Paris is celebrating the French resistance fighters, American soldiers and others who liberated the City of Light from Nazi occupation exactly 75 years ago.
A parade on Sunday will retrace the entry of French and American tanks into southern Paris on Aug. 25, 1944.
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Paris is celebrating the French resistance fighters, American soldiers and others who liberated the City of Light from Nazi occupation exactly 75 years ago.
Paris suffered relatively little damage in World War II but its citizens were humiliated, hungry and mistrustful after 50 months under the Nazis.
Tourists stand under bullet holes, which remain from the fight for the liberation of Paris, mid August 1944, along the wall of the Tuileries Garden at the place de la Concorde in Paris, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019. Paris suffered no major damage during the fighting, though official edifices still bear the bullet holes of fighting. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
Steven Melnikoff, 99, of the 175th regiment of the 29th infantry division and is one of the few veterans left who took part to the D-Day landings on June 06, 1944, adjusts his cap during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Melnikoff was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Harold Radish, 95, of the 90th division and a prisoner of war, poses during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Radish arrived in Normandy a few months after D-Day, fought into Germany, and then was captured and held as a prisoner of war. As a Jew, he remains surprised and grateful to have made it out alive. Radish was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Donald Cobb, 95, of the US Navy, shows his medals during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Cobb, who was aboard the USS Murphy during the battles of Normandy, Southern France, North Africa and in the Mediterranean sea, was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Firefighters will raise a French flag on the Eiffel Tower, recreating the moment when a French tricolor stitched together from sheets was hoisted atop the monument 75 years ago to replace the swastika flag that had flown for four years.
FILE - In this Aug. 25, 1944 file photo, a Parisian girl hold her hands high in the victory sign as American troops pass through Paris, on their way to the front after the French capital was liberated. The fighting for the liberation of Paris took place from August 19 to August 25, 1944. (AP PhotoRichard Boyer, File)
Paris suffered relatively little damage in World War II but its citizens were humiliated, hungry and mistrustful after 50 months under the Nazis.
The liberation of Paris was both joyous and chaotic, with nearly 5,000 people killed.
FILE - In this Aug. 28, 1944 file photo, French girls rush to greet American soldiers upon their arrival in Paris. The fighting for the liberation of Paris took place from August 19 to August 25, 1944. The French Resistance staged an uprising against the Nazis, leading attacks against German soldiers and vehicles and building barricades in the streets of the French capital. Towers of Notre Dame are in background at right. (AP Photo, File)
Tourists stand under bullet holes, which remain from the fight for the liberation of Paris, mid August 1944, along the wall of the Tuileries Garden at the place de la Concorde in Paris, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019. Paris suffered no major damage during the fighting, though official edifices still bear the bullet holes of fighting. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
Steven Melnikoff, 99, of the 175th regiment of the 29th infantry division and is one of the few veterans left who took part to the D-Day landings on June 06, 1944, adjusts his cap during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Melnikoff was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Harold Radish, 95, of the 90th division and a prisoner of war, poses during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Radish arrived in Normandy a few months after D-Day, fought into Germany, and then was captured and held as a prisoner of war. As a Jew, he remains surprised and grateful to have made it out alive. Radish was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
Donald Cobb, 95, of the US Navy, shows his medals during an interview with the Associated Press Friday, Aug.23, 2019 in Paris. Cobb, who was aboard the USS Murphy during the battles of Normandy, Southern France, North Africa and in the Mediterranean sea, was part of a group of World War II veterans taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Allied operation to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
