The city’s fate hung in the balance

Paris’ fall to the Nazis on June 14th, 1940, was one of the darkest days of World War II. The city’s liberation on August 25th, 1944, felt like the brightest. Champagne flowed freely, total strangers embraced—it was a celebration of life renewed against the backdrop of the world's favorite city, as experienced by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, J. D. Salinger, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Capa.

But there was nothing preordained about this happy ending;, Paris might have gone down as a ghastly monument to Nazi nihilism.

Cutting through decades of myth-making, Paris 1944 tells the story of those iridescent days in a startling new way, with all the drama, heroism, joy, and suspense of one of the most explosive moments of the twentieth century.

Review Quote

"Intriguing perspectives that balance myths and realities about the occupation and liberation of Paris during World War II. A fascinating and enlightening narrative that serves as an entertaining social history of World War II–era Paris." —Kirkus Reviews

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