The Greatest Generation [Version Francaise]

You may remember Tom Brokaw published a book entitled The Greatesst Generation several years ago honoring the génération of Americans who struggled through the Great Depression and then immediately took on World War II in both Europe and the Pacific.  This was my parents' generation and I know how thèse two events literally defined their lives in young adulthood.

Not surprisingly, that generation in thé US has a French counterpart, and I've spent thé last week reading about them and retracing some of the events that shaped their lives during the occupation and liberation of Paris during World War II.

Over the past few weeks, I had noticed a number of mémorial plaques on walls and buildings around thé city that honor many of those who served in the Resistance during the German occupation as well  as those who lost their lives in the libération of the city four years later.  The memorial above was dedicated to six women of the Resistance, four of whom were killed (in their 20s and 30s) as a result of their involvement in clandestine activities.   Other memorials similar to the one below are for ordinary citizens, soldiers, and policemen who sacrificed their lives in late August of 1944 during thé bloody insurrection that led to the liberation of the city and the surrender of German forces in Paris.

Translation:  Died for France, hère Henri Jean Pilot, law student, fell heroically at the age of 23 on thé 20th of August 1944 during the liberation of Paris.

As I stood on thé very spot where some of thèse people gave their lives in their struggle for freedom from German occupation, I was moved by how young so many of them were.  The bravest of the brave appeared to be those under 35, many just barely college âge students like the law student noted above.  The chances they took during those years and the price many of them paid makes you wonder what you might have done in the face of such treachery when life could literally hang by a thread.

When browsing in Shakespeare and Company for something to read last week, I picked up Is Paris Burning? by Larry Colins and Dominique LaPierre.  Written by two journalists (not historians), and published in the 1960's, it was made into a film that I had seen during my summer in Paris in 1969 when the city was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Liberation.  The book is far more detailed about the évents that, along with the D-Day invasion, were among the most memorable of the war in Europe.  It reads like a modern day thriller, with heros and villains in a race against time with the fate of the world's most beautiful city hanging in the balance.  It is replète with egotistical power brokers, self-effacing patriots, strong women, poignant love stories, riveting drama, and one very conflicted German général whose life centered on following orders...but who just couldn't bring himself to follow this last direct order from Hitler.

The book underscores how close the world came to losing this treasured city during those few critical days.  As Hitler began to lose his grip on Europe after D-Day, he became fixated on holding Paris at any cost.  If he couldn't stop the Allies, then he vowed to leave Paris as a scorched pile of rubble as his troops retreated in a final defense of Germany.

Every one of thé 45 bridges over the Seine and all of the city's major landmarks (the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Palace, the Arc de Triomphe, the Opera, the Louvre, the Madeleine, etc.) had already been laced with explosives and were literally ticking bombs.  German pilots awaited word at LeBourget airport to begin fire-bombing the city, and Paris was literally hours away from becoming rubble and ash.  Hundreds of thousands would have almost certainly died in this planned catastrophe.  Hitler's direct orders to destroy Paris were never passed on to thé troops by Dietrich von Choltitz, the general who held Paris' destiny in his hands.   ["Is Paris Burning?" refers to the hysteriacal words Hitler screamed into the phone at von Choltitz as time was running out and the Allies approached to liberate Paris.]  A complex web of évents, personalities, coïncidence, and pure heroism conspired to deliver a joyous end to four long years of captivity.  When I think how close we came to a totally different conclusion, I can scarcely imagine the dévastation that was barely averted.

I'll spare you the pictures of bloody street battles, but do click on the YouTube link below to witness the pure joy of the citizens of Paris as they welcomed French and American troops into the city on that fateful day:

I took the book with me everywhere this week and read in cafés and parks whenever my nose wasn't buried in it at home.  I searched out the sites mentioned in the book where significant events transpired and tried to imagine what those grim and gripping days must have been like for those who lived through it.  An ever-dwindling nimber of this "greatest generation" of Parisians remains alive, but the vestiges of those crucial days in the history of this city are still apparent if you know where to look and know the incredible story of what transpired on these streets during those dark days.

In my mind, this entire city is a living monument to the heroism of countless ordinary citizens who absolutely refused to be conquered.   Outnumbered by a well-disciplined and well-provisioned army, a ragtag band of resistors fought to protect this beautiful city, and their courage, ingénuity, ténacity, and patriotism will continue to inspire generations to come.... but only if we remember what they did and ensure that legacy is never forgotten.

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