After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris was liberated
by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry
Division. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich von
Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, defied an order by
Adolf Hitler to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the
ground before its liberation. Choltitz signed a formal surrender
that afternoon, and on August 26, Free French General Charles
de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down the Champs
d’Elysees.

Dietrich Hugo Hermann von Choltitz 
(9 November 1894 – 5 November 1966)