August 1944. Hitler demands that Paris be wiped off the map. Out of rage, out of madness, to prevent the Allied advance, Parisian bridges and monuments must all be blown up. Why and how will General Dietricht von Choltitz, Governor of the capital, disobey his Fürher's orders and save Paris?
Very very well done. Thank you for educating me about this little known but greatly important morsel of history.
Great video. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew there'd be a few inaccuracies here and there, so overlooked them.
This is a great documentary. Thank you.
Paris was lucky to not have to suffer the fate of Berlin and Warsaw.
The benefit of surrendering early . Stalingrad would have been untouch also if the Russians surrendered as soon as the German army arrived .
@@Crashed131963 At least that's what the ordinary Russians would've thought, if it hadn't been for Stalin's orders, according to Historian Professor David Reynolds of the Cambridge University, But It was when Stalin did what Kutuzov failed to do during the Napoleonic Wars; Save Moscow, and Russia, and in turn take the fight to the Germans.
Oh but it will. Likely in your lifetime if you are in your 70s.
Да. Парижу повезло. Немцы подошли Французы сняли штанишки. Молодцы. А сегодня премьер с ..женой... хотят сдаться
@@phoenixphoenix4573 отвечу смешно. Везти Макрону свою жену в красивейший город Одессу Это оскорбление Одессы
Thanks for all the great history programs! @3:34, that same background music is used in many French films about Vichy times, like the newsreel compilation Eye of Vichy (highly recommended, original Vichy newsreels). Was that background music from the BBC or from the French film makers? I wonder, its distinctive.
A superbly done documentary!
In 1964, while I was in the Army, I saw a French movie, "Is Paris Burning?", concerning this subject! I wish that I could see it again! This documentary should have won the Academy Award!
That movie has been free on Amazon prime several times, and you might even be able to find it on KZhead.
I was only 15 when I saw this at the movies.Excellent cast including Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) and the musical score was done by Maurice Jarre . Check it out .
The movie is very good but the book is so much more intensive. The book is titled ”Is Paris Burning?" I first read it as a teenager and a couple of times since. Great read.
@@cynthiaalver It's much more informative than the movie and goes into detail. The part played by de Gaulle in averting a communist take-over is most important.
I totally agree with you. I've read it in English and in German ... Brennt Paris?@@cynthiaalver
When I moved to Paris in 1988 there was still an older generation that seeing I was an American came up to me just to shake my hand.
When I lived in France in the 80’s I had the same thing happen. One man showed me a picture of his house that had been bombed by the US Army Air Corps and he thanked me for driving out the germanys
I was on vacation in SW France in 1999 and when I showed interest in a large old key that an antique dealer had he followed me down the street to gift it to me. I have no doubt it was it was obvious to him I was an American !
When I was there in the 50's I got laid twice a week purely out of female gratitude. Some men even proposed I sleep with their wives, they were so gracious. I thought that was crossing the line, and not in good form for a Catholic Priest, so I refused.
I have also had many similar experiences over the past forty years. Be it a little old lady doggedly tracking down a hotel in the back streets of Paris in 1987. To the many acts of kindness in the Somme Valley which the Australian Corps helped to liberate in 1918. The French are a very proud people and many of them do not forget those countries that have assisted them in a time of need.
Quite odd then that the French treated the British with disdain after WWII despite all the arms and support we gave the Free French Army, how the SOE ran and supplied the Resistance and how the RAF made special raids to release prisoners from the Gestapo. Let alone how D Day, the start of French liberation, was an entirely British devised, manufactured and commanded operation. If Britain had fallen like the French did in 1940 the Yanks would never have been involved let alone liberate Paris.
Nice job, i saw the 1960 Movie "Is Paris Burning?" Combined with this documentary, it makes for a better understanding.
Excellent documentary.
Truly the "Best Documentary."
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
I had no idea parisians had to suffer so much at the point of liberation
Unfortunately the subtitles are very bad and unprecise. Until the end the name of the German general is written falsely. It is Choltitz
@@hansvlaardingerbroek3244 😳🥹🥲
@@hansvlaardingerbroek3244 I would hate to come across as pedantic, but there is no town in France called "Le Monde" ("The World"). There is, however, a town called Le Mans. It is in the Sarthe region of NW France. Terrible translating and total ignorance of French Geography. There are signs pointing to the town in the film. Nobody checked. Very poor attention to detail.
Strange as it is to watch Paris be destroyed as it might have been, that is exactly what happend to numerous other cities where the Nazis had invaded, before and while they retreated or were destoyed in battle. In an alternative timeline we would be looking at a hypothetical representation of the destruction of Warsaw, Stalingrad, Dresden that might have happened, to name 3 cities we do recall were destroyed. There is so much of the Europe of 1939 that has disappeared from cultural awareness, replaced with utilititarian building blocks and rerouted roads rebuilt for a new age. Also true after WW1 which devastated the regions of the battle in East and West but which were minor compared to the eradication of so much architecture and cultural legacy and the incomprehensible human cost of WW2.
You would think that after 80 years of making nazi and WW2 related films, they would depict the uniforms and medals right. But nooo....
RIGHT? I totally agree
I dunno. What did they get wrong? Not saying they didn't. I usually notice when military awards are wrong since I've studied that alot. Military awards are almost always trash in movies. Having been in the military myself it's almost always easy to spot a phony. I was in Baghdad myself and earned the Congressional Medal of rear echelon service and the Global War on Terror participation medal. Also a Purple Heart for bruising my leg when I fell off a pull up bar. It was combat-related cuz the reason I fell was that I was spooked by the sound of a mortar round landing 500 feet sexy. Other parts of uniforms I don't know so much about. So much of this was historical footage. If they get the basic story right a few uniform flubs are no problem. I mean, as long as they're not showing a German general in the uniform of a civil war Confederate.
99% of holywood can't even get the US salute right either.
Well it’s Hollywood.. the true scum of society..
Fernandoreynaaguilar1438. And, one thought they could at least not call general ”Choltitz” ”Schultz”.
Brilliant film. thank you.
Whoever did the subtitles needs to be retrained. Since when does Von Choltitz translate to Von Schultz?
This is machine-generated captioning. Voice recognition, and no humans involved.
@@nmr6988 OK - so dump it.
I agree, I was wondering who on earth this von Shultz was supposed to be, then the penny finally dropped! I've read a lot about the occupation of Paris & had never heard of von Schultz.
Depending on context, we are lucky it's not Von Scholz! :p
Interesante material historico,muchas gracias.
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
There is a film called Is Paris Burning which is very underrated
What happened to the family of Von Choltitz?
Nothing; he survived the war and was taken prisoner in 1944. He died in 1966.
Berichten Sie mal über die Verbrechen der Résistance, bis heute eine Heilige Kuh in Frankreich.
Friends took care of them to avoid AH's retribution.
?
I was in a boarding school, christian group, protestantic, with a son of him, Timo von Coltitz. Families of war-people often gave their sons in such separated private schools. Friendly greeting to him, to you, Timo.
What a hidden gem this little film is... surprisingly entertaining!
I truly recommend to watch the 1966 movie "IS PARIS BURNING?"...superb movie with superb international Cast of great actors (French,American and German) ...the song..the music is considered another National anthem in France....and the title phrase is supposedly Hitlers question to the german general he appointed specfically to destroy this beautiful city!!
Nice video. Names of cities are wrong. please read “LeMans” (not Lemond)a couple more have suffered the same fate. I was in France at the time.
Le Mans!!!!
This is really a great documentary. ❤
Weird that the allied forces had to fight their way through the city, when thousands of brave resistance fighters were so ready to do it for them just 20 hrs earlier...
The myth of the Resistance has been well cultivated, blown up beyond any real proportion
@@lluisboschpascual4869 AKA "the latter day saints"
Too many there were communists, with ill-intent . . .
on several instances during this film, it is noted that they lacked adequate ammunition; knives are no match for a firearm!
So "Le resistance" was in fact thousands of men with kitchen utensils?
Der Brief bei 9.40 strotzt vor Rechtschreibfehlern 😂 Wolfsshantze, Reichskansler und die Grammatik...😅 Hätten sie lieber mal einen Deutschen schreiben lassen...
In der Tat! Ist mir auch aufgefallen. :) Grüße aus Lübeck. :)
I'm Dutch so I noticed too.
@@AudieHolland Deutsche und Niederländer müssen auch zusammen halten
This is an excellent documentary on the topic - well worth watching . .
? you belive this B... S ??
considering the commander didn't have the power to defeat the resistance movement in the city, he probably was experienced and probably just realized there was no practical way he could even cause half the damage Hitler wanted, and after that last meeting probably realized Hitler had finally lost his mind.
A GREAT story. Boy o boy the French really have suffered over the years but how courageous and strong are they!
Да что ты! Французы это самые сильные и смелые. Пришли в Россию в 1812году собрав кодлу по всей Европе и съели всех коней кошек собак крыс. Дошли до Москвы и домой из 650тыс Вернулось 12тыс Это была охрана Бонапарта.
Are You stupid? The Frenchies started the war.
and in 1940 as well for that batle, erm.6 week long walk over by the Germans.
Ya, the French caused the Vietnam war because they wanted their illegal colony back.
@@user-tb7qz7id6t What do want? Those Frenchie fascists declared war...
Thank You. Very Good document. ❤
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
Germans: “alright we’re leaving” Parisians: “come back and fight us you cowards”
your iq is negativ
😁
Exactly, they act like they’re the one who won the war!
von Choltitz war vor Sevastopol Kommandeur eines IR und Oberst. Daher war er auch nicht verantwortlich für die Bombardierung bzw. den Beschuss von Sevastopol, auch wenn seine übergeordnete Einheit, die 22. InfDiv, maßgeblich am Sturm der Stadt beteiligt war.
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
Can't help thinking just how much german generals did to insulate themselves when they knew the allies would inevitably meet them.
French should have been fair treating Germans as victors
Did the swedish ambassador saved the German general afterward..
He was taken prisoner and released in 1947. Died peacefully in 1966
@@user-cc5mu7to8e . Thanks
Documentaire génial félicitations
At exactly minute 22 the program talks about Nefyn, a Gestapo leader - the sub titles are obviously rubbish - does anyone know how this Gestapo officer's name is written? Trying to find out what happened to him !!
Found it Kurt Neifeind,
Paris, the most beautiful city in the world is what French pride says. I heard a joke sometime ago about a famous politician who was visitng Gen. Charles de Gaulle. While walking through the gardens of the Élysée Palace, the famous politiciam exclaimed, "What a splendid day, General!" And de Gaulle replied, "Thank you very much".
Truly a great movie
Де Голь. Тоже был очень сильный и смелый. Немцы зашли во Францию и переехали её за неделю на мотоциклах. А Де Голь смелый взял и ....сбежал в Англию. Ну очень смело сбежал
Paris is another sh.thole. The most beautiful city in Europe is Budapest.
@@hajoos.8360Budapest is indeed a beautiful city.
@@georgesotiroff5080 It is the urban pearl of the earth. Some Germans & Habsburgs, some Balkans, some Magyars put the majour European culture in it.
Interesting/informative/entertaining. Excellent still-motion photography pictures 📷. & reenactments . Enabling viewers to better understand what the orator is describing. Had the cowardly French not engaged in the " phoney war ". Attacked Germany during the invasion of Poland. Perhaps Paris wouldn't have been conquered -???
So, what happened to all the main characters after the victory in Paris? This "documentary" is incomplete.
Von Choltitz was imprisoned until 1947 and died in Germany in 1966. Both Le Clerc and De Gaulle went into the government, De Gaulle as President, and the others just went about their business. Not sure what happened to the Gestapo agents who went back to Berlin. I would suspect that many didn't survive the war.
They lived happily ever after... for Nazis that is... :)
At 20:34 he has rank of Obersturmbannführer - Standartenführer has single leaf on each collar. Just saying
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
The Paris police officers would have done anything to cover up their involvement in rounding up so many innocent people to be sent to the camps. As would France as a whole like you to forget that over 76% of France was Vichy governed and had completely capitulated and collaborated with Germany since 1940.
what a history .. Very Good document
One thing overlooked is if they tried, Paris would of raised up fully, not the rebels
Calling somebody an intellectual seems to carry a great deal of importance for a French docu. It's a descriptor no English-language docu would use.
Not true. In the 20's and 30's there was a considered "Intellectual" class, much as the working and upper classes. These people were generally recognized as the ones who set the path so to speak. In England at the time they included graduates of Oxbridge colleges. Many were philosophers, poets and the like. After the war, less emphasis was placed on their "knowledge" base.
Wait, they were to be rigged with explosives, not bombed from the air.
A brilliant documentary, but what a shambles are the subtitles, especially of French names and individuals, and even of the principal German player, Von Choltitz !!
It was probably produced by a computer.
Nice contents, good morning from Yipma Baruya KZhead channel. Papua New Guinea.
Hi friend good morning to you from The Netherlands.
@@OGruurd thanks my friend
Привет из СССР!!!)
Greetings from Chile 🇨🇱🇵🇬
@@alefantozzi2774
So what happen to General Dietricht von Choltitz and his family?
There was a 60s movie called : Is Paris burning ?
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
So close. And what about the Swedish consul ?
Falleció el 1 de octubre de 1962 en Francia.
@@juangmor Gracias
There is somethink to smile @minute 32:47. Oh no, what a translation!
"Les sanglots longs Des violons De l'automne Blessent mon cœur D'une langueur Monotone. Tout suffocant Et blême, quand Sonne l'heure, Je me souviens Des jours anciens Et je pleure; Et je m'en vais Au vent mauvais Qui m'emporte Deçà, delà, Pareil à la Feuille morte." ~ Paul Verlaine
06/06/1944
Arde Paris? Libro de Dominique Lapierre y Larry Collins , excelente.
Gibt es auch als Film . Den mussten wir als Geschichtsunterricht sehen .
Es obviamente una novela de ficción.
Choltitz was just trying to save his behind bec. he know the war is almost over for them.
The man who played Raoul Nordling doesn't look anything like Orsen Wells in the movie Is Paris Burning.
Great video
Thank you!!
Phenomenal video.
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
Beautiful, beautiful. I do not know a lot about France but after watching this I feel like visiting this country. Greetings from Brazil
The subtitles contain a lot of errors in names, et cetera
This channel is titled Best Documentary, but this hour-long video simply didn't feel like an accurate and neutral depiction. 🤔 Setting this particular historical event aside for a moment, the thing I am left with is I would have preferred a different presentation style of the story itself. I find myself more interested in documentaries where a range of history professors, experts and authors are interviewed to provide an account of the goings-on. They then become the narrator(s), subtly telling the viewer what to look for when they jump to actors in period costumes playing it out.
I do wish they would do a better job of close captioning.. It's distracting and annoying..
turn CC off!
¿44 de Agosto? Qué largos eran los meses en 1944.
Any German Text shown should have been cross-checked by someone knowing German grammar and spelling. "Wolfschantze" is wrong since "Schanze" does not contain an "t".
Poland Yes past 1947. Prussia1944
The landings in Provence were by the Americans and th Free French, or FFL (forces françaises libres), not the FFI who were the forces of the Interior.
Enquanto isto, todo o mundo permitia a destruição de VARSÓVIA.
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
The Russians allowed the destruction of Warsaw to destroy the polish home army even stopping British planes from refuelling to stop them supplying them.
Der General heißt "von Choltitz" und nicht "von Scholz".
nobody talks about the Luftwaffe counter attack after the allies took paris
There was like two German planes in the sky on D-Day . By mid 1944 there was not much of a German air force left. Look up the phase "Big Week".
I doubt there were any german Luftwaffe left to have an impact on Paris after it got taken over by the allies
@@Crashed131963Yes and the 13 hour battle of London also helped alot to down very many experienced pilots of the luftwaffe. And saved Britain and the allies from being overrun. Had they won in the air the ground war would be easy as they'd just fire bomb the cities, the royal navy was large but relied heavily on supplies and coastal support wich wouod he bombed and be in disarray. The only thing that stopped the Nazis from conquering Britian and then fighting on to the north American continent was the RAF. Some of those guys flew 7-15 different times in a day...
Cool.
Maps with present day borders are totally misleading!
Warum heißt Coltitz auf englisch "Schultz"??😀
This is both self serving and, I hope, of interest. My novel, "Atget's Camera," to be published before the end of 2024, contains what I hope is a good alternative history account of how Paris was saved.
The Americans captured Paris. Letting the French Army “take it”, was a political decision.
Peace and light to all their souls.
De Parte del Gobierno Alemán Jamás existió proyecto o Plan de Incendiar o Destruir Paris... es simple tema para películas...
France capitulated to save their city while the Poms bore the blunt and did most of the hard fighting along with the Yanks of course.
How does the French capturing ONE city make them one of the Victors? What a joke.
It’s not only capturing one city, it is also the 4 years of previous fighting in Africa against the Germans and Italians, the fighting in Italy the fighting in the Pacific, the help to the Americans in the Pacific, the fighting in Europe . Get an education, you are the joke.
…..and one already “evacuated” city at that; The entire French nation was a joke during the war, they were shocked that Hitler caught them with their pants down!!!
Det är beklagikt att han skrivs ut som von Schulz, när han hette von Scholtitz!!
Automatic captioning is quite limited. And I believe his name is spelled Choltitz.
Ich sag mal : Das ist doch völlig Schulz .
Chaque fois que je visite Paris, je remercie le general Choltitz. Un jour j'ai l'intention a ecrire un essai sur la valeur de desobeissance.
Danke für den Beitrag. Nur eine Sache. Ich war übers Wochenende mit meiner Freundin in Paris. Klar ist schon Toll. Aber die Stadt ist so verdreckt. So was habe ich nicht erwartet. Überall Müll, Gestank und völlig überteuert. Trotzdem Spaß gehabt. Aber die schönste Stadt ist es wirklich nicht.
Not every German followed Hitler's instructions.
There is a book by Dominic Lapierre...is Paris burning...it depicted this story
👍👍👍!!!
👎👎👎👎👎👎😎
I am amazed how historically accurate this documentary is. Only one more thing: Notre-Dame, the Opéra, and several other monuments in Paris were actually filled with bombs, but the nazis did not have the time or the resources to connect the bombs and eventually ignite the destruction of Paris as their troops were engaged in battles around the city. Luckily for us, Paris remains that incredible city and we can still enjoy the joie de vivre à la française in one of their great cafés.
Don't be so amazed at this mundane, inaccurate tripe.
Different invaders have destroyed Eglise Notre Dame . . .
@@cgmiddleIf your comment makes you feel good about yourself, all the better. I am happy for you. Really.
@@EllieMaes-GrandadI know. It's a conspiracy. They are hidden everywhere. They are coming at you at night, eating children and preventing you from voting for Trump... Such an annoyance...
Leider einige Fehler, so schreiben Deutsche das Wirt Wolfsschanze mit sich und nicht sh wie die Engländer, Untertitel mit anderen Namen als real… ansonsten interessant.
This account of the strength, the value of both the Free French Army and the Resistance seems greatly at odds with all other , non-French, accounts. I understand that all accounts may be, consciously or unconsciously, subject to a national bias but my overall view based on what I have seen and read is that this account is very…..French
Paryż to jeszcze był piękny za Luisa de Finesa...a teraz gangi rządzą miastem..muzułmanie w południe modlą się na środku ulicy..reszta się przygląda..nie jestem rasistą.. ale to tak jak świni założyć siodło i udawać że jadę rasowym rumakiem😅
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
From what I have read in quite a few articles Von Chlolitz did not have the men or resources to follow Hitler's directives. But he made himself out to be a hero after the war.
Die Rolle von Choltitz in Rotterdam und Sewastopol wird hier lächerlich verzerrt. Er war weder in Rotterdam für den Bombenabwurf verantwortlich noch hatte er auf der Krim irgendetwas mit den strategischen oder taktischen Entscheidungenh zu tun..........
Sem palavras 😅
53:43 Wenn der General geantwortet hätte: "NEIN, isch möschte eure ganze schöne Stadt Paris samt Eiffelturm und Triumpfbogen zerstören!!!!" 😡 HAHAHAHAaaa!!!🤣
Who said Paris is the most beautiful city in the world.. maybe you haven’t been to cities
1945 Aircraft Production WWII. Germany 6.5 K/Yr. GB 6.5K/Yr.. USSR 6.5K/Yr. USA 65K/Yr. Game over.
Interessante documentario su una vicenda piuttosto poco conosciuta della II guerra mondiale
Auch wenn Nordling 1 Mensch gerettet hat, hat er schon mehr Gutes getan als viele andere.
let's be clear about Von Choltitz and Paris: he did not not destruct Paris as he does for others cities in Europe just because he knew it was the end for him, he can't leave Paris and have to erase the city, so what he was going to do to Paris will be directly attached to him and not Hitler. After all the crimes he did against cities and population over Europe and as he didn't want to die in combat or commit suicide the only solution was do not destruct Paris and hope this will be taken in account to spare his life once he will be arrested by Allies... including french. Pure calculation from this monster who never disobey Hitler's orders except to save his miserable life at the end.
der stachel sitzt heite noch tief
History has a way of repeating itself. Will humankind never learn?
Computergeneratet subtitles are a insult against deaf people
Q: Why didn't Hitler drink whiskey?!? A: Because it made him mean.
SS-Obersturmbannführer Neifeind did not attain the rank of Standarternführer as stated in the documentary (20:20).
Спасибо за русские субтитры!!!!
яндекс переводит
Every time the French get in trouble, they cry for the Americans to save them. if they get into a war, they surrender.
regarding the faked document @09:25 - the spelling would be Wolfsschanze with a "c"