The war against Hitler and Germany ended in early May 1945. Europe and in particular, Germany, was in ruins. Millions of people were displaced. Estimates of displaced persons (DP) ranged between forty to sixty million including homeless, concentration camp survivors, labor camp inmates, and liberated prisoners of war.

Aerial view over the Rhine battle area: the ruins of Wesel, Germany. Photo by Sgt. Travis (c. 1944/45). Imperial War Museum – War Office Second World War Official Collection. PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

European infrastructures were destroyed, food supplies were disrupted to the point where people continued to go hungry, coal for heating was still scarce, major transportation corridors were rendered useless, and manufacturing facilities had been bombed to the point where they could no longer function. (German factories suffered the most both from bombs and equipment pilfering by the Soviets.)

Gen. George C. Marshall (1880−1959), U.S. secretary of state, knew that it was imperative to get Europe back on its feet. The 900-lb gorilla in the room was the Versailles Treaty signed by Germany twenty-five years earlier. The terms of the treaty were so onerous that it was generally considered to be the catalyst for the emergence of Hitler and the Nazis. Gen. Marshall had a vision of the “new” Europe, and its prosperity would need to include all countries, including Germany.

Gen. George C. Marshall shaking hands with Sen. Tom Connally of Texas, as Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan (far left), President Truman, and James Byrnes (far right) look on, after Marshall’s swearing-in as secretary of state. Photo by Abbie Rowe (21 January 1947). National Archives and Records Administration. PD-U.S. government. Wikimedia Commons.

The core of Gen. Marshall’s vision was comprehensive American economic assistance to the Europeans. There were two components for accomplishing this vision: creating a working plan and then the execution of the plan ⏤ in other words, getting it approved and funded by the American Congress. He acknowledged that the easy part was putting a plan together and the “heavy task” was “the execution” of the plan.

To begin the process of developing an economic aid plan, an eighteen-member council was assembled. It was chaired by Averell Harriman (1891−1986), President Truman’s secretary of commerce. The council consisted of business leaders (e.g., CEOs of General Electric, B.F. Goodrich, and Procter & Gamble), labor leaders (e.g., George Meany of the AFL), academics, and public officials. The mission of the council was to develop a report on the “limits with which” the U.S. could provide economic relief to the Europeans. The President’s Committee on Foreign Aid, or the “Harriman Committee” as it was known, provided the road map that eventually became the “European Recovery Program” (ERP) and the final bill, “The Foreign Assistance Act of 1948.”

Averell Harriman. Photo by Joost Evers/Anefo (3 September 1965). Nationaal Archief. PD-CC CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.

Then and now, it is commonly referred to as the “Marshall Plan.” Read More The Harriman Committee

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”

Tag: Josephine Baker

The Harriman Committee

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