Images of Paris under occupation

[fhafha]

That's very interesting, Loïc. Could you perhaps explain the designations on the stars,especially the Christian cross on the star of David?

The gentile French civilians as protest to these measures, wore stars with their own religions on it (and sometimes ridiculous invented religions).

This was a show of solidarity with their French Jewish citizens.
The designations are pretty obvious:
Goi = Goy (Gentile)
Auvergnat = Person from Auvergnes
Swing = Affiliation to Swing culture ?
Zazou = I think another sub culture.
Its all about saying "Oh you identify them? Then look at what I am" to ridicule these measures.

.

I think Swing (42) come from Swing 42, a song written and performed by the Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt. It is one of many songs taking place in Quintette du Hot Club de France. The kind of music found in intellectual class in Paris on that time.

Zazou is also a french word, especialy in Paris describing young intellectual people. "faire le Zazou" = to be a crazy guy.

[Webdragon2013]

Wikipedia to the rescue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zazou
Zazou was a subculture of France at the time. Definitely eccentrics and you can imagine why they were ridiculed in a conservative state like France.
They were not simply intellectual kids, they were rebels.

As to the Swing...You could be right there.
I imagined it to be related to the German Swing culture. Basically youth who listened to Jazz ("negroe" music) and admired forbidden cultures like USA.

[fhafha]

About Zazou, it 's what I mean with my poor english. Zazou is still in use today to say Crazy or foul, a nice way to say it.

[Loïc]

What I meant by identification of non-whites...
I could have been mistaken here. I refer to this idea by Charles Maurras of the "Anti-France" which I believe was a key component of the "Revolution Nationale" (Petain ideology). This anti-France were: Jews, Freemasons, gypsies, homosexuals, and "meteques". The meteques word I understood to be non-whites but I could be wrong.

And I didn't mean that they were to be identified like Jews, but were still considered enemy of the state.

This is why I also thought that the yellow star IN FRANCE was a French state affair, considering the antisemitism of the Maurras ideology and of the revolution nationale.

For example the statute on Jews was a purely French thing, which the state did without German sponsoring.
And this was in all free territories and colonies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statutes_on_Jews

So its interesting that the same government that implements such statutes...Refuses to agree to the simple yellow badge.
And like you said has colored political members, but persecutes just about every other group (freemasons, etc).
Another subtlety of the French state I imagine

actually
-the homosexuals were not "persecuted", what happened to Oscar Wilde it was not possible since 1791 in France for Rimbaud Verlaine Cocteau Jean Marais and others whatever the political regime, both Napoléon, Monarchy, Republic and even the period 1940-1944, this didn't mean that the society was tolerant with a such behaviour described as an "english, german, oriental" vice
-the gypsies were not deported by Pétain's regime even if some 3 to 6 000 were interned into camps
-the "meteques" were the foreigners and immigrants, the immigration was mainly European before 1950 (1st community the Italian, then Polish, Spaniards, Belgians) so not really something to see with the non-whites, and due to the cost of the german occupation and in the absence of 2 millions of young men POW's the french economy needed a such foreign Manpower

there were some cases of French gypsies (~200) and homosexuals (~60 to 80) deported by the IIIrd Reich

[Maxschnauzer]

Loïc, Webdragon2013, and fhafha, many thanks for enlightening me about this "silent protest" conducted by non-Jews of which I was totally unaware. I did a little digging and came across an article on the non-conformist subcultures you mentioned on an excellent website called Music and the Holocaust http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistanc ... ench-jazz/. The following excerpt bears directly on your posts:

In reality, jazz led something of a double life. Despite the fact that the Germans were led to see jazz as an unthreatening form, many French people saw it in quite the opposite way. A 1946 article in the American jazz magazine Down Beat claimed that jazz, 'became the symbol of, or the last tie with, the outside free world'. Because of its unrestrained style and foreign influences, jazz was the antithesis of fascist values. On one level, musicians saw themselves as restoring pride in France and asserting themselves against German rule. On another level, jazz came to be seen as a covert reference to America, especially after the US joined the war. This became epitomised by the word 'zazou'. The origins of this word are vague, but it appeared in a 1938 song by Johnny Hess titled 'Je Suis Swing' (I Am Swing), and it came to represent youths who refused to conform with Nazi occupation. Male zazous frequently dressed in thigh-length jackets, dark narrow trousers, heavy, unpolished shoes, a thick tie and lumber jacket. Women wore turtle-neck jumpers, short pleated skirts, striped stockings, heavy shoes, and carried large, folded umbrellas, whatever the weather. The term 'swing', which was generally avoided because of its American connotations, became, for the zazou, slang for anything cool. From 1942, when the Nazis made it obligatory for Jews to wear a yellow star, zazou protesters sported one with the word 'swing' or 'zazou' in the middle. In Saint-Germain in 1943, one group staged a silent protest wearing cut-up cardboard stars before being arrested by the Gestapo. There was even a violent newspaper campaign amongst collaborationists in 1942 entitled the 'chasse au zazou' (hunt for zazous). In this way, both swing and zazou became symbols of resistance.

Jazz also embodied a form of protest through its Gypsy influences. Django Reinhardt became a figurehead because he dared to combine traditional Gypsy style with American jazz rhythms. However, this also made his position especially precarious, and it is something of a miracle that he survived the war. On one occasion, he fled Paris after being tipped off that the Nazis were gassing Gypsies. But he was captured crossing the Swiss border, and only released because the commander happened to be a fan of his. A few days later he was turned away again, attempting to flee.

[Maxschnauzer]

Getting back to some images:

August 1942. German military convoy on Place de la Concorde, featuring Schwimmwagens in the foreground.

Source: Bundesarchiv

Civilians on the Quai d 'Orsay walk past the sign for a recruitment office for job placement in Germany.

Source: http://37.media.tumblr.com/

[Webdragon2013]

I have hundreds of pictures of Paris and generally French campaign aswell as other campaigns and occupations
Too many to post here.

Hallo Mademoiselle

So...Whats the news boys (Paris edition newspaper. WaffenSS Panzertroops)?''

From one fisherman to the other...The uniforms don't matter

What beautiful day to enjoy a good icecream

article-2153688-136A5E9B000005DC-952_634x347.jpg (90.9 KiB) Viewed 3227 times

[Mauser K98k]

Nice photos, webdragon, thanks!

That last one looks like the trooper on the left is contemplating pulling out his P-38 and shooting the photographer.

[Webdragon2013]

Nice photos, webdragon, thanks!

That last one looks like the trooper on the left is contemplating pulling out his P-38 and shooting the photographer.

Hehe

More:

"Germany wins on all Fronts"

Reading the French newspapers with local civilians

Arc de Triomphe view

In color

8b5e8b10.jpg (38.68 KiB) Viewed 3196 times

[Marcus]

Please remember to include the source of the photos you post.

/Marcus

[Maxschnauzer]

Nice pics, Webdragon.

Here's a few more: Source of all images http://www.cinetom.fr/archives/2010/03/23/17332521.html:

Changing of the Guard Parade 1941:

La relève de la garde-1941

Soldier's Cinema, Paris March 1943:

Soldaten Kino, salle de cinéma pour les Allemands. Paris, mars 1943.jpg (81.92 KiB) Viewed 3178 times

Exhibition of Jewish cinema personalities in September 1941:

Exposition antisémite. Les juifs dans le cinéma français. Paris, septembre 1941.jpg (84.66 KiB) Viewed 3178 times

Place Pigalle, May 1944:

Place Pigalle - 16 Mai 1944.jpg (104.2 KiB) Viewed 3178 times

[Webdragon2013]

I have a picture from a private collection to show everyone.
This is a pretty rare picture I believe, I have not seen it on the internet.
I have scanned it, here it is.

It is a detachment of German soldiers in Paris.
They are possibly yelling at something, possibly a French civilian which might have insulted them?
I always found this picture striking. Like most pictures it tells you nothing of the context and means nothing in itself.
But I would like to present it, for your imaginations to run wild and think about why those Germans were in this pose?

For me this photo exemplifies the 1940 German: Triumphant, strong, tanned after French 1940 campaign, middle aged, in all the glory of having trampled the old enemy. Most of these troops would be dead by 1942, having been sent to the Eastern front right after a short Paris rest. The Eastern Front where these strong men, the cream of the Wehrmacht, would be put like meat in the meat grinder.

I have many pictures showing the men after 1942 in Paris, the German soldiers, were only older men incapable to fight or very young recruits. A far cry from the 30 year old strong Germans which were in the city in 1940.

Let me know your thoughts.

[kstdk]

Hello

Not yelling - singing I think?

Regards
Kurt
kstdk

[Maxschnauzer]

Nice collection, webdragon. I wouldn't mind seeing more whenever you feel so inclined.

[Vikki]

I've split the last couple of "then and now" posts by Maxschnauzer to a separate thread at "Images of Paris under occupation - Then and Now": http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 6&t=208211


~Vikki