The Savior of Paris?

The German general, Dietrich von Choltitz, known as the “savior of Paris,” served as the last commander of Nazi-occupied Paris. A veteran of the Royal Saxon Army in World War I, Choltitz disobeyed Hitler’s order to destroy Paris, claiming later that his defiance stemmed from its obvious military futility, affection for the history and culture of Paris, and belief that Hitler had by then gone mad. “If for this first time I disobeyed (an order), it was because I knew Hitler was crazy,” Choltitz reportedly said.

As a professional officer in the German army, Choltitz served in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and of France in 1940, as well as the siege of Sevastopol. He served as commander of a panzer corps on the Eastern Front from 1943 to 1944 and then was transferred to France. 

On August 7, 1944, Choltitz, having failed to stop the breakout of American forces into Brittany, was appointed military commander of Paris, German control of which was threatened by approaching Allied armies. Hitler ordered Choltitz to destroy bridges, major buildings, and other facilities in the city rather than let it fall into Allied hands undamaged. After Choltitz’s arrival in Paris on August 9, Hitler confirmed the order by cable: “The city must not fall into the enemy’s hand except lying in complete rubble.” 

On August 15, the Paris police force went on strike, followed by a general insurrection led by the French Communist Party. The German garrison under Choltitz fought back but was far too small to stop the uprising. Choltitz brokered a ceasefire with the insurgents on August 20, but many resistance groups rejected it and skirmishes continued the next day. The Swedish consul-general in Paris, Raoul Nordling, and president of the municipal council, Pierre Taittinger, held several meetings with Choltitz, during which he negotiated the release of political prisoners. 

Repulsed by the barbarity of Hitler’s orders, he agreed to a truce with French resistance forces and handed Paris over unscathed to General Jacques-Philippe Leclerc on August 25, 1944.

Choltitz was held for the remainder of the war at Trent Park, in North London, with other senior German officers and then transferred to a U.S. prisoner-of-war camp until 1947, after which he returned to Germany. No specific charges were ever filed against him. 

In 1956 he visited his wartime headquarters at the Hôtel Meurice in Paris. Reportedly the long-time head barman of the hotel recognized the short, rotund man with “impossibly correct posture” wandering around the bar as if in a daze. After the manager of the hotel met him in the bar, he asked to see his old room. Snubbed by former fellow officers, in 1951 he wrote a book, Brennt Paris? (Is Paris Burning ), in which he defended his disobedience of Hitler. The book was the principal source for a 1965 book, Is Paris Burning?, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It also served as the basis for the 1966 film, Is Paris Burning?, directed by René Clément.

Some French historians dispute Choltitz’s claim of having saved Paris. In fact, the allies were closing in on the city, and Choltitz had neither the men, material, nor air support to level it, according to these arguments. In addition, Choltitz, no sentimentalist, had helped destroy Rotterdam and Sevastopol.   
Choltitz died in November 1966 from a longstanding war illness in the city hospital of Baden-Baden and was buried in the city cemetery.