BBC Confirms Segregated Liberation of Paris in 1944

[eniksleestack]

Yet another reminder that the true story of WW2 heroism is multi-racial, despite what the pictures and movies recorded:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7984436.stm

 

[Story]

Glad someone posted this story.

See also
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=12665

 

[Spitfire]

Thank you for posting these valuable facts.

 

[DutchIndo]

Ironic about the Free French. Their best fighting force to this day were the French Foreign Legion. Every conflict France fought has been with the Legion. They were mostly composed of non French personel (read non white).

 

[cookie]

Vichy French and the Aussies in the Levant 1940

Of course we lost many men fighting the Vichy French in Syria and Sir Roden Cutler won his VC ...the only artilleryman to ever win one...he was the most famous guy ever from my home town and lost a leg fighting to protect his retreating mates.

http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/speech.php?id=124 http://www.newsphotos.com.au/ImageDetail.asp?RefNum=21515977 http://www.brookvaleps.nsw.edu.au/Excursion/2006/RodenCutler/Ceremony.html

 

[Story]

Ironic about the Free French. Their best fighting force to this day were the French Foreign Legion. Every conflict France fought has been with the Legion. They were mostly composed of non French personel (read non white).

While there's always been a heavy representation of non-Europeans in the Legion, from what I've read the numbers tended to favor a European majority from areas suffering post-conflict economic issues. After WWI, most of the recruits were White Russians, Germans, Georgians and Poles. Immediately prior to WWII, Eastern Europeans (Poles, Czechs and displaced Jews from all over). After WWII, Germans and British.

Tragically, in Syria there were légionnaires on both the Free French and Vichy sides.

*Why* some French units did poorly and others well, along with which units were 'whitened' (their term, not mine) is covered here -http://sonic.net/~bstone/history/freefrench.shtml

 

[DutchIndo]

A great book I read about 20 years ago was "The Devil's Guard or Body Guard". It's been out of print for years and copies are pricy. It talked about France using the Legion to reclaim Indo-China. Many were "Militarists" from the German Army mostly SS and Fallschirmjagers. Considered War criminals the Legion was their out. Feared by the Viet Mihn because of their tactics.
These tactics were learned on the Eastern Front.

 

[H.Johnson]

Anyone interested in segregation in the US army in Britain in WW2 may find interest in Smith, G.A. (1987) 'When Jim Crow met John Bull, Black American Soldiers in World War Two', Taurus Publications.