13- Der Führer In Paris

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4 of June of 1940. Paris, France

23 of June of 1940. Paris, France

"One day after France signed the armistice with Germany in June 1940, Adolf Hitler celebrated the German victory over France with a triumphant tour of Paris. Hitler surveying his conquest with his various companions and became one of the most iconic photos of the 1940s and World War 2. This was the first and the only time he visited Paris.

Adolf Hitler made a swift tour of Paris in the early hours of 23rd June, accompanied by Albert Speer his favorite architect and later Armaments Minister, and Arno Breker his favorite sculptor. The day before (June 22), France signed an armistice with Germany following the Germans' successful invasion. Hitler's tour included the Paris opera, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. After visiting Napoleon's tomb and the Sacre Coeur, Hitler left Paris. In all, Hitler spent about three hours in the city.

His visit to the Napoleon's tomb was special. "That was the greatest and finest moment of my life", he said upon leaving. As a tribute to the French emperor, Hitler ordered that the remains of Napoleon's son be moved from Vienna to lie beside his father. He also ordered the destruction of two World War I monuments: one to General Charles Mangin, a French war hero, and one to Edith Cavell, a British nurse who was executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape German-occupied Brussels.

Hitler would gush about Paris for months afterward. He was so impressed,he ordered architect and friend Albert Speer to revive plans for a massiveconstruction program of new public buildings in Berlin, an attempt to destroyParis, not with bombs, but with superior architecture. "Wasn't Parisbeautiful?" Hitler asked Speer. "But Berlin must be far more beautiful. When weare finished in Berlin, Paris will only be a shadow"." (Took from RareHistorical Photos webpage, "Hitler's triumphant tour of Paris, 1940").    

3 hour the Führer spent in Paris with his men. He and his men were ready to return to Berlin aboard the plane FW.200V-3 (A-0, S-9) 'Immelmann III', the personal plane of the Führer. In front of the plane was the general Rudolph Von Stroheim, who was the general indicated to lead the Führer safe back to Berlin.

-Sieg Heil!- Von Stroheim said opening the door of the plane to the Führer and his men, who enter the plane. Von Stroheim entered the plane, closed the door and give the order to the pilots to start flying.

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