Paris+in+WWI

Paris in WWI WWI was a global war and it was mostly fought in Europe. It was one of the most deadly conflicts in history. It started in 1914 and ended in 1918. America, France, and many others were allies and our enemy was Germany. The basics of the war were that Germany attacked many places in an effort to expand their country. One of those places that Germany wanted to attack was Paris. Germany was known to send planes over land and drop bombs on them, mainly when it was dark out. These bombings were called air raids. Air raids were a real threat in Paris during WWI because there were around 5,000 bombs that were dropped across Britain which happened to be across the English Channel. Because of this threat France didn’t want Paris to be bombed so in 1917-1918, they created a fake Paris in the northern outskirts of the country to trick Germany. This “Faux Paris” was a life size replica of the real Paris with exact copies of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées, Gard du Nord, and Gard de l’Est. They even had a real moving train and working street lights to make the “Faux Paris” look like it was the real deal. Unfortunately it didn’t fool the Germans and it was never bombed. The real Paris did face gun fire. Even though Paris survived without getting bombed it did get hit by artillery fire. The Pariskanone, or The Paris Gun, was manufactured and took aim at Paris on March 23, 1918. An explosion in the Place de la Republique let everyone know Paris was under attack. Three of these guns were stationed 74 miles away. When they struck Paris, it caused mass chaos. After the attack, the shelling killed 16 people and wounded 29 more. By the time the war ended a total of 260 Parisians died from these attacks. This was considered a low number of casualties, considering how many people live in Paris. This was because the residents that lived in Paris learned not to gather in large groups during attacks. They were smart people. After WWI ended, in 1919, Paris held the Paris Peace Conference which was a meeting of the allied victors. Here they set the peace terms for the defeated German side. In all there were five Peace Treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles. These treaties pretty much told Germany that they should not have attacked other counties and would have to pay reparations. Germany paid a small portion before reparations ended in 1931. After the war people were looking for ways to be happy again. Women started working during the war and started to find themselves. They were able to get jobs where before they couldn’t and when their husbands came home from the war, there was a new-found respect that wasn’t there before. Parisians were also known for having a good time. They would go out during the week to the opera, circus, or even music halls. Americans were drawn to Paris because of it’s carefree ways. This is when the lost generation came to over to find themselves. After WWI, Paris resumed being the center of culture and partying. It was a city that was now filled with people full of hope. It was the dawn of the Golden Age.