The Allied Race to Retake Paris in 1945 Before the Nazis Could Destroy It

Published: Dec. 21, 2021, 7:35 a.m.

b"In a stunning move, the armies of Nazi Germany annihilated the French military and captured Paris, the crown jewel of Europe, in a matter of a few weeks. As Adolf Hitler tightened his grip on the City of Lights, the shocked Allies regrouped and began planning for a daring counterattack into Fortress Europe.

The longer the Nazis held the city, the greater danger its citizens faced. By 1944, over 120,000 Parisians died, and countless more tortured in the city's Gestapo prisons and sent to death camps. The exiled general Charles de Gaulle, headquartered in the bar of London's Connaught Hotel, convinced General Dwight Eisenhower to put Paris before Berlin. Unless Paris was taken immediately, he told him, the City of Light would be leveled. The race for Paris begins.
Today\\u2019s guest is Martin Dugar, author of \\u201cTaking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights.\\u201d We discuss the story of the people who set that city free and the account of the battle for the heart and soul of Paris in one of the twentieth century\\u2019s darkest moments."