Volume One Available Now!

Our new book, Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi-Occupied Paris, is available for sale direct from Stew and Yooper Publications.

The price of the book is $24.95. All books sold directly will be autographed with a personal message. Sales tax will be covered by Yooper Publications.

For our domestic subscribers, we’ll pay the postage. For our international subscribers (and non-subscribers), the cost of postage will be added to the cost of the book.

If you would like to own and read our new book, please contact Sandy directly at sandy.ross@yooperpublications.com. Your review of the book on Amazon would be greatly appreciated (click here).

This is the first of three volumes on the occupation of Paris. I hope you enjoy the following preview of the book.

The False War & Vichy, 1940-1944

BRING OCCUPIED PARIS TO LIFE

(without obtaining a ration card to survive)

Come walk in the footsteps of the men, women, and children who lived, worked, and died in Nazi-occupied Paris. Your walks will take you to buildings, places, and sites that were significant to the Nazis, French Resistance, Free French, the British, and most importantly, the citizens of Paris.

“Maybe I’ll protect it; maybe I won’t. It’s up to me.”

Adolf Hitler

(to Albert Speer on the fate of Paris sometime during their three-hour tour of Paris on the morning of 28 June 1940)

Although World War II and the German occupation of Paris occurred more than 75 years ago, these historical events are still fresh in our minds. France spent almost 40 years denying its role in the collaboration with the Nazis and in particular, the arrests and deportations of the French Jewish population. While the German occupation of Paris started out rather benignly in June 1940, within two years the city and its citizens were firmly in the grip of the tightening Nazi vise.

WALK ONE (Vichy France)

Louis Darquier de Pellepoix to the Kommandantur du Groß -Paris

WALK TWO (PARIS BY NIGHT)

Cabaret le Shéhérazade to the Milice Headquarters

WALK THREE (SOLDIERS ON LEAVE)

Montmartre: UGIF to the Moulin Rouge

METRO WALKS (OTHER SITES TO VISIT)

Sample Stops

WALK ONE STOP 10

WALK TWO STOP 9

Testimonials

“Stew blends the dark history of buildings in Paris that are associated with the infamous deeds of the Gestapo with contrasting insights into the bravery of the French people, who, at great risk to themselves and their families, secretly resisted the German Occupation.”

⏤Squadron Leader Stanley Booker, MBE, RAF (Ret.), Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, Member: KLB Club

“An invaluable guide to a host of little-known locations and facts about wartime occupied Paris. Not just for the historian, this book will allow anyone to view this beautiful city of light in the shadows of enemy occupation.”

⏤Paul McCue

Historian, lecturer, and author of SAS Operation Bulbasket: Behind the Lines in Occupied France 1944

“Guidebooks are usually described as informative, sometimes entertaining and Stew Ross’ newest work is both. It is also more⏤it evokes a difficult and frightening time in the history of the City of Light. The detailed descriptions of sites such as the Vél’ d’Hiv’ or Gestapo headquarters as well as the home of glamorous traitors such as Coco Chanel reminds us of the choices people made during those years. Even more interesting is how Paris did its best to remain a capital of pleasure as nightclubs and cabarets remained open to the mainly German audience.”

⏤Cynthia Bisson, PhD

Professor of History, Belmont University

French Resistance Expert

“Another outstanding, well-researched, and presented book by Stew Ross. It gives a detailed guided walking tour full of facts about the activities of the Gestapo during their occupation of Paris during World War II. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in what life was like during the Nazi occupation in France.”

⏤Richard H.F. Neave

Member of Paris-based Libre Résistance SOE “F” section and author of SOE: A Life in the Shadows”

Walks Through History

Did You Know?

Did you know that there is an organization called the Caterpillar Club? No, it’s not a country club for the executives of Caterpillar, Inc. It’s an association of people who have successfully deployed a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. The informal club is maintained by Airborne Systems (click here), a manufacturer of parachutes. If an applicant’s experience is authenticated, they are issued a certificate and silver pin. The nationality, ownership of aircraft, or other factors are immaterial⏤only the fact that the person’s life was saved by using a parachute is what matters. (Oh, one other factor does matter: the aircraft had to have been disabled naturally, including being shot down.)

Official Caterpillar Club certificate issued to T/Sgt George P. Smith. Photo by Greg Smith (c. 2021). Courtesy of Greg Smith.

The founder of the club in 1922, Leslie Irvin, named it after silk threads that were used to make the original parachutes. The silver pins are in the shape of the silkworm, or caterpillar. The club’s motto is “Life depends on a silken thread.” By the end of World War II, about 34,000 people were members. Some of the aviator members include Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and John Glenn. The first female member was Irene McFarland in 1925.

Official Caterpillar Club silver pin awarded to T/Sgt George P. Smith. Photo by Greg Smith (c. 2021). Courtesy of Greg Smith.

Many thanks to Greg Smith for supplying the images of his father’s certificate, membership card, and silver pin. T/Sgt George P. Smith (1920−1983) was the left waist gunner on a B-17 shot down in May 1943 over France. (click here to read the blog Rendezvous with the Gestapo)

Paris Building Periods

During the late 12th- and early 13th-centuries, King Philippe II Auguste constructed the first city wall surrounding Paris (both right and left banks) for the purpose of repelling attacks on the city. As the city expanded, King Charles V built a new wall on the right bank in 1566. By 1670, Louis XIV declared the city safe enough from outside attacks that he ordered the demolition of the walls. With or without a wall, 17th-century Paris was still a medieval town and dangerous. The streets were narrow and dark, the city was very noisy and congested, it smelled, and walking the streets, especially at night, put you in harm’s way. The houses were primarily constructed of wood, multi-storied but small, and sewage was disposed of by throwing it out into the middle of the street. Streets didn’t have names and there were no maps, so it was easy to get lost⏤everyone pretty much stayed in their own neighborhoods. There were no sidewalks or curbs so being run over by horses pulling a carriage was a potential hazard. Another reason not to venture far from home was the fear of being assaulted, robbed, or murdered by roving criminals. Yet, attacks by feral animals (e.g., wild boars) that roamed the streets were responsible for a majority of deaths. Read More

Author: Stew Ross

Available Now: “Where Did They Put The Gestapo Headquarters?”