IS PARIS BURNING?

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 4, 1965

...was what Hitler asked on August 25, 1944, the day Paris was liberated. The story of why he was answered in the negative forms the most exciting and moving part of an eloquent chapter in the history of World War II. The general in command of occupied Paris was Dietrich von Choltitz, hero of Sebastopol, a man who understood the necessity for obedience to orders. But he was also a man severely shaken by his last meeting with Hitler, whom he recognized as mad; a man who was willing to die a soldier but not a criminal in the face of the civilized world. Through yon Choltitz' active acquiescence, word was gotten through in time to the Allied commanders to change their plans to by-pass Paris and the terrible drain it would cause on supplies and to enter the city before it was destroyed. The participation of literally Scores of individuals was involved, and the authors, with a you-are-there style, follow them all, from the great leaders of the war, to private townspeople; they introduce all the intermeshing and opposing elements of combat and resistance forces. A tremendous amount of research must lie behind this story, which despite the prosaic prose in which it is presented, cannot fail to arouse the emotions, in particular sympathy and gratitude to the hitherto unsung von Choltitz and the men who risked their lives to save Paris. A great story, a good book.

Pub Date: June 4, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION