THE BATTLE OF PARIS
General Leclerc , De Gaulle's favorite French tank commander, of the French 2nd Army had been attached to the American General Patton and was overanxious to take his men and aide the uprisings of the French Resistance against the Nazis in Paris beginning on August 19th.
LeClerc went to Patton and demanded that he be allowed to drive his men to Paris and begin the liberation of the city. Patton was indifferent to this demand and told LeClerc it made no difference to him who liberated Paris. Finally after much cajoling from De Gaulle Eisenhower finally gave the permission for LeClerc to head his troops in the direction of Paris. Some observers say that LeClerc had already left by the time his orders arrived.
The Allied command was reluctant to help the French 2nd Army but as the liberation of Paris ran into modest resistance from the Nazis they sent in divisions of the 3rd American Army to help out. The Americans were worried that the liberation of Paris might turn into the Battle of Stalingrad all over again but the heroics of the French Resistance in those days went a long way toward the surrender of the German commandant Dietrich von Cholitz.
On August 19th the French Resistance began to blockade the streets of Paris and attacked the German garrison on the Isle St. Louis. This led to conditions of general mayhem in the city and the German commander even tried to negotiate a cease-fire with the Resistance fighters but the French smelling blood would not have it.
Hostilities in the streets grew, as there was a general strike called by Resistance, which severely limited the Nazis from managing the city anymore.
Hitler had demanded that von Cholitz wire the famous landmarks of Paris and its bridges with enough bombs to level the city. Hitler wanted Paris left in a heap of rubble on the way out of town.
While von Cholitz had been a loyal Nazi general in his career and had committed many acts of cruelty and violence he could not bring himself to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in the world. While von Cholitz joked with his men that he was going to blow up the Eiffel Tower and use it as a foot bridge to cross the Seine he knew in his heart that he did not want to be known as the man who destroyed the city of light. The city of Paris. And besides von Cholitz knew that Hitler was now losing the war and to follow his commands to letter was a risky venture.
After much fierce fighting, Leclerc and his 2nd Army and the French Resistance liberated Paris on August 24th with the loss of 1500 Resistance fighters and 100 soldiers dead. Over 5,000 German soldiers surrendered along with General von Cholitz.
The French people rushed out into the streets because they were so ecstatic that the Nazis had finally been defeated. They were put in great harm thought by isolated German snipers lodged in the top floors of apartment buildings and on the rooftops of commercial buildings.
When De Gaulle entered the great Cathedral Notre Dame on the 25th after his march down the Champs Elysee he was nearly gunned down as strode into the church by German snipers. De Gaulle did not flinch a bit and he went on to deliver his famous speech about French liberty.
Pariee est liberte!!
The Battle for Paris is especially fierce near Picasso's home that he often said a bullet went by his head one morning, as he opened a window, and lodged itself into the wall of his bathroom. Marie Therese lived on the Isle St. Louis where the German garrison was under attack so Picasso went to her apartment to stay with her and their daughter Maya.
On August 25th, 1944 General Leclerc swept into Paris and forced the Germans to surrender the city back to the Free French. Later that day the 3rd American Army followed right behind.
Ernest Hemmingway was a journalist traveling with the American 3rd Army and on the day Paris is liberated from the Nazis he boasted that he liberated the bars at Crillon and Ritz Hotels and he that let enough champagne flow out to liberate all of the streets of Paris. Hemingway loved a story.
Later that same day Hemingway visited the Shakespeare and Company bookstore and asked Sylvia Beach what he could do for her. Sylvia complained about the German snipers on the rooftops across the street shooting down on passer bys on the sidewalks. Hemingway said no problem and went outside and spoke with the American soldiers traveling with him about the snipers. Within 15 minutes the snipers had been dealt with.
Hemingway's next stop was Picasso's place. When Hemingway arrived Picasso was not home but the concierge of the building asked if Hemingway would like to leave a present for Mr. Picasso. Hemingway thought for a moment and then went back to his jeep parked on the street. Hemingway returned with a case of grenades and told the concierge that, "Please tell Mr. Picasso that these are a gift from Mr. Hemingway.
Picasso returned to his studio on Grandes Augustine's once the fighting and sniper fire was subdued and once he found that Picasso was now the most famous and beloved man in all of France.
Because Picasso outlasted the cruelty of the Nazi's without giving in to their offers of better treatment all the world looked to him as a beacon of hope.
Picasso's home became the most popular spot on the tourist map for American soldiers on leave. Francoise Gilot told stories about how every day after the liberation for weeks and weeks that there were American soldiers sleeping all over the vast studios. The soldiers had all come to be with a hero.
By waiting out the Nazis with Hitler's proclamations and believing in deep in his sense of inner being and to keep on working in spite of the terror Picasso had won the war with the Nazis over life, liberty and art and the freedom to make Art as you believe.
In May of 1945 while Hitler is having himself and Eva murdered by an SS agent and then ordered to be burned like Sigfried; Picasso is living in gay Paris and starting a whole new chapter of his creative life with the intelligent and shapely twenty three year old Francoise Gilot.
The Question goes out to the reader, "Who won that contest?"
Charles Grimes 2011
What a weird year.
3 comments:
Here's a similarity:
Picasso: "Fernande was impoverished for most of her life, while her former lover amassed inordinate wealth. Olga and Dora both suffered mental-health problems. Marie-Thérèse and Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque, both committed suicide."
Hitler: Adolf Hitler's romances followed an intriguing pattern — they carried a similar demonic streak in them that characterised his politics.
All three women known to enter his life attempted suicide . . .
yes
only Francoise kept going in the right direction
she is still alive and painting today in New York
this coming May there will be a big opening of
art by her and Picasso
charles
So why was Picasso so well known to American soldiers?? He was just a modern painter, and American soldiers weren't known for being aesthetes of any sort. Did Lee Miller have something to do with it?
Post a Comment