This historic film “Montmarte 44” is part of the series France on the March, “La France en Marche”. It features the Free French Army under General Phillippe Leclerc de Hautecloque and portrays the liberation of Paris in August 1944. It also shows the actions of the French Resistance in the Montmartre district the day before the Leclerc Division stormed Paris. The film includes some reenactment scenes, including the German Army burning down the Grand Palais exhibition hall.

Summary: It would be in the northern part of Paris – the Montmartre — that resistance fighters set up barricades to resist the German occupation, and began to arrest Nazi collaborators. Women who consorted with the enemy were shaved and marked with the swastika. Male collaborators are interrogated before being handed over to the police. While the French Forces of the Interior chase members of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism or LVF from the rooftops, the Parisian people burn the remaining and now – unattended – Nazi effigies. The locals of Montmartre, gathered at the foot of the Sacré-Coeur, observe the fighting taking place at the gates of Paris through the sightseeing binoculars installed there. When the troops of General Leclerc and Patton enter Paris, French and American flags appear at the windows and the troops are greeted warmly by the crowds. Gathered at the Butte Montmartre, the soldiers and the Parisians admire the now-liberated capital.

0:28 General Patton’s tanks and Leclerc’s troops are advancing towards Paris.

0:32 13,6 kilometers to Le Mans – Pays de la Loire region (3 hours from Paris)

0:38 Tank, named in honor of the River Ourcq, in Paris.

0:41 Poster: “Order for the defense of the Parisian population”.

0:44 “As soon as the first tank reaches the Parisian suburbs the Resistance breaks out into the open and throws up barricades” Animation: plan of the barricades

1:00 Parisians pulling out the cobblestones to make barricades.

1:15 In the b/g, Montmartre cemetery.

1:20 Bird’s eye view of a street in Montmartre. Tobacconist and horse race betting shop (PMU).

1:34 Young man, holding a grenade, eating on top of a barricade.

1:43 Pan towards smoking streets of Paris in the midst of the battle from heights of Montmartre.

1:50 Group of Parisians with binoculars.

1:59 Pan scan of the smoking roof of Grand Palais and again – with it burning. The Nazis have started numerous fires, hoping to slow the advance of the troops

2:20 General Philippe Leclerc and his troops at Rambouillet , surrounded by a few residents.

2:36 Resistance posters “Parisian!”, calling the people to insurgency

2:43 Young resistance fighters with cartridges around chest. “FFI fighters suppress the last remaining sites where the Nazi collaborationists are putting up their desperate last stand”

2:52 FFI Resistance car, traveling in the streets of Paris.

3:28 Newspaper :”Arpajon group, an American force marches on Paris.”

3:31 Parisians relaxing in the Abbey square on Montmartre.

3:36 Newspaper headline: “Leclerc lookout troops at the gates of Paris”

3:45 “From the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart one can see the battle at the gates of Paris.” On the steps, the crowd looks at Paris. Man looking into the distance with spyglass. Little girl looking into the distance through binoculars.

4:00 Young people reading a newspaper as they walk. Slow pan of the headlines : “Long live de Gaulle !”, “Paris is free !”, “A wind of freedom fills our chests”.

4:24 Gen. Leclerc troops at one of the train stations

4:31 FFI fighters

4:36 German POWs

4:45 Headlines: “The first french troops have entered Paris.” “Paris is waiting for De Gaulle this morning.” “I’m finally home, says captain Dionne.”

4:54 “Men and women have kept the flags of the victorious nations, despite the dangers, for this long-awaited day.” Banner:”Welcome to the honorable armies of Liberation!”, Australian, Soviet and American flags.

5:20 “The first cars of the Leclerc division arrive at Montmartre at last ! They’re covered with the names of the places they had gloriously fought for.”

5:55 “Guy Moquet” jeep. Guy Moquet was a teenager illegally executed by the Nazis, his name is controversial in today’s France, as he wasn’t a resistant, but a civilian victim.

6:00 Patton’s troops arrive to Montmartre

6:54 Still on their Jeep at the Butte Montmartre, victorious soldiers admire Paris. “…the beautiful Paris, which is ever more beautiful in the morning sun, and Montmartre will become once again full of youth, grace and poetry.”

Cameraman: Noël Ramettre, music: Charles Seringès, narrated by E.B. Danou.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com