1-276-502 - Art Media/Heritage Images

The liberation of Paris, August 1944. French francs-tireurs (irregulars) at a barricade on the Pont Neuf. As Allied forces neared Paris, the city's citizens mobilised to help bring the Nazi occupation to a close. A general strike was called on 18 August, barricades were erected and skirmishes with German troops broke out. By the time the Germans surrendered after Free French troops entered the city on 25 August an estimated 1500 civilians and members of the Resistance had been killed in the fighting.