Paris+in+WWII

Paris in WWII After World War I Paris became the center of the art world. It was known as the Golden Age and people like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein lived in Paris during this time, but on June 14, 1940 German troops invaded Paris and hung a giant flag with a swastika on it under the Arc de Triomphe. Two million Parisians left before they were arrested and questioned. German troops occupied Paris for four years. Pairs was no longer a fun place to live. The German troops put a curfew on the people of Paris making them to be home by 8 PM, took hostages and forbid them from playing jazz music. Germany invaded France because after WWI was over, the Germans signed the Treaty of Versaille causing Germany to lose lots of land. After Germany conquered Poland and France, then Great Britain declared war on Germany. This is how World War II began. There was no hurrying in liberating Paris during this time because there was no strategic value in saving it. The people of Paris took it upon themselves to start fighting. They openly challenged the Germans and even went on strike. This was the start of the French Resistance. French troops wanted to liberate Paris but the American leaders thought this was a waste of valuable resources. 1,500 citizens were killed from this uproar. This cause General Leclerc, a French soldier, to take 150 men and a small unit to come to the aid of Paris. Later President Eisenhower sent troops in to help liberate Paris. On August 25 Paris was free from German rule. The uprising in Paris gave the new Free French government enough power to become a provisional French Republic. To this day the Liberation of Paris is celebrated by having jazz music play and people dancing in the streets.