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.
The longer one spends in Paris (or any city for that matter), certain questions ultimately arise over innocuous issues. Sandy and I are interested in the history of the City of Light and over time we notice little things that lead to more questions. For example, after multiple trips to Paris to research our first two books (Where Did They Put the Guillotine? Volumes 1 & 2), it occurred to me that there were no major statues commemorating the French Revolution or the revolutionaries (other than Danton’s statue or several located in the exterior alcoves of city hall). I found old postcards showing photos of statues dedicated to the revolution, but they are all gone now. Why? I found the answer while researching the current books on the German occupation of Paris (Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters?). During the occupation, the French melted down most of the bronze statues to provide ingots that were used to repay German reparations and cover the cost of the occupation forces. (Click here to read the blog, Statuemania.)
Jean-Paul Marat’s bronze statue dismantled and waiting to be melted down. Photo by Pierre Jahan (c. 1941). https://gittemangallery.com
Today’s topic deals with a similar type of issue but I’m not sure I have found the answer to my question. During the mid-19th-century, Paris was “reborn” when it was transformed into a modern city by Emperor Napoléon III and his préfet, Baron Georges Haussmann. Over a period of 17-years, day and night demolition and construction created the city we all love today. The wide avenues, homogenous architecture known as Haussmann buildings, and beautiful parks are all sights we can identify with and enjoy. However, there are many other infrastructure improvements, some visible and some not, that Napoléon III was responsible for initiating.
Marble bust of Napoléon III. Sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (c. 1873). Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Considering the immense contributions by the emperor, I wonder why there are no memorials, statues, or commemorative plaques to Napoléon III. The city’s transformation did not come cheap. There were considerable costs with ramifications that can still be felt more than 170-years later. Have the French not forgiven Napoléon III for these negative costs or maybe perhaps, that he lost a war to the Prussians?
(This blog is based on my two-hour lecture, The Destruction and Renovation of Nineteenth Century Paris.)
Did you Know?
Did you know that Notre Dame is beginning to give up some of its secrets? During the recent efforts to save the cathedral after the devastating fire in April 2019, two lead sarcophaguses were discovered buried beneath the nave. One contains the remains of a high priest, Antoine de la Porte, who died on Christmas Eve 1710 at the age of eighty-three. The occupant of the second sarcophagus was likely a young, wealthy, and privileged noble from the 14th-century. (He was in his 30s and based on the pelvic bones, considered to be an expert horseman.)
Their remains were located about one meter (3.3 feet) below the cathedral floor. However, there were other items found at a lesser depth. These buried treasures included statues, sculptures, and fragments of the cathedral’s original 13th-century rood screen.
The French culture minister visits the Notre-Dame excavation site where two lead sarcophaguses were discovered. Photo by Julien de Rosa (c. 2022). Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images.
As I’ve said before, one of the world’s greatest museums lies twelve feet below the surface of Paris but the French do not take too kindly to people digging up their city. Archeological finds are normally found only when basements are renovated or associated with construction on métro stations. (Please note that the remains of the two men are not considered “archeological objects” and will be returned to the Paris cultural ministry for proper burial.) France’s national archeological institute, Inrap, is responsible for the dig at Notre Dame and the objects found there.
For additional reading, please refer to my past blogs, Stop the Presses: Skeletons and Not Buildings(click here) and Paris Digs (click here).
The 14th-century sarcophagus. Photo by Julien de Rosa (c. 2022). Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images.
Medieval Paris
Founded in the 3rd-century by the Parisii tribe, Paris was originally settled by the Romans in 52 B.C. on what we call today, the Left Bank (the Right Bank was marshland). The city was then known as Lutetia. Other than an old arena, several remnants of the city’s Roman aqueduct system, and some odds and ends, there is no evidence of the Roman settlement. The two best sites in Paris to experience medieval life is to visit the Musée national du Moyen Âge Paris, or Musée de Cluny and the Crypte archéologique de l’île de la Cité, or the Archeological Crypt. (The Panthéon sits on the site of the ancient Roman forum.) Read More The Missing Emperor
“Informative and entertaining, Stew Ross’ newest work 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 reminds us of the choices people made during those years.”
Cynthia Bisson, PhD, Professor of History, Belmont University, French Resistant Expert
“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.”
Stanley Booker, MBE, RAF (Ret.), Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur
