Is Paris Burning? is one of my all time favorite books and one of the best written by Lapierre and Collins. Lapierre and Collins dealt with topics like India?s freedom struggle (Freedom at Midnight),
the birth of Israel( Oh Jerusalem), life story of a Spanish matador( Or Ill Dress You In Mourning) and even a fictional novel involving an Arab terrorist threat to New York City( The Fifth Horseman).
The Background ?Is Paris Burning?? was a question asked by Hitler in 1944. During the final stages of the war, when Nazis were getting beaten repeatedly by the Russians from one end and the Allies from other end, Hitler had adopted a scorched earth policy.
The policy was to fire bomb and destroy every city, before leaving it, so that when the liberating troops came in these cities would have been nothing else but blackened ruins.
And tragically many cities in Eastern Europe suffered that fate, Sebastopol, Kiev, Stalingrad and most tragically Warsaw. Warsaw one of the most beautiful cities in Europe was fire bombed to a rubble by the Nazis when the advance of the Red Army was evident.
Paris was one of the few European cities that escaped the large scale damage and bombing, that was to devastate other major cities in Europe.
When Hitler knew that the war was coming to an inglorious end, with his troops suffering major reverses in the hands of the Red Army, he turned his attention to Paris. The D-Day landings at Normandy were over and the Allies were now advancing into Germany. It was then Hitler sent in one of his most trusted generals Gen Dietrich Von Choltitz the man behind two of the greatest scenes of triumph of the Nazis -
Rotterdam and
Sebastopol to over see the destruction of Paris.
Hitler?s orders were simple, destroy one of the most beautiful cities in the world and turn it into rubble. Thankfully Hitler?s orders were never implemented and so did Paris escape destruction which is what this book is about.
The Characters Though based on a real life event, the authors make sure it doesn?t turn into a documentary, by exploring on the feelings of the people involved in this event.
The main characters in the book are
Gen Dietrich Von Choltitz A Prussian he was one of Hitler?s most trusted and fanatical generals. He had proven himself with the capture of the Dutch port of
Rotterdam in 1940.
One of the most shameful acts committed, when Choltitz broke promises of a peaceful conquest to indulge in large scale destruction of the city. In June 1942 he broke up through the defenses of the Russian port of Sebastopol after one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
But when he met Hitler, he pretty well understood, that the war was slipping away from Germany?s grasp, and he was one of the few Nazi officers with a conscience. He disobeyed Hitler?s orders to destroy Paris fully and Hitler had to ask him repeatedly ?Is Paris Burning??.
One of the most ruthless generals, was responsible for saving one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Charles De Gaulle One of the greatest Frenchmen and a man proudly devoted to his beloved France. He refused to recognize the puppet Vichy Govt and escaped to London to fight in exile.
He was proudly individualistic and egoistic, and was never on friendly terms with many of the other Allied leaders, who hated his stubborn and independent streak. When it was imminent to him that the Allies, were not yet having plans of liberating Paris, even after Normandy, he himself parachuted into France and led the struggle.
He was against the Communist wing of the Resistance too and he would never allow them to claim credit for victory, nor would they install their Govt.
Raoul Nordling Swedish consul general to Paris. Along with Choltitz he was the man responsible for saving Paris from imminent destruction.
The Nazis planned to deport all French Political prisoners to the concentration camps on the Eastern side and it was Nordling who prevented this tragedy. He also brokered a cease fire between the Nazis and Resistance, thus making sure the city didn?t suffer from the street fighting that destroyed Leningrad.
The French Resistance A loose confederation of many groups, nonetheless the two major groups were that of De Gaulles led by Le Clerc and the Communists. The Communists were the larger and more organized fighting group, but thanks to De Gaulle?s deft handling of the situation, they could not claim the leadership and France narrowly escaped becoming a communist bloc nation.
Many leading literary figures of like Samuel Beckett, Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemmingway fought with the Resistance. The book looks at some of the most prominent fighters of the resistance like Morandat, Jacques Chalban-Delmas and Le Clerc.
The book starts off with a description of Paris and then proceeds slowly to describe the build up which starts with a secret message to the French Resistance about the Allied arrival. Charles De Gaulle?s secret flight to France, and his disagreements with the Allies over the possible liberation of Paris are well depicted.
Hitler?s instructions to Choltitz to destroy Paris, the way the Nazis rig up the entire city is brilliantly depicted. Paris was sitting on a time bomb, and it was only Choltitz?s reluctance to go ahead, that saved the city. The book then proceeds to depict how De Gaulle builds up his French Army to liberate Paris, and how Eisenhower reluctantly concedes to change his plans.
Ike and Patton?s main target was not Paris, as they felt that liberation of Paris would slow down their advance in Europe, but they had to make changes and the reasons are well documented. Especially exhilarating are the scenes describing the liberation of Paris and the final battle of the Nazis leading to Choltitz?s surrender.
Lapierre and Collins combine historical fact and extensive research, and include a human angle to come up with an all time unforgettable book. If you are going on a long trip somewhere, take this book with you.
Even if you are not much into World War II and Nazi stuff, just read the book for some memorable stories of human interest, like the one involving Morandat and his wife, the disagreements between De Gaulle and Allies.
The best thing about this book is that it doesn?t sound like a dry documentary and more like a vast story involving people and characters, and that is the greatest triumph of this book.