable men who decided that the scorched earth policy would only bring a more intense retribution from the allied powers.
@@laszlozoltan5021 Observation from a guy living in Holland. Biden showed all the signs of dementia even before the election. The man more than obviously suffers from severe mental health conditions with all consequences for several cognitive capabilities. He is completely unfit for any responsible job let alone the most demanding and important job on the world. But instead of protecting Biden against himself or protect and serve the country, Biden’s inner circle is taling all kind of actions to minimize his interactions with the media, come up with pre arranged questions and remarks etc. So please enlighten us why you don’t agree.
There’s something aspiring to see “a bad guy turn into a good guy”. Of course, it depends on their motives, and the severity of past crimes committed. Nevertheless, I love hearing stories like this.
There are different levels of bad and I would also say evil. There are points where the bad guys will even say "this is crazy..." Or "this is wrong/this is too far" or even realizing like this general did that Hitler (who was crazy and evil from the start) was out of touch with any sort of reality and he couldn't serve a leader like that. This general was still on the wrong side of history, and obeyed Hitler, till his own loyalty just ran out because he saw that Hitler was no longer worth being loyal to probably most likely because he knew in his gut the war was lost.
@@AaronEllisOfficial Jung called it the Shadow. The dark side that everyone has that if you don't recognize.. You can get caught in cults, whether government or religion. Everyone has humanity in them, but if you can't see this type of stuff happening in politics then you just aren't paying attention. Liz Cheney was a bad guy to the democrats, but when she did these hearings against Trump now she's a good guy to that group. People pick sides to be heroes in their own stories, of course there are traitors, alliances, and all that. We make up tribes then, and then we make up what is good or bad, but the answer is always maybe.
I'm sure in the back of his mind he knew, but only after seeing the visible shift in health and sanity did it become obvious. The Germans were running rampant over everyone they fought, until 1943 it wouldn't have seemed as if hitler was crazy at all.
Extremely informative and it portrays Von Holditz and Eisenhower most positively.. was Von Holditz able to extract his family from the the SS to safety? I hope he was treated with fitting dignity after his surrender. I had read in multiple histories that Paris was liberated to a force that was almost exclusively French military commanded by French General LeClerc and the Americans forces were a very minor portion of the liberators.
of course he wouldn't tell that, not dramatic enough, nah paris liberation totally screwed everything else up also you can't talk about the french force fighting everyone knows they were all collaborators ! smh
One of the most partial and inaccurate versions of this history I've ever seen. No mention is made of the role of the Swedish Consul General Raoul Nordling who, in the course of many hours of crafty negotiating over several days, enmeshed von Choltitz in a web of humanitarian commitments that helped to supplant any vestigial ideas von Choltitz retained of destroying the city. The first Allied force to enter Paris at its liberation was the French Second Armored Division of Philippe LeClerc de Hautecloque; the American Fourth Infantry Division didn't arrive until later. Communist Party Resistance and Gaullist Resistance were fighting on the same side, a political and military organization called the FFI, French Forces of the Interior. There were significant numbers of Gaullists and other non-communist elements within the FFI in Paris, and there were communist elements, namely the Spanish Republican veteran force called La Nueve, among the Allied forces that liberated Paris. I urge everyone who found this video interesting to seek out additional sources that give a more complete version of this story. The popular history Is Paris Burning? by Collins and LaPierre would be a place to start.
This Dark Doc about liberation and near destruction of Paris is One of my favorites in the series. The film editors did a masterful job of matching images to voice over narration. I think the background music( one of the Wagner symphonies) was exceptional choice. When narratives talk about Hitler or the General appropriate images appeared. The one phrase mentioned German engineers looking for right points to mine Iffiel Tower; four German soldiers March across the screen. Beautifully edited, a masterful piece of film making.
Bro to be honest i always watch your videos The way you speak sounds like a professional historian The level of seriousness in your time is damn awesome
He did save the city according to Allen Dulles who was in talks with von Choltitz as well as von Kesselring at that time. Let us remember, saving a city does not a hero make. His final conclusion on Hitler should have been his first thought on him as well.
So should the same be said for the whole population of Germany, there's a reason why hitler had overwhelming support once he took power he was a master orator and a man who pulled a country out of the worst possible economic situation a country could possibly find itself in, established Germany as a superpower only 10 years after that. It wasn't until hitlers descent into madness upon losing ground in the war and the inevitable conclusion that was coming did most people including his generals and staff see the real hitler
@@Thompson011 He succumbed to addiction. By all accounts he had a severe addiction to both opiates and amphetamines, essentially constantly speedballing. He brought his "doctor" with him everywhere that would administer these drugs intravenously, along with a concoction of other things for his "health and stamina." I think he cared more for the high than reality in the final year or two.
@@Thompson011 The same could be said about any politician and populace. Politicans never spell out every detail. The Germans wouldn't have followed Hitler in 1936 if he had promised to create the Holocaust or invade Russia.
@@QuinnShaw far too many factors to get into in a UA-cam comment but that would certainly be a big one, maybe not so much caring about the high but certainly trying to escape the reality that he knew was coming
when I lived in Europe, the first time I went to Paris was like meeting a celebrity or just a wonderful dream. I had not expected such a small city, to be so full or treasure and beauty. It was sad to travel to other cities that were all NEW, both in the UK and in Germany and Holland. But Paris belongs to the world. Also if you go to Pere Lechaise, there are graves of those that died in that time before liberation and a bullet marked wall where the Germans shot Parisians all through the war. If you get a chance read the book "Is Paris Burning?" The one line about young teenage women who would open a tank top and throw in a Molatov cocktail and then be shot as they ran off, that they looked like beautiful flowers in their bright skirts, falling to the ground. Also the brave hospital, with the doctors making bombs to throw and the knowledge that they might have to liberate themselves if the allies did not....it was a way of showing, "We're willing to give everything for this city, it must be saved."
I live near the Invalides, the Ecole militaire and several ministries. Their stone walls are literally covered with bullet holes from the combats in august 1945. Tourists don't pay attention to those details.
G'day Dark, Make no mistake; I love the City and people of Paris. Even though I live on the other side of the planet, in Tasmania; I visit as often as I can. Paris, for me, has a deep historical and social significance; however, its preservation, I believe thanks to General Dietrich von Choltitz, came at a mammoth price. The loss of hundreds of thousands; quite possibly, a few million lives elsewhere, across Europe and Germany. Untold numbers of families, towns and villages were wiped from the face of the Earth due to Eisenhower's decision to enter Paris when he did. The most pressure coming from the, generally loathed, self-appointed 'saviour' of Paris and leader of France, Charles de Gaulle. Every time I find myself sitting outdoors in Paris, revelling in its atmosphere; I can't help but think that the young people around me and the average Parisians have no idea how many people 'paid the bill' for their homes and their lifestyles in the City of Light. Then I ponder the horror of Paris, somehow being behind a hideously redrafted Communist wall through the decades of the Cold War if the French Communists had taken over; and then the original intent; even worse, Paris reduced to burning rubble. At every possible occasion, Paris and Parisians should pause to pay thanks to non-Parisians for their beautiful, iconic French capital. Thank you, Dark, for highlighting the reasons why there IS a Paris. Cheers, BH
I think this is all an exaggeration re: the 'true cost' of liberating Paris. The Allied forces needed to veer south to take Paris simply was not enormous...the fuel problem was not really felt til later....
General von Choltitz chose to stand on the right side of Paris' art and cultural history by defying his Fuhrer. He was not the only German general who stood up to his insane dictator. Heinz Guderian, Erich von Manstein and Erwin Rommel, to name a few, had many disagreements and arguments with Hitler over the Nazi prosecution of war. There are many lessons to learn from this aspect of history. One of them is to discern and avoid serving a boss turned mad, or giving an insane order. 🤣😂
How do you consider the bombing of Dresden in the context of your last line? With the Bengali famine, Churchill had some 2-4 million starved to death people on his account too, he may also turned mad with some of his orders since then, ever thought about? Especially taking into account that the war was actually won at that point of time.
Ever since the talk of Russia unleashing Nukes as Putin's behavior becomes more erratic have the words "Jodl...is Paris Burning?" have been on my mind. Early on in the "Special Operation" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked if Russia would launch nuclear weapons, his answer was "We are not crazy". I think that answer was truthful and candid.
It wasn't morals, it was him saving his own skin because he knew the war was lost and that if he did blow up Paris the French would skin him alive, if he thought there was a chance they could have still won he would have turned it to ash and laughed while doing so, because he's a Nazi and animals don't have morals
Same thing happened in Bordeaux. Where a German soldier basically saved the city from destruction by locking himself with the detonators and waiting to be rescued.
Stories like this are pivotal to show the complexities associated with wars. It’s not a dim narrow black or white view and these need to be told and retold. Ty.
Why did you omit the Swedish diplomat who convinced the general to not destroy the city. It was even made into movies called “Paris burning” and “Diplomacy”. His name was Raoul Nordling.
I studied wwII for 40+ years, and this was new to me! Great story, great video! Please keep at it! And in a couple of years from now, please reflect on the stories of the war in Ukraine! 😊👍
Excellent Video! I watch about all the DARK channels & love the videos always But this one was one of the best Ive seen theyve made! Narrator as always, excellent!!! Thank you for all you're hard work making such great researched true historical and more content!!!
"I saw in front of me someone who had lost his mind. The fact that the life of our nation was in the hands of an insane being who could no longer judge the situation or was unwilling to see it realistically depressed me immensely." It depresses me to have the similar thoughts about the president of the united states today.
Thank you for this interesting post, I have no words to describe these individuals, the Nazis also wanted to blow up Firenze/ Florence, they mined all the main bridges over the Arno, blew up several , one they did not get to blow up was, Ponte Vecchio , they destroyed as they withdrew, stole Artworks, many have never been returned, lives lost because of greed, power.🌻
I beleive that you have hugely underestimated how important the liberation of Paris was. The liberation of Paris gave a huge boost to the french and therefore the resistance. That gave a huge morale boost and we will never know how much that shortend the war.
I brought up the Nazi occupation of Paris recently comparing the new general appointed by Putin and the Nazi general. I got a lot of push back on this claim (I was saying “this general reminds me of von” due to the Russian general being notorious for leveling cities as well) but others focused on how Von didn’t destroy Paris and saved danish fighters during bombings. But bobs reputation was being a butcher would leveled entire cities. Hence why he was appointed as governor in Nazi occupied Paris.
I think you should look more closely at this Ukraine debacle.History will. When all the rhetoric and propaganda is over and people begin to look for the facts and the truth Putin is going to look like a saint for not leveling Ukraine. I just feel so bad for the Ukrainian people. The Ukraine is in the same position that poland was before World War 2. Russia is Germany and NATO is France and the UK and the US.. United Kingdom and France got Poland to be a proxy for them against Germany. Just like the US and NATO is getting the Ukraine to be a proxy for them against Russia. Polish politicians were perfectly willing to ignore reasonable and fair solutions to the disputes they were having with Germany because France and u.k. sold them a dream that would make them more rich and powerful. The United States was complicit because they knew that Russia would occupy the east of Poland if Poland and Germany went to war. The US chose not to inform Poland of this fact because Poland would have chose to negotiate at that point. Instead they alloweded Germany to be backed into a corner where they felt they had to invade Poland. And you know how the rest goes. Watch the documentary " Hitlers War?". See if that doesn't change your mind.
What about American Generals who had followed President Esinhower's orders to drop Atomic bombs on two Japanese cities? One man's madness is anothers glorious deed.
@@paulhunter6742 I think more egregious on Eisenhower or America's part on the Rhine Meadows camps. I think colloquially they are known as Eisenhower's death camps. I think my only point in replying to all these comments on this video come from people's cartoon understanding of World War II which I think because of this cartoon understanding they are putting a cartoon understanding on what's happening in the Ukraine right now. I'm getting ready to be accused of being a Nazi sympathizer or a white supremacist but with all we know now a lot of historians don't believe Hitler was the worst of the major leaders in World War II. Should have been some very strong arguments that civilian bombing wouldn't have started unless Churchill had begun actually bombing the heart of Berlin. We are told that Churchill waited until London was bombed before he bombed Berlin. Technically that's true 1 German bomb fell about an 1/8 mile inside londons furthest boundry in the fog while attempting to bomb an industrial target with no human casualties. Some say that Eisenhower knew that Stalin was going to take over East Poland if Germany and Poland went to war and he didn't say anything knowing that the Polish would make a deal over Danzig if they knew the Soviets were going to also invade them. Historians now also claim that the eight points Action Memo was designed to outline the actions that the US would need to take to get Japan to attack us so we could enter World War II. In my mind there is no way that anyone that knows the history of Ukraine since the Wall came down could think that Putin is doing this because he is an "egomaniac". These are the same people that believe Putin had Alexander litvinenko Poisoned With polonium that came from dimona in Israel. These are the same people that still believe that Trump was working for Putin.
There are different levels of bad and I would also say evil. There are points where the bad guys will even say "this is crazy..." Or "this is wrong/this is too far" or even realizing like this general did that Hitler (who was crazy and evil from the start) was out of touch with any sort of reality and he couldn't serve a leader like that. This general was still on the wrong side of history, and obeyed Hitler, till his own loyalty just ran out because he saw that Hitler was no longer worth being loyal to probably most likely because he knew in his gut the war was lost.
I had a uncle in general Pattons army at the battle of the bulge I ask him one time what was it like he just said it was bad real bad and said Patton was hell his guts out blood, my uncle was one of the best kindest men I’ve ever known he was my hero back when a man was a real man, that was a great history lesson.
His name was Coltitz, not Holtitz. I heard this story before. Later I heard that he hadn’t had enough explosives to blow up Paris (or at least important and culturally important buildings of it) anyway. So that he made it look as if he did out of mercy. - Who knows which version of the story is true....
Right. You mostly don’t get the whole picture and only know what they allow you to. Hitler and his party would have gotten nowhere without the bank loans from New York. After the war the CIA had incorporated 1,400 German scientists, engineers and members of German intelligence. See >operation paperclip
@@kulturfreund6631 There were no bank loans from New York, US firms did invest in German corporations but only in a very limited way ands only after the nazis had taken power, before that the party was always on the verge of bankruptcy. Astonishingly it is two Munich Jewish bankers who kept them alive. The US used those Germans mostly for the space program but they did much worse that that, they gave immunity to the Japanes scientists of Unit 731 in exchange for their research papers and they actually used those vicious biological agents against North Korea, murdering hundreds of thousands of civilians that way. and then they dropped some on China, a clear violation of the Geneva convention. And then they nuked two cities when the Japanese had been trying to surrender for months, they just refused to respond until they had tried their new toys. And there's a lot more.
@@kulturfreund6631 I know the bank, that's where Prescot Bush was working. and where Fritz Thyssen had some investments. He financed Hitler in Germany but US banks did not. Hitler's money mostly came from rich German financiers who wanted to make sure all communists would be expuled and from industrialists who benefited from Hitler's policies but only once he became chancelor, before that the perty constantly struggled to survive.
"I saw in front of me a man who has lost his mind...an insane being who could no longer judge the situation..." An apt comment on current events.
And he seems intent on going out the same way hitler did...fight the world and be crushed by it.
Here here
@@tremedar 9
You mean television comedian Zelensky? Indeed, the man wants to single handedly drag us into WWIII
He has no mind left , it's the democratic party that hates our country
I remember reading an interview von Choltitz gave to Paris Match decades ago. He said that his meeting with Hitler convinced him that Hitler was mad and that destroying Paris was useless as he considered that Germany had already lost the war.
He forgot to say to Paris Match that not burning Paris was also part of a bargain to save his German war criminal ass from hanging from the gallows at Nuremberg...😇
Smart man...
as useless as destoying many german cities with millions of dead women and children...
From what I had read on the matter it was not that he saved Paris, the circumstances saved Paris, he didn't have neither the manpower nor the means to do anything, everything had been withdrawn and the French Resistance had made his life a misery.
@@davidmarkwort9711 I may checkout a doc on the French Resistance.
Going into Paris did NOT delay the end of the war in Europe. Eisenhower only allowed one French armored division and one American infantry division to enter Paris. The two divisions in Paris did not affect the allied armies progress towards Germany, because the allies did not have the transport at that time to move all of their available divisions eastward immediately. Many had to be temporarily left behind. The real problem for Eisenhower caused by the liberation of Paris was how to feed and heat Paris after the liberation. It was the need to transport food and coal to Paris that caused some delays in troop movements, but those delays were not the real barrier to victory in 1944. The biggest factor in delaying victory was Monty's failure to seize the Scheldt Estuary immediately after capturing Antwerp. The two month delay in opening Antwerp to allied shipping is what really prevented the defeat of Germany in 1944.
@@inominate2024 Actually, I have a very clear idea of the unnecessary problems faced by the Canadian Army in the Scheldt due to Monty's inexcusable delay in seizing the Scheldt. I have read "Eight-Five Days: The Story of the Battle of Scheldt" by Capt. R.W. Thompson which describes those events in detail. I have also read the post-war memoirs of Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley (both books) and Monty's chief of staff Frederick de Guingand. I have also read all of the books on the ETO in the US Army's official history of the US Army in WW2. Please note that my comments were in no way critical of the Canadians who were the victims of Monty's delay. You should remember that Monty eventually admitted that he probably should have sent troops to the Sheldt earlier that he in fact did. This is, to my knowledge, the only mistake he ever admitted having made. Finally, know that I am named after an uncle was was KIA on March 22, 1944.
I always thought it was more about the lost supplies, that were supposed to go to feeding and supporting troops, that now were spent on feeding a large city.
In fact one can argue that the proclamation of the French Republic accelerated the liberation of France as the french government gathered military intelligence from the french administration behind the German lines giving to the allies a great deal of tactical efficiency.
Also what remained of the French Army was mobilized and fresh troops sent to the front.
Very informative
@@srfrg9707 Oh, the French army at this time was virtually non'existent. They dwaddled forever around Strasbourg, infuriating Patton who was late to the "Bulge."
I read that later on, Paris honored the general with a medal for his role in NOT destroying the city. There's much more to the story than this short documentary covered.
Woah, thanks for the trivia!
Paris is known for bending over, they will give medals to anyone.
A medal for not committing a war crime he committed a few times before is a bit much haha
@@KayShort21 Yeah, racist much, eh?
It’s easy to do the right thing when it doesn’t cost anything.
Doing the right thing when it might kill you is another thing altogether.
One thing not covered in detail is that von Choltitz' staff and confidants were concerned that committing an act like this on Paris, considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, would lead to a horrible revenge by the French. If you thought the Treaty of Versailles was bad...
They were allies up to that point. This might have something to do with the decision not to destroy their allies city.
Who did America and friends fight in North africa? the nazis and unfortunately the French. (vichy regime) these people had no problem rounding up their own jews for the final solution. barely 1 percent of the French pop. was in the resistance. (another tall tale france likes to tell)
the exiled French army in Britain, if you could call it an army. were cool. but cmon, don't kid yourself. if Roosevelt didn't die before the war ended, there would have been a few Frenchmen on trial at Nuremberg. it's sad really.
@@UA-cam-C.I.A I think your assessment of the French is a little harsh. Yes, some did work with the NAZI's, but most did not. Most French soldiers did not want to surrender in '40, but their leadership screwed that pooch. They fought, very half-heartedly with the Germans in Africa, but mostly to prevent the complete invasion of Vichy, which, in essence, the NAZI's were holding hostage. When the French troops did go over to the Allies in Africa the NAZI's did invest Vishy. As to the Jews and the resistance, most French who tried were caught and executed. We are judging France on the few, not the many or the situation they were in. I will respectfully disagree. (Who would think two people on the Internet would disagree?)
@Vlad Impaler hey I agree. My assessment is a little harsh. Do you not think helping the nazis with their final solution was a bit harsh to? Like not everyone was evil. Look at the nazi who "saved" paris. Or von Stauffenberg? Do we give the nazis a pass because of those two good men? All I'm saying is they are the forgotten Allie of the nazis. Whether they were coerced,just capitulated or held hostage? Could you see britain doing that at the time? "Fighting it the fields, beachs etc.?" Or even america? It's possible I guess... 🤷
Tbh the allies did make sure most german cities were levelled including iconic ones with their bombs
Yet he didn't have an issue inciting the Soviet by burning their villages.
As someone who has visited beautiful Paris, I am so grateful von Choltitz decided to disobey mad Hitler's orders.
As a kid, my mother told me about this piece of history. She illustrated it with the film " Is Paris burning". It left an impression. Thank you for sharing.
That is such a great film... Smart mom.
My grandmother was actually in Paris at the time, of course she didn't know any of this was happening just like 99% of olthe other Parisians.
I didn't realize that book had been made into a film. I've read the book numerous times.
@@ravenbarsrepairs5594
1966
0⁰00
War isn’t just hell, it’s complicated hell. One thing is clear, von Choltitz was given strict orders and yet the Paris landmarks still stand. He may not have had the resources to level the entire city but destroying the symbols of Paris was well within his capabilities.
Let’s be fair, his own account of his actions was almost certainly self serving and exaggerated. It looks to me like he slow walked his orders until events overtook him. He was thinking of the future when Hitler and his high command thought history ended with themselves.
I completely agree..He was a great self-promoter after the war. Although, based on records of the French bomb defusing crews he most certainly was wiring the city to carry out the order and probably would have, he just ran out of time.
Look at Dresden, Tokyo and even San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. One you get a city burning and prevent anyone from putting it out, it is not that hard to burn it to the ground.
Well put
@@fpsshorts8338 I thought so as well.
Yeah he was definitely covering his own ass... Like Himmler would later think he could do for himself.... Uh, no dude you're still a mass murderer. Just a cooperative mass murderer
In my university thesis I explored those that disobeyed direct orders from Supreme Command and were correct in doing so. There is no question that Dietrich von Choltitz is the one that saved the faith of many and landmarks of history. It's sad that several historians will not accept that fact. Because on that day Choltitz made the right decision.
Choltitz also sent many thousands to their death in Germany. From both fronts.
@@johnbrattan9341 It is what happens when you give up your guns.
@@bobbys4327 Tell that to the French.
@@bobbys4327 The Nazis had plenty of guns and enough sociopaths to use them.
@@jean6872 they disarmed their population when they came to power.
Even if the ressources of the Germans were too limited to burn Paris to the ground, Paris and France owe a lot to General von Choltitz, and his memory should be respected by the French as a loyal combatant!
Exactly my thoughts. Whatever his motives were, his actions saved a lot
The story is fake. He just told it to save his ass. It was definitly debunked 20 years ago.
Thank you for a clear,concise coverage of those very,very critical days before liberation.For those who never knew what War II meant,or how devastating it was,or how close freedom was from being set free,this coverage removes all doubts.We are indeed grateful for those unknown bravehearts who laid their life on the line to rescue and secure humanity for the future.Thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you for sharing this video and information.
I'm really impressed with your narration and editing.
Very well done, and thank you for your efforts.
Yeah. Man. I like these a lot, he does a good job.
That archetype of the General saving Paris must be commended, but still punished. Not undermining any of the war crimes of the Nazis or him. But this man knew he couldn't go against Hitler without knowing he'd die(along with his family). But he did it and Paris is still standing.
I think it was for his conscience more than anything. I think deep down he was trying to convince himself rather than us.
Be sure to do your own research as well 🙂
Reminder...can't keep making videos without making money.
What even with Told in the title are you sure?
So many untold stories of bravery and treachery from The Great Wars. Thanks Dark Docs for telling us about another one that at least I didn't know about.
Dear Docs...I appreciate very much your entire family of outstanding historical videos. Keep up the great work. ❤
Great quality content and thank you!
Your editing and narration is Awesome.
You’ve (in my opinion) hit a Bullseye. You’ve edited (video) and narrated great historical stories into 10-18min videos; not easy.
In todays modern (ADHD) society, this is how content is being viewed.
Your ability to create this quality historical content in this format, it’s just brilliant!
Thank you 🙏
How exactly did you analyze his editing skills , were you a fly on his shoulder.
@@showtale8325 I'm so glad we found someone who can turn into Flys and teliport. LOL
It also has to do with an ever increasingly busy and burdened society that's being led to a point where there's no time for anything longer than 30 minutes for any downtime or learning anything in their "free time," among other things.
Now we Americans understand what it's like to have a completely incompetent and disastrous leader in charge of our country.
Trump did lose the election. Don’t be to hard on the old conman.
Yes we do. Let’s Go Brandon!
No.. Trump lost the election a while back now. Who are u talking about?
@@westnblu No. it was stolen from him and everyone knows it.
@@westnblu uh. No. The election is over and ballots keep appearing? Trump won, the left panicked and cheated. “No way HE is getting back in the White House !”
I love how UA-cam says they monitized history channels, but I haven't seen an ad on any of your channels for almost 6 months now. They should stand by their own rules and pay you what you are owed for your work.
"The fact that the life of our nation was in the hands of an insane being, who could no longer judge the situation, or was unwilling to see it realistically depressed me immensely"
Words which truly outlived the time in which they were spoken.
Happening again right before our eyes with putin
@@Lucifer-qt9gh And all of the DNC in the US
Could have been said by a Roman senator too.
They all recieved a steady diet of lead from what I hear.
@@brianedwards7142 have you ever taken a cannonball dookie?
It's amazing to hear that a Nazi general finally tell Hitler no is nothing short of startling. It takes true courage to say no to Hitler and I'd like to say thank you to the Nazi general who essentially saved Paris from destruction! Without him, Paris wouldn't be around today.
There is an argument to be made that Paris wouldn't have needed saving if he hadn't been. Nazi to begin with. How many cities and cultural sites did he destroy before arriving at Paris? I'm not gonna thank that monster for having a change of heart when he realized he was loosing.
@@halogeek6 Imagine what would've happened to Paris if this officer wasn't around. Although nothing will change the horrible acts this man committed.
@VinAr Run If he was Wehrmacht general, then why does this video portray this man as a Nazi?
True courage indeed. Saying no to Hitler would most likely result in death.
@@halogeek6 France was the one that declared war on Germany, so there is an argument to be made that if French (and British) goverments hadnt declared war, Paris wouldnt need saving to begin with.
In fact, there is an argument to be made that if France hadnt declared war on Germany, WW2 would have never happened.
There are many arguments to be made when it comes to a massive event like WW2 , so I wouldnt be so judgy of an officer or general, if I were you.
Between narcissism and ignorance it's a damn wonder the human race has made it this far...
Arrogance, ego, and vanity belong on the list as well.
@@malcolmtudor8039 as I understand it, narcissism encompasses all three of those...
The human race is not going to make it very much further. We are in end times.
Great content as always. Your narration seems to be slightly slower than usual today - sounds to me much more of a natural clip. Thanks!
He’s not a genius, nor a legend.. He was just a normal man with a normal mind in a world with sick minds and sick men. Bless him.
Thanks for such informative videos, you take us to the period you are narrating, i feel like I was there myself 😀❤️👍
Brilliant channel.... Its the in depth research, but also how the VO is delivered....
Not annoying. That makes it all more poignant... It works.
Choltiz was one of the Old Guard; remember Hitler had the entire Wehrmacht swear a personal oath of obedience to HIM. Not the ruler of Germany. HIM, Adoph Hitler.
For a group who were brought up from birth to believe that a personal oath was inviolate no matter what, this situation had to be true hell.
Any intelligent officer knew the war had been lost two years earlier at Stalingrad. IF not then Kursk. The steady advance of all the Allies east and west for nearly two years at this point had to leave no one with any real common sense believing in any kind of victory. I have read and seen accounts of how Hitler could spellbind people; and that was another facet of all of this. A fervor like believing in a Prophet of God.
All this should be taken into account when considering what Von Choltiz did. The sensible part of him KNEW destroying Paris was a criminal act. A war crime. But the part that was old Guard Prussian, had taken an PERSONAL oath to obey Adoph Hitler to the end, fought with the sensible part.
The conflict I think is what caused him to slow walk everything. Hoping events would prevent him from having to do something terrible. And he got lucky.
Yes, also von Choltiz was worried about what would happen to his wife and children who were still in Germany if he disobeyed.
Totally correct ...non germans don't understand this 'Prussian' mentality and the oath
The war was known to be lost even before Stalingrad. My grandfather was legal adviser in the air force ministry. One day, during a conference with big generals, a note was brought in. The general presiding read it and said: "Amerika hat den Krieg erklärt. Meine Herren, das wars dann wohl". (America has entered the war. Gentlemen, so much for the war)
My grandfather got into REAL trouble for sharing this with his family. A party official wanted him executed, but some connections inside the military saved him.
To this day, I never understood how a corporal from Austria could have ruled the old aristocratic german army leaders.
@@jrd3523 Lance-corporal, Hitler never reached corporal because of "insufficent ability to lead".
Sometimes when your the “bad guy”, you may just live long enough to become the hero in the end.
He risked his own families lives to refuse an order.
Respect.
You're only the bad guy because history is written by the victors, If the Nazi's had won the war a different version of history would be taught in classrooms.
Hitler had bad table manners? Omg could he get any worse? Lol.
Remember the nice stuff: he was a vegetarian and liked dogs, so he had that going for him.
@@andrewthompson5728 Seeing positives in everything is good. What if you're a beef farmer who loves cats though?
@@justme_gbEven if he did eat cats, why would you want to eat a beef farmer?
@@andrewthompson5728 O_O
It's almost like he had to throw that little detail in so the Nuremberg committee would believe he wasn't a DieHard Nazi
He burned several Soviet Cities but by saving Paris he only 2 years in a POW compound. Then released with no charges.
Thanks for pointing that out. Double standards, clearly.
@@Eric-lv9id It is one thing to deny the people you are fighting and still have at least some reasonable options to slow or stop the use of the cities as they pursue and advance and a spiteful order to burn absolutely everything you can't hold onto. Hitler also demanded the destruction of all stores and supplies in Germany as Berlin was falling. Yet another general had to refuse to carry out this order. No tactical or military goal to it, simply his determination that Germans should cease to exist if he was not their overlord. It became more clear as tables turned that Hitler was raving mad.
I don't give them much credit though. His policies at home and his outright murder of those that opposed or offended him was well known by the time Germany's conquest started to unravel.
Let's also not forget that the Soviets were absolutely fine with starving conquered nations and were happily devouring eastern Europe as Axis allies right up until Hitler decided that was annoying him and turned on them. I'm sure that factored into people's view of any notion of Russian victimization at the hands of Germany.
So what? none of that qualified for war crimes. However he could have been involved in some massacre of Jews.
That's based
of course, we ended up at war with the russians...Why punish a guy that clearly helped us out? /s
Imagine if Parisians then, could see Paris now.
France's political path would have turned out entirely differently.
Not really. Ever since the first French Revolution they've been gunning for what it is today. You just need to look deeper at who it is that's actually in control (not the government)
Exactly. I was born there. Every time I go back it gets worse and worse...the demographics are long gone. Funnily enough, the German propaganda at the time directed at France (specifically the one titled 'France 100 years from now') was spot on.
@@deusvult6920 Based
@@blitzy3244 couldn't find it I'd say UA-cam won't keep it up we're definitely not free
AKA too many brown people?
Another great video! I am curious: did von Choltitz' family members survive the wrath of the Hitler and his SS? I see a couple of other viewers have the same question...Thank you!
I studied WWII and never heard of this. Incredible man. He should have received a medal.
you did not studied well or say researched. .how could you missed such event. .few articles were well written on this matter. .
@@romuloambay9624 Somehow I completely missed it.
Are you insane? he was a Nazi and had commited many war crimes. Did you not watch the film?
@@derekbrown3165 he redempted himself at the end...
@@akkiaddizone6889 You can redeem yourself when you have the blood of tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children on your hands. The only thing you can do after that is to make up for all the evil you've done. Von Choltitz was evil.
Raoul Nordling, consul of Sweden. He served as intermediary between the French Resistance and Dietrich von Choltitz, and persuaded him not to destroy Paris. But Choltitz took all the glory for it.
Consider - if Choltitz had followed orders and destroyed Paris landmarks, would Nordling have accepted ANY of the blame for failing to persuade Choltitz? I think not. So, therefore, Nordling should get as much 'glory' for Choltitz's good decision as he would have gotten 'blame' if Choltitz had made a bad decision. Fair is fair.
I think so. We Swedish people have a tendency to blame ourselfs if something fails. So I think he would take the blame. At least he would feel guilty
The fact that the Resistance and Choltitz were communicating indicates his openness to preserving the city. Assigning exact credit is not feasible.
While sure Raoul’s advice and persuasion was no doubt a contributing factor, he wasn’t the one disobeying orders, Choltitz was. Nordling faced absolutely no risk or consequences from giving his recommendations. While Choltitz faced the very real possibility of a court martial where he would’ve likely been shot or hung for his defiance; plus given that punishment for failure at that time was so severe, it was very likely that his family would’ve been suffered also. Von Choltitz risked losing literally everything for his decision, yet did it anyways, which is exactly why he is recognized for his actions.
Great story, as usual. Your team really knocks it out of the park!!! 😉
Dude did the right thing not destroying a beautiful city. Should be acknowledged.
well... were the nazis failed, the beloved eternal parasite succeeds, it seems....
I find it most incredible that the sycophants of Hitler held onto their belief in him even when he was clearly loosing his mind and health, in a normal course of events he would have been either persuaded to relinquish power or removed using any means necessary, but not in Hitlers case, even to the bitter end there were a number of his inner circle who, even knowing the war was lost, were prepared to obey his orders, even when they were plainly crazy, without question. It is a good thing that some came to their senses and disobeyed them, Von Choltitz and Albert Speer being two notable men who decided that the scorched earth policy would only bring a more intense retribution from the allied powers.
Hitler was paranoid fir obvious reasons: There was a price on his head
we got that kind of crap going on now, with people in the white house don't ya think.
@@richardeagan551 dont think you do
@@richardeagan551 Absolutely.
@@laszlozoltan5021
Observation from a guy living in Holland.
Biden showed all the signs of dementia even before the election.
The man more than obviously suffers from severe mental health conditions with all consequences for several cognitive capabilities. He is completely unfit for any responsible job let alone the most demanding and important job on the world.
But instead of protecting Biden against himself or protect and serve the country, Biden’s inner circle is taling all kind of actions to minimize his interactions with the media, come up with pre arranged questions and remarks etc.
So please enlighten us why you don’t agree.
Thank you for speaking more clearly and slowly.
My father was one of the first group of troops into Paris.
SS or Weremacht
Thank God Germany 🇩🇪 is a democracy today.
There’s something aspiring to see “a bad guy turn into a good guy”. Of course, it depends on their motives, and the severity of past crimes committed. Nevertheless, I love hearing stories like this.
There are different levels of bad and I would also say evil. There are points where the bad guys will even say "this is crazy..." Or "this is wrong/this is too far" or even realizing like this general did that Hitler (who was crazy and evil from the start) was out of touch with any sort of reality and he couldn't serve a leader like that. This general was still on the wrong side of history, and obeyed Hitler, till his own loyalty just ran out because he saw that Hitler was no longer worth being loyal to probably most likely because he knew in his gut the war was lost.
The guy was serving his country so he wasn't really a bad guy in the first place.
this wasn't a bad guy turning into a good guy. this was an extremely bad guy accepting defeat instead of further embracing delusions.
He wasn't a good guy nor a bad guy.
Just a human. Just a person. Just a soldier that has limit in how much or up far the order he can obey.
@@AaronEllisOfficial Jung called it the Shadow. The dark side that everyone has that if you don't recognize.. You can get caught in cults, whether government or religion.
Everyone has humanity in them, but if you can't see this type of stuff happening in politics then you just aren't paying attention.
Liz Cheney was a bad guy to the democrats, but when she did these hearings against Trump now she's a good guy to that group. People pick sides to be heroes in their own stories, of course there are traitors, alliances, and all that. We make up tribes then, and then we make up what is good or bad, but the answer is always maybe.
Something very human and universal in that. Even an enemy of France had to sit back and say "I can't destroy something this beautiful".
"Is Paris burning!" reportedly repeated by a screaming Adolph Hitler during a maniacal rant upon hearing of the liberation of Paris
Dark Docs never fails to deliver. Phenomenal...
Apparently this “hero” didn’t know Hitler was crazy until he suddenly knew he was crazy. Sounds eerily familiar.
I'm sure in the back of his mind he knew, but only after seeing the visible shift in health and sanity did it become obvious. The Germans were running rampant over everyone they fought, until 1943 it wouldn't have seemed as if hitler was crazy at all.
It sounds like my liberal friends that refuse to admit that our president is half senile.
I think this channel has some of the most interesting insights on historic events and machines and the presentation is always well done.
Extremely informative and it portrays Von Holditz and Eisenhower most positively.. was Von Holditz able to extract his family from the the SS to safety? I hope he was treated with fitting dignity after his surrender. I had read in multiple histories that Paris was liberated to a force that was almost exclusively French military commanded by French General LeClerc and the Americans forces were a very minor portion of the liberators.
Americans liberated the city if it wasn't for them and the British Paris wouldn't be liberated then.
The plan became to have the French liberate Paris. The Parisan public were not convinced. Thus the 28 division parade
of course he wouldn't tell that, not dramatic enough, nah paris liberation totally screwed everything else up
also you can't talk about the french force fighting everyone knows they were all collaborators ! smh
Keep up the contents love it
A historical account I never knew.
Well done !!!!!!!!!!
*Well Done **_Von Choltitz_** gives us the wonderful Paris we enjoy today !*
One of the most partial and inaccurate versions of this history I've ever seen. No mention is made of the role of the Swedish Consul General Raoul Nordling who, in the course of many hours of crafty negotiating over several days, enmeshed von Choltitz in a web of humanitarian commitments that helped to supplant any vestigial ideas von Choltitz retained of destroying the city.
The first Allied force to enter Paris at its liberation was the French Second Armored Division of Philippe LeClerc de Hautecloque; the American Fourth Infantry Division didn't arrive until later.
Communist Party Resistance and Gaullist Resistance were fighting on the same side, a political and military organization called the FFI, French Forces of the Interior. There were significant numbers of Gaullists and other non-communist elements within the FFI in Paris, and there were communist elements, namely the Spanish Republican veteran force called La Nueve, among the Allied forces that liberated Paris.
I urge everyone who found this video interesting to seek out additional sources that give a more complete version of this story. The popular history Is Paris Burning? by Collins and LaPierre would be a place to start.
The 1966 movie "Is Paris Burning?" was based on the book, and was nominated for 2 Academy Awards.
This Dark Doc about liberation and near destruction of Paris is One of my favorites in the series. The film editors did a masterful job of matching images to voice over narration. I think the background music( one of the Wagner symphonies) was exceptional choice. When narratives talk about Hitler or the General appropriate images appeared. The one phrase mentioned German engineers looking for right points to mine Iffiel Tower; four German soldiers March across the screen. Beautifully edited, a masterful piece of film making.
@@paulhunter6742 It certainly kept me interested. I had a feeling there would be a lot more going on too.
@@paulhunter6742 It's not masterful if they got a lot wrong.
I was scrolling through the comments hoping to find anyone who thought as I did about this upload. Thank you for commenting.
Awesome insight and very pragmatic commentary, thank you for this UA-cam post 😍
It's not paranoia when literally the whole world is out to get you.
Maybe he shouldn’t have started a war then
Great work once again. Thank you for putting this together.
If only Russia had some commanding officers with the intelligence and compassion to act in a like manner in today's world.
The price of 1939 cowardice by France 🇫🇷...not collected.
He knew the war was lost and he would be held accountable if he destroyed Paris
Bro to be honest i always watch your videos
The way you speak sounds like a professional historian
The level of seriousness in your time is damn awesome
He did save the city according to Allen Dulles who was in talks with von Choltitz as well as von Kesselring at that time.
Let us remember, saving a city does not a hero make. His final conclusion on Hitler should have been his first thought on him as well.
So should the same be said for the whole population of Germany, there's a reason why hitler had overwhelming support once he took power he was a master orator and a man who pulled a country out of the worst possible economic situation a country could possibly find itself in, established Germany as a superpower only 10 years after that. It wasn't until hitlers descent into madness upon losing ground in the war and the inevitable conclusion that was coming did most people including his generals and staff see the real hitler
@@Thompson011 He succumbed to addiction. By all accounts he had a severe addiction to both opiates and amphetamines, essentially constantly speedballing. He brought his "doctor" with him everywhere that would administer these drugs intravenously, along with a concoction of other things for his "health and stamina."
I think he cared more for the high than reality in the final year or two.
@@Thompson011 The same could be said about any politician and populace. Politicans never spell out every detail. The Germans wouldn't have followed Hitler in 1936 if he had promised to create the Holocaust or invade Russia.
@@QuinnShaw far too many factors to get into in a UA-cam comment but that would certainly be a big one, maybe not so much caring about the high but certainly trying to escape the reality that he knew was coming
@@blitzy3244 Amazing i am so happy to see like minded individuals here.
Man, that's a fantastic doc.
Thank you !!!
,❤️❤️❤️
Good historical perspective , invaluable to new generations now.
You guys know pop tarts are getting smaller
when I lived in Europe, the first time I went to Paris was like meeting a celebrity or just a wonderful dream. I had not expected such a small city, to be so full or treasure and beauty. It was sad to travel to other cities that were all NEW, both in the UK and in Germany and Holland. But Paris belongs to the world. Also if you go to Pere Lechaise, there are graves of those that died in that time before liberation and a bullet marked wall where the Germans shot Parisians all through the war. If you get a chance read the book "Is Paris Burning?" The one line about young teenage women who would open a tank top and throw in a Molatov cocktail and then be shot as they ran off, that they looked like beautiful flowers in their bright skirts, falling to the ground. Also the brave hospital, with the doctors making bombs to throw and the knowledge that they might have to liberate themselves if the allies did not....it was a way of showing, "We're willing to give everything for this city, it must be saved."
I live near the Invalides, the Ecole militaire and several ministries. Their stone walls are literally covered with bullet holes from the combats in august 1945. Tourists don't pay attention to those details.
@@srfrg9707 just read this, know some do. It's more important than ever now.
Mate your channel is the best for WW2 story's online bar none. keep up the great work. :)👍👍😀😀😎😎👌👌
Awesome video and narration. WW2 history is right here. Thank you.
Brilliant as always, cheers man.
G'day Dark, Make no mistake; I love the City and people of Paris. Even though I live on the other side of the planet, in Tasmania; I visit as often as I can. Paris, for me, has a deep historical and social significance; however, its preservation, I believe thanks to General Dietrich von Choltitz, came at a mammoth price.
The loss of hundreds of thousands; quite possibly, a few million lives elsewhere, across Europe and Germany. Untold numbers of families, towns and villages were wiped from the face of the Earth due to Eisenhower's decision to enter Paris when he did.
The most pressure coming from the, generally loathed, self-appointed 'saviour' of Paris and leader of France, Charles de Gaulle.
Every time I find myself sitting outdoors in Paris, revelling in its atmosphere; I can't help but think that the young people around me and the average Parisians have no idea how many people 'paid the bill' for their homes and their lifestyles in the City of Light.
Then I ponder the horror of Paris, somehow being behind a hideously redrafted Communist wall through the decades of the Cold War if the French Communists had taken over; and then the original intent; even worse, Paris reduced to burning rubble.
At every possible occasion, Paris and Parisians should pause to pay thanks to non-Parisians for their beautiful, iconic French capital.
Thank you, Dark, for highlighting the reasons why there IS a Paris. Cheers, BH
I think this is all an exaggeration re: the 'true cost' of liberating Paris. The Allied forces needed to veer south to take Paris simply was not enormous...the fuel problem was not really felt til later....
Awesome video! Great job on slowing down your narration, it gives us a chance to digest the information. Great job!
General von Choltitz chose to stand on the right side of Paris' art and cultural history by defying his Fuhrer. He was not the only German general who stood up to his insane dictator. Heinz Guderian, Erich von Manstein and Erwin Rommel, to name a few, had many disagreements and arguments with Hitler over the Nazi prosecution of war.
There are many lessons to learn from this aspect of history. One of them is to discern and avoid serving a boss turned mad, or giving an insane order. 🤣😂
Even erwin rommel tried to assassinate hitler months before committed suicide
They knew the war was over
How do you consider the bombing of Dresden in the context of your last line? With the Bengali famine, Churchill had some 2-4 million starved to death people on his account too, he may also turned mad with some of his orders since then, ever thought about? Especially taking into account that the war was actually won at that point of time.
Wonderful. Thank you
Ever since the talk of Russia unleashing Nukes as Putin's behavior becomes more erratic have the words "Jodl...is Paris Burning?" have been on my mind. Early on in the "Special Operation" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked if Russia would launch nuclear weapons, his answer was "We are not crazy". I think that answer was truthful and candid.
Thank You… I appreciate your work. It’s meaningful❤
Wow that's crazy that paris wasn't flattened, glad theres men with morals in war.
Including Col. Stafingberg. May of spelled his last name wrong that tried to assassinate Hitler by putting a bomb close to Hitler.
@@nickmartinez195 The duality of man, to know those camps existed but only saving paris...
Well, Sir, his morals didn't extend to burning down cities in Russia. Selective morality.
It wasn't morals, it was him saving his own skin because he knew the war was lost and that if he did blow up Paris the French would skin him alive, if he thought there was a chance they could have still won he would have turned it to ash and laughed while doing so, because he's a Nazi and animals don't have morals
It's flattened now, demographically...
Very well done. Thank you, Sir.
Same thing happened in Bordeaux. Where a German soldier basically saved the city from destruction by locking himself with the detonators and waiting to be rescued.
According to Wikipedia, he blew up the detonators, killing 50 of his comrades.
As a history lover, I thank you. Very well done.
Quick note version. The general feared being surrounded, and saw no point following the orders when retribution would be on him if captured.
Stories like this are pivotal to show the complexities associated with wars. It’s not a dim narrow black or white view and these need to be told and retold. Ty.
Why did you omit the Swedish diplomat who convinced the general to not destroy the city. It was even made into movies called “Paris burning” and “Diplomacy”. His name was Raoul Nordling.
This was a very interesting video thanks for uploading.
Great background on the way the war was going and why the decision to liberate Paris was such a fraught and complex one. Excellent.
I studied wwII for 40+ years, and this was new to me! Great story, great video! Please keep at it! And in a couple of years from now, please reflect on the stories of the war in Ukraine! 😊👍
Very interesting to catch the other side of this perhaps he was a hero perhaps he was a villain but the city still stands
He was a soldier. Let the politicians be the protagonists and antagonists.
correct, he was neither hero, nor villain, he was merely a soldier
I see a situation that I can not now nor ever understand and am glad I never need to.
Excellent Video! I watch about all the DARK channels & love the videos always But this one was one of the best Ive seen theyve made! Narrator as always, excellent!!! Thank you for all you're hard work making such great researched true historical and more content!!!
"I saw in front of me someone who had lost his mind. The fact that the life of our nation was in the hands of an insane being who could no longer judge the situation or was unwilling to see it realistically depressed me immensely."
It depresses me to have the similar thoughts about the president of the united states today.
Just as evil… a pedo
Comparing Biden to Hitler is possibly the dumbest decision you could've made.
Can’t imagine such a beautiful city like paris burned to the ground
Today it's a 3rd world sewer
@@ijusthatenormiesihavenooth1164 nah
Over the years I've seen "Is Paris Burning" a number of times and this video helps understanding the movie.
VON Choltiyz a war hero. Refusing to follow the demon's order and obey his conscience might have saved his soul.
And also a war criminal for destroying several towns when in charge in the eastern front.
@@srfrg9707 that makes him even a bigger hero
Exceptionally well done.
Thank you for this interesting post, I have no words to describe these individuals, the Nazis also wanted to blow up Firenze/ Florence, they mined all the main bridges over the Arno, blew up several , one they did not get to blow up was, Ponte Vecchio , they destroyed as they withdrew, stole Artworks, many have never been returned, lives lost because of greed, power.🌻
Oh, no, not beautiful Florence!
I beleive that you have hugely underestimated how important the liberation of Paris was. The liberation of Paris gave a huge boost to the french and therefore the resistance. That gave a huge morale boost and we will never know how much that shortend the war.
I brought up the Nazi occupation of Paris recently comparing the new general appointed by Putin and the Nazi general. I got a lot of push back on this claim (I was saying “this general reminds me of von” due to the Russian general being notorious for leveling cities as well) but others focused on how Von didn’t destroy Paris and saved danish fighters during bombings. But bobs reputation was being a butcher would leveled entire cities. Hence why he was appointed as governor in Nazi occupied Paris.
I think you should look more closely at this Ukraine debacle.History will. When all the rhetoric and propaganda is over and people begin to look for the facts and the truth Putin is going to look like a saint for not leveling Ukraine. I just feel so bad for the Ukrainian people. The Ukraine is in the same position that poland was before World War 2. Russia is Germany and NATO is France and the UK and the US.. United Kingdom and France got Poland to be a proxy for them against Germany. Just like the US and NATO is getting the Ukraine to be a proxy for them against Russia. Polish politicians were perfectly willing to ignore reasonable and fair solutions to the disputes they were having with Germany because France and u.k. sold them a dream that would make them more rich and powerful. The United States was complicit because they knew that Russia would occupy the east of Poland if Poland and Germany went to war. The US chose not to inform Poland of this fact because Poland would have chose to negotiate at that point. Instead they alloweded Germany to be backed into a corner where they felt they had to invade Poland. And you know how the rest goes. Watch the documentary " Hitlers War?". See if that doesn't change your mind.
What about American Generals who had followed President Esinhower's orders to drop Atomic bombs on two Japanese cities? One man's madness is anothers glorious deed.
@@paulhunter6742 I think more egregious on Eisenhower or America's part on the Rhine Meadows camps. I think colloquially they are known as Eisenhower's death camps. I think my only point in replying to all these comments on this video come from people's cartoon understanding of World War II which I think because of this cartoon understanding they are putting a cartoon understanding on what's happening in the Ukraine right now. I'm getting ready to be accused of being a Nazi sympathizer or a white supremacist but with all we know now a lot of historians don't believe Hitler was the worst of the major leaders in World War II. Should have been some very strong arguments that civilian bombing wouldn't have started unless Churchill had begun actually bombing the heart of Berlin. We are told that Churchill waited until London was bombed before he bombed Berlin. Technically that's true 1 German bomb fell about an 1/8 mile inside londons furthest boundry in the fog while attempting to bomb an industrial target with no human casualties. Some say that Eisenhower knew that Stalin was going to take over East Poland if Germany and Poland went to war and he didn't say anything knowing that the Polish would make a deal over Danzig if they knew the Soviets were going to also invade them. Historians now also claim that the eight points Action Memo was designed to outline the actions that the US would need to take to get Japan to attack us so we could enter World War II. In my mind there is no way that anyone that knows the history of Ukraine since the Wall came down could think that Putin is doing this because he is an "egomaniac". These are the same people that believe Putin had Alexander litvinenko Poisoned With polonium that came from dimona in Israel. These are the same people that still believe that Trump was working for Putin.
You should also be concerned by the presence of a ωaffen SS diνision among the Ukrainian army. Just saying.
Kiev isn't levelled
Wow, the way Hitler is described here is Putin today.
There are different levels of bad and I would also say evil. There are points where the bad guys will even say "this is crazy..." Or "this is wrong/this is too far" or even realizing like this general did that Hitler (who was crazy and evil from the start) was out of touch with any sort of reality and he couldn't serve a leader like that. This general was still on the wrong side of history, and obeyed Hitler, till his own loyalty just ran out because he saw that Hitler was no longer worth being loyal to probably most likely because he knew in his gut the war was lost.
Great video thx 😊
I had a uncle in general Pattons army at the battle of the bulge I ask him one time what was it like he just said it was bad real bad and said Patton was hell his guts out blood, my uncle was one of the best kindest men I’ve ever known he was my hero back when a man was a real man, that was a great history lesson.
??????
Uh.... What???
One of your best. I learned a lot. Thanks.
His name was Coltitz, not Holtitz.
I heard this story before. Later I heard that he hadn’t had enough explosives to blow up Paris (or at least important and culturally important buildings of it) anyway. So that he made it look as if he did out of mercy.
- Who knows which version of the story is true....
That is if Hitler really gave that orderat all, allied propaganda was on steroids at that time.
Right.
You mostly don’t get the whole picture and only know what they allow you to.
Hitler and his party would have gotten nowhere without the bank loans from New York.
After the war the CIA had incorporated 1,400 German scientists, engineers and members of German intelligence. See >operation paperclip
@@kulturfreund6631 There were no bank loans from New York, US firms did invest in German corporations but only in a very limited way ands only after the nazis had taken power, before that the party was always on the verge of bankruptcy. Astonishingly it is two Munich Jewish bankers who kept them alive.
The US used those Germans mostly for the space program but they did much worse that that, they gave immunity to the Japanes scientists of Unit 731 in exchange for their research papers and they actually used those vicious biological agents against North Korea, murdering hundreds of thousands of civilians that way. and then they dropped some on China, a clear violation of the Geneva convention.
And then they nuked two cities when the Japanese had been trying to surrender for months, they just refused to respond until they had tried their new toys. And there's a lot more.
@Roses&Prog
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
was one bank. See: Wikipedia or watch documentary:
>All Wars are Bankers‘ Wars
@@kulturfreund6631 I know the bank, that's where Prescot Bush was working. and where Fritz Thyssen had some investments. He financed Hitler in Germany but US banks did not.
Hitler's money mostly came from rich German financiers who wanted to make sure all communists would be expuled and from industrialists who benefited from Hitler's policies but only once he became chancelor, before that the perty constantly struggled to survive.
Thank you for this informative video!
DARK DOCS IS THE BEST!