Paris WWII: Collaboration and Résistance - a walking tour｜France

1. First stop – The Ritz Hotel at Place Vendome

The atmosphere at the beginning of the occupation
When they arrived in Paris, the Germans tolerated the Ritz Hotel remaining open. The Ritz family was of Swiss origin and therefore considered neutral. The Germans tolerated this open space, like others in Paris, because they wanted to present themselves as a friendly nation, who had come here to collaborate with the French nation. The atmosphere created by the collaborators is very well presented in the film The Rays and Shadows.

We will learn more about one of the most interesting characters of that period: Frank Meier, the barman of the Ritz who would mix incredible cocktails for the Nazis while helping the Resistance movement.

2. Second stop – Hotel Meurice - rue de Rivoli
In this building, the Nazis set up their headquarters, right next to the flags. This was the office of the governor of the Parisian region – General von Choltitz. They chose this place because it was in a strategic point, on Rivoli Street, from where they could observe very well everything that was happening in the center of Paris.

This building was covered with the Nazi flag, as we can see in the film Paris brule-t-il? (Is Paris burning?).

3. Third stop - Musée du Jeu de Paume
In addition to the military invasion, the Nazis also organized a large-scale theft of works of art. They organized a real corporation specializing in the theft of works of art, whose headquarters were installed in this building, at the end of the park, now called the Musée du Jeu de Paume.
We will see the real places that inspired the incredible true story of The Monuments Men movie.

4. Élysée Palace
We can provide brief information about the Palace that was empty throughout the war.
Officials came here as if to a kind of Kafka's Castle, in a bizarre, uninhabited space.


5. Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe
When he returned to France in August 1944, General de Gaulle organized a parade on the Champs Élysées, as a kind of retort to the parade organized by the Nazis in front of the Eiffel Tower four years earlier.

When he arrived in Paris, de Gaulle gave a famous speech in front of the city hall, in which he perpetuated the myth that the French had liberated Paris on their own.

We will learn more about de Gaulle's actions as described in the new French movie - La Bataille de Gaulle.

Then we will take the subway to Saint Paul.

6. Memorial de la Shoah
We will learn more about the history of the Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation, its role in the Nuremberg trials and how it led to the conviction of high-ranking Nazi officers guilty of crimes against humanity.

We will also learn about its activity's influence on modern cinema and television.

7. Memorial de martyrs de la deportation
The Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation is a Parisian monument dedicated to the memory of all those deported from France between 1941 and 1944. It is located on the Île de la Cité in Paris.