Announcer next, a u. S. Office of war information newsreel showing the street battles that led to the liberation of paris from nazi occupation 75 years ago in august of 1944. Announcer paris was a city with a smoldering purpose, signs in an alien tongue stood isolated. An alien flag flapped in the breeze. But behind the windows there was meaningful preparations. Men checked their stock of arms. No single bullet could be wasted. Each battle grenade was inspected. Calmly the French Forces of the , interior, camouflaged their requisition cars. On the Ile De France the first , sparks were ready to burst into flames. It provides a natural bastion winding through the heart of the capital. The men took their positions. The severed German Forces who neither opposed the infantry from the south, nor effectively be to the imminent attack from within. The center of the bastion as the was the police headquarters. That was objective number one. It was here that the battle began. Here, the first blood was drawn. There were deaths and casualties in both camps. But the spilled blood brought firstclass weapons to the ffi. They were put to immediate and effective use. Narrator direct fire was played on the german staff commanding the garrison in the police headquarters. This was the first important success scored by the paris resistance forces. It gave them a place from which to organize. It gave them authority. Tension of four years duration had been relieved. Above all, the exprefect of corsica, the man who secretly directed the paris police to stand by for orders. Now he came into the open as chief of resistance throughout france. The gendarmerie had played the game with infinite tact. They held together, they gathered arms and barricaded themselves in. Then according to plan, they rose in perfect coordination with the attackers outside. Came the moment of final inspection. The leader told the local chiefs his plan. He exhorted the lyon mass to popular uprising. They heard the call of the barricades once again. Legend has it that the very stones would rise, and rise they did. Once again, in the long history of mans fight for freedom paris tore up of the cobblestones to make entrenchments. Paris the eternal stood not only for herself but for freemen the world over. The people rose to the moment, a fateful moment for the entire world. Narrator with the barricades in place, the scene was set for action. Narrator intense activity was underway inside headquarters. Small units were everywhere. But allied divisions were approaching, among them the french armored division. Narrator german tanks tried vainly to find soft spots near hotel de ville. Here is the call citizens to arms [bugle call] [explosion] [gunfire] german snipers opened up on the roof of the hotel. On the roof of notre dame. [gunfire] narrator this nazi is a marked man. [gunfire] narrator and this german convoy is doomed. It will never escape. [gunfire] [explosions] [machine gun fire] [explosions] [shouting] [gunfire] [explosions] [gunfire] [explosions] [gunfire] narrator the initial flare up had passed. Whole sections are cleared of german army. On the an occasional nazi sniper remains behind, but he is hunted from every corner. [gunfire] narrator at the hotel de ville, the town hall, the air is electric. With suspense. It was thought the germans had fired their last shot. [explosion] [gunfire] [bullets zipping through the air] [incessant gunfire] narrator already, the flow of enemy prisoners was running into the thousands, but german treachery knows no end. [gunfire] narrator here is the nazi story. We surrender, it says. Please dont shoot. The frenchmen go in for the capture. Material damage is insignificant. It is a small price for the end of nazi tyranny. Narrator but even as the french colors rose in triumph, the nazi broke his sworn word. He counterattacked. Added to his treachery was this evidence of his bestiality left behind within the gates of paris. In the threshold of german soil, the memory of these useless men yieldless men and women is not going to be forgotten. Promise has been given that the criminals responsible for these and countless other crimes are to be punished without exception. The crowds that cheer their freedom and did so with 4 harsh years behind them, four vividly remembered years. At the moment, before they face with sobering years of reconstruction, they could think of nothing but this various glorious moment of liberation. [cheers and applause] narrator the popular general leclerc leads his division passed the statue. Past the liberty statue. They came to turn the tide of the attack and they came in a dramatic moment, in time to assure the victorious conquest of the resistance forces. [cheers and applause] narrator bullets again interrupt the jubilance, but only for a moment. [gunfire] [gunfire] [shouting] narrator amid such scenes of delirious contrast, paris finally find deliverance. The home of freedom is once again the home of freemen. The battle of paris has been one and the victorious end of the battle of europe is at hand. Announcer up next, the u. S. Office of war information newsreel shows the liberation of paris by allied forces 75 years ago in august, 1944
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