On June 14, 1940, German troops marched into Paris.
The French government had already declared it an open city to avoid destruction. By June 22nd, France officially surrendered. The country was divided into the German-controlled north and the puppet state of Vichy France. Life in Paris changed quickly, with German officers around every corner, German propaganda flooding streets, and Jews quickly rounded up and deported. The occupation lasted until 1944, when the D-Day invasion began the process of liberation.
Here are some vintage photos of those brutal three years, when the French lived under the yoke of Germany.
1
German soldiers parade on the Champs Élysées
June 14th, 1940
2
German Troops marching into Paris
Paris, 1940
3
German field marshal Gerd von Rundstedt is given a tour of the Louvre
October, 1940
4
Horse-drawn coaches in front of the National Assembly, decorated with slogan: "Germany is winning on all fronts"
Paris, 1941
5
The Paris Opera decorated with swastikas for a festival of German music
1941
6
German soldiers in Montmartre at the Moulin Rouge
1941
7
German Luftwaffe soldiers at a Paris café
1941
8
Poster for an official anti-semitic exposition, "The Jew and France"
Bundesarchiv, 1941
9
German office observing a polar bear
Parque Zoológico de París, 1941
10
A parade of German soldiers heading from Avenue de la Grande Armée
Arc of Triumph in Paris
11
German army parade on Champs Élysées
Paris, 1940
12
Luftwaffe officers on the Metro
Paris, 1941
13
A theatre, which has an Imperial Eagle painted on its wall
proclaims itself as a German soldier’s cinema
14
Street signs advertise locations of German facilities in Paris
French names written in smaller text beneath
15
Giant Swastikas line the streets of Paris
Paris, 1941
16
Adolf Hitler on the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot
June 23rd, 1940
17
Parisians cycle past a poster for German-sponsored Europe Against Bolshevism exhibition
Paris, 1941
18
German soldiers at the Fête de la Nation
June 8th, 1941
19
The Fritzes visit Paris while the French troops are doing winter sports in the Pyrénées, view taken at the Palais de Chaillot
August 4, 1940
20
Rue de Rivoli, the German flag is flying, the street is deserted.
June 30, 1940
21
A group of civilians and German soldiers visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris.
Paris, 1940
22
Vernon, France, in ruins following German bombings
Sept. 15, 1940
23
German soldiers on the Trocadéro esplanade, facing the Eiffel Tower.
Paris, 1940
24
German soldiers at the Pantin market stand
Paris, 1940
25
Paris' Le Meurice hotel in Rue de Rivoli
Flanked by the flags of Germany
26
A photograph of German soldiers at the entrance to the Richelieu Drouot metro station
Paris, July 14th, 1940
