The Second World War occupies an important place in the history of world wars and even in the history of mankind. It is both a great reshuffle of the powers of the world and part of the evolutionary history of the world. It is also such a period of the past filled with gun smoke has long become a fine dust in the long river of history, and the unpleasant experiences it has brought to people have also passed away with the wind, leaving only the historical ruins that have been through vicissitudes and the old photos that recorded the years of light and shadow still tell the story of that year.
Today we will talk about Paris, France during World War II, under the occupation of the German army, Paris has become one of the few cities that are still well preserved in the war.
France was one of the Nazi occupation zones in Germany during World War II. In addition to being requisitioned by the Germans in all aspects of resources, France also had to pay the Occupation Fee to the German Army, which is probably what people often call "protection fees". Because of its developed capitalist economy and long history and culture, France's numerous resources, factories and manpower made it the most important country in the German occupation zone, and it was also part of Germany's maintenance of the war. Although the war cannot avoid fighting, killing and bloody storms, ordinary people who are shrouded in the shadow of war still have to live. Paris, France, is one of the prominent representatives.
The Germans occupy France
On May 10, 1940, German fascists began to launch attacks on many countries on the European continent, including France, the Netherlands and many other European army powers. However, it was surprising that after only 42 days, France, known for its army, was defeated, and the iron hooves of German fascism approached the Arc de Triomphe and set foot on French soil. In this way, the capital of France, Paris, declared that it was not fortified, and as a result, Paris became one of the few cities in which the occupying forces and the people of the occupied area lived in peace with each other in World War II, and even lived in peace.
During the occupation of France, the streets of Paris presented a peaceful scene rarely seen in the war-torn era. German soldiers would haggle with local merchants, and Fashionable French girls would smile and accept invitations from German soldiers to bars in their glamorous outfits. Although there were still some underground organizations in France that were actively fighting for the anti-fascist struggle and considered the people who lived with the Germans to be insensitive, paris was still peaceful on the surface.
In sharp contrast to this is the scarred evidence left by our country's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Japanese army in our country. They are both fascists, they are also aggressors, so why are the behaviors of the two of them so different? And as an occupied area of the German army, why is the confrontation between Paris and Moscow and Stalingrad so sharply?
Paris escaped
Was Paris only because the German troops who occupied Paris were of relatively high quality? Maybe that's one reason, but more, perhaps the result of an agreement between the two countries.
First of all, the German military discipline is serious. At the beginning of the occupation of France, the German Fuehrer hoped to establish a good image in France and show the image of the rigor, self-discipline and civilization of the occupying army to the French people. As a result, there were few cases of German soldiers being evil in Paris. At the same time, it also made France a country with fewer losses in World War II, which was very fortunate compared to the Soviet Union and even China.
The second reason was that the German Fuehrer, out of the original intention of protecting the integrity of the ancient architecture of Paris, ordered the adoption of a policy of siege and no attack on Paris. The French army, on the one hand, saw that the general situation had gone, and second, wanted to save Paris from the threat of war, and also gave up the idea of armed struggle. In this way, not only the ancient buildings have been well preserved, but ordinary people have also been spared the pain of war. In some old photos, you can see that even if the soldiers are in chaos outside, it is still a bustling scene of singing and dancing in the city of Paris.
At the same time, there is speculation that the Germans have a racial bias, like the genocide of the Jews, and the Slavs, who they consider to be an inferior nation, the Soviets, occupy vast lands and rich resources, so that the Soviets become "abominable" in the eyes of the German army. France, on the other hand, has a deep cultural heritage and is considered by the German army to be an excellent ethnic group, so it should be treated preferentially. As a result, France and the Soviet Union had very different treatment in the German-occupied areas.
Some people may say that the aggressors are always the aggressors, and they are only trying to beautify the image of their own aggressors. No matter how much they treated Paris, they could not hide that they were a party to the invasion and disturbed the comfortable life of the indigenous people.
Having said that, if we compare Nanjing under Japanese occupation with Paris, the horrific massacre in Nanjing compared to the normal life of the parisian people, the dead silence of Nanjing compared to the prosperity of Paris, and the ruins of Nanjing compared to the high-rise buildings in Paris, it is not difficult to see that compared with Japan's undisguised banditry, Germany's superficial efforts have been reduced for France, and it is not a disaster of one star and a half.
It is under such "gentle" treatment that the people of Paris can live a normal life.