Upon the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, Adolf Hitler posed in front of the Eiffel Tower with his architect Albert Speer (left) and his favorite sculptor Arno Breker. Breker’s monumental neo-Classical figures vividly expressed Nazi racial ideology.
Before the Nazi occupation, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit of the Eiffel. The parts to repair them were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war. Hitler indeed stayed on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. Some German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and it was replaced by a smaller one. A Frenchman scaled the tower during the German occupation to hang the French flag. In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.
Hitler was a big fan of Paris (despite his eventual demand to have the city burnt down). He rose from the seat of his car as it slowly circled the Place de la Concorde before dawn to see the city he fantasized since boyhood. He climbed up to top of the Parvis du Sacré- Coeur, and looked down at the city he envisioned to recreate in the heart of Berlin.
Iconic Photos 
[…] had a special revenge taste for Hitler. The day after, he decided to rub it off on the face of the Parisians. It was one of the saddest sights of the whole war, despite all the carnage and brutality of the […]
cool story bro
[…] the main viewing platform, my thoughts wandered to history, and that famous picture of Adolf Hitler standing and admiring his new prize in […]
Stema RSS! I know most of these guys, particularly the one with the mustache… But who is the guy on the Right (second row)???!!!!
von scheißkopf.
Utter BS. Hitler fought a purely defensive war. He never saw Paris as “a prize”, the Germans treated the French impeccably the entire time. It was France that declared war on and invaded Germany. It was the allies that bombed France and killed 60,000. Hitler Never meant to “burn down Paris”. Stop parroting jewish war propaganda and go study some real history.
Conrad, You are a stupid, little creep.
Disregard that, I suck cocks
Some people, even after 70 years have passed, still can’t handle the truth.
Thank you Conrad for telling the truth.
I am a little surprised that Hitler did not get mad at the cables to the lifts being cut and order the Eiffel Tower brought down for smelting in his factores, it is how I would have punished the French if I was in his place, just conquered a nation and the locals had not been put into their place.
Does anyone know what the sign (?) says in the background between Hitler and Breker?… if not a sign, what is there?
Jumped up French fuckers, Hitler should have razed Paris to the ground. Check out how the frogs have turned on the English who were prepared to die to free them and the Poles etc. Ungrateful bastards.