April 6, 2009
Liberation of Paris whitewash
Charles de Gaulle . . . made it clear that he wanted his Frenchmen to lead the liberation of Paris. Allied High Command agreed, but only on one condition: De Gaulle's division must not contain any black soldiers. . .The whitewash may have been pushed by the Anglo-American commanders, but the French have plenty to answer for, too:Finding an all-white division that was available proved to be impossible due to the enormous contribution made to the French Army by West African conscripts.
So, Allied Command insisted that all black soldiers be taken out and replaced by white ones from other units.
When it became clear that there were not enough white soldiers to fill the gaps, soldiers from parts of North Africa and the Middle East were used instead.
In the end, nearly everyone was happy. De Gaulle got his wish to have a French division lead the liberation of Paris, even though the shortage of white troops meant that many of his men were actually Spanish.
For France's West African Tirailleurs Senegalais, however, there was little to celebrate.From the BBC.Despite forming 65% of Free French Forces and dying in large numbers for France, they were to have no heroes' welcome in Paris.
After the liberation of the French capital many were simply stripped of their uniforms and sent home. To make matters even worse, in 1959 their pensions were frozen.
Posted by David on April 6, 2009 2:39 PM
The French have long had a talent for shooting themselves in their collective foot. If ever there were conflicting circumstances of behavior during World War II, it centered about the French. The French surrendered and collaborated and even fought against the allies intent on liberating France. AThey gave up Jews and at times seemed enthusiastic about helping the Nazis, but then this is the nation of Dreyfus and slavish favoring of the Islamic loonies in their midst. But at the same time, the Free French and the French underground was capable of amazing heroism and dedication. And the Church in France frequently protected Jews and also helped downed allied fliers to escape. One can almost, but never quite, come to terms with DdeGaulle; the genius of the man and the intense nationalism were a magnet for the French people. But at the same time the enormous ego and myth making of a relatively minor role in the war effort and the complete dependence on the British and Americans must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow.
Posted by: Donald Wolberg on April 6, 2009 10:43 PM
Donald,
I agree, the role of the French in WW2 was somewhat less than impressive,I've heard from German veterans that many Parisians were "friendly" until the tide turned against the Nazis. The Allies should have demonstrated to the French who their real liberators were. There was no justification for France becoming a permanent member of the UN security council alongside the main victors of WW2, perhaps it was a case of "better inside the tent...."
Posted by: Russell on April 13, 2009 1:39 AM
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