Effects of wrecked Paris?

Hey Guys,

I'm sure most people her have heard of the story that Hitler demanded General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to raze Paris to the ground before retreating from the Allied forces, but the commander couldn't due to the beauty of the city and so left it alone.

What if he hadn't? What if General Choltitz had obeyed Hitler and had demolished Paris to the best of his ability, in doing this the German General will manage to destroy (yes this is a list from Wiki) :
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Arc de Triomphe
  • Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
  • Notre Dame Cathedral
  • Grand Palais
  • Conciergerie
  • Jardin du Luxembourg
  • Les Invalides
  • Grand Louvre
  • Gare d'Orsay
  • Palais Garnier, and lastly the
  • Père Lachaise Cemetery

In other words the main monuments of Paris, if they have time the Germans will also burn the rest of the city to the ground with the best of their ability and will of course massacre entire swathes of people.

What happens now? How do the allies retaliate to one of the most cultured cities of Europe pretty much being wiped of the face of the Earth? What would be the lasting effects? And how would the French react?
 
Hey Guys,

I'm sure most people her have heard of the story that Hitler demanded General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to raze Paris to the ground before retreating from the Allied forces, but the commander couldn't due to the beauty of the city and so left it alone.


What if he hadn't? What if General Choltitz had obeyed Hitler and had demolished Paris to the best of his ability, in doing this the German General will manage to destroy (yes this is a list from Wiki) :
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Arc de Triomphe
  • Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
  • Notre Dame Cathedral
  • Grand Palais
  • Conciergerie
  • Jardin du Luxembourg
  • Les Invalides
  • Grand Louvre
  • Gare d'Orsay
  • Palais Garnier, and lastly the
  • Père Lachaise Cemetery
In other words the main monuments of Paris, if they have time the Germans will also burn the rest of the city to the ground with the best of their ability and will of course massacre entire swathes of people.

What happens now? How do the allies retaliate to one of the most cultured cities of Europe pretty much being wiped of the face of the Earth? What would be the lasting effects? And how would the French react?

Well, in all honesty I doubt that the German garrison actually had the capacity in terms of time and resources to level the city had they so chosen to do so. However, assuming that they did manage to do so I imagine that the French would most likely rebuild what was left of the the most iconic and important structures over the coming decades as they have done elsewhere such as in Warsaw and Rotterdam. As for the lesser buildings such as appartment blocks, I can see that the need for housing within the city would spur on the development of new buildings as opposed to the restoration of the existing ones. You would probably end up seeing hundreds of those faceless post war concrete and glass buildings.

As for immediate consequences, I don't see much being different. The French would most certainly want blood but either way the citties of germany are still going to be bombed into oblivion as they were OTL. It's the long term issues that are more important - german re-armament in the 1950's, NATO and the EU.

Russell
 
The French would be rather pissed off, but how much more damage could be wrecked on Germany? short of splitting up the country.. wait they did that.. short of plundering the country.. wait they did that...

If you can avoid a cold war split and iron curtain, maybe the French could take more from Germany. However since the cold war basically began like 2 months later, it was strategic to reintegrate Germany and bring it into the fold and let the last 150 years of wars between France and Germany Finally be laid to rest. Fear of the Russians and at least for 45 years negated the hatred between France and Germany enough to stabilize Europe and allow for the creation of NATO and the EU. Time will tell if with out a common foe, can the nationalism of the two be kept under wraps in favor of European prosperity
 
I can see that the need for housing within the city would spur on the development of new buildings as opposed to the restoration of the existing ones. You would probably end up seeing hundreds of those faceless post war concrete and glass buildings.

Le Corbusier (boo! hiss!) probably gets to implement Plan Vosin (to bulldoze everything north of the Seine and replace it with freeways and glass box skyscrapers). [FACEPALM]

207a.jpg
 
Le Corbusier (boo! hiss!) probably gets to implement Plan Vosin (to bulldoze everything north of the Seine and replace it with freeways and glass box skyscrapers). [FACEPALM]
Le Corbusier? Pah! *Spits*

Give me Edwin Lutyens any day of the week.
 
How could you destroy the Eiffel Tower? Its pretty big and the collateral will be huge....

It wouldn't be a total disaster for Paris to be gone (it is nasty of course and all those dead people but...in another way), it is a fairly modern city anyway....but what would replace it would likely be truly horrific.

Expect a even harsher peace on Germany. Maybe those plans where the Dutch take big swathes of the west and France can take the Saar outright.
 
You are right Tyr, the collateral damage would have been huge.

Simply put the easiest and quickest way to do this would have been to drive large trucks full of explosives up the the monuments and wire them to blow.
Never mind the monuments, say goodbye to half of Paris.

Even what Le Corbusier had in mind (and given that image was he a German plant??) would have been better than overlapping craters.
 
If he put another one on his position, I doubt Dietrich von Choltitz will obey him on that.

Choltitz did allow the bombing of Rotterdam to take place even though he, as senior commander on the ground, had just accepted its surrender. IOTL, he was convinced by his meeting with Hitler just before taking command of the troops in Paris that Hitler was in no condition to win the war.
 
Le Corbusier (boo! hiss!) probably gets to implement Plan Vosin (to bulldoze everything north of the Seine and replace it with freeways and glass box skyscrapers). [FACEPALM]

Wait, aren't there all the catacombs under that area making it usuitable for tall structures like this?
 
Wait, aren't there all the catacombs under that area making it unsuitable for tall structures like this?

A trivial problem to solve; just drill some shafts and fill them with concrete.
Bourgeois old burial-chambers cannot be allowed to interfere with Modernist Architecture !
 
Choltitz did allow the bombing of Rotterdam to take place even though he, as senior commander on the ground, had just accepted its surrender. IOTL, he was convinced by his meeting with Hitler just before taking command of the troops in Paris that Hitler was in no condition to win the war.

And that is why he did not obey him... :D
Remember the words: "Brennt Paris?" :cool:
 
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