Rare images show how newspapers reported Liberation of Paris in August 1944
One shows food arriving at the starving city from Yorkshire in the UK with a truck marked ‘Churchill’s grub’
The rare newspapers were handed to the Musée de la Libération in Paris
Ian Reed / Allied Forces Heritage Group
A rare collection of 11 newspapers from August 1944 that was donated to the Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération in Paris shows how the Liberation was reported at the time.
Among the collection, whose titles include Libération, La Dépêche and Le Parisien, is an article about food from Yorkshire arriving on the first day into the starving city.
Read more: Paris marks 80th anniversary of Liberation
Newspapers during the years of occupation were subject to strict censure by the Nazi authorities, meaning that the Liberation resulted in a rapid rediscovery of editorial freedom.
However, the poor quality of paper - due to wartime restrictions - means that relatively few of these important documents remain.
This collection was found and donated by The Allied Forces Heritage Group, which works to promote the commemoration of allied services past and present..
“As time passes, history becomes generalised and vague, (often inaccurate) and we miss out on the real detail,” the group’s director Ian Reed MBE told The Connexion.
“These newspapers include forgotten stories and the museum wishes to record all these details and fascinating insights into the daily lives of Parisians who lived through this tumultuous and deadly period.”
The Liberation saw 582 civilians killed and 2,000 wounded and a further 156 soldiers of the 2nd French armoured division killed and 225 wounded along with 3,200 Axis troops dead, and 12,800 taken prisoner.
Read more: The Liberation of Paris: 'History fluctuates with the changing times'
