Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory

Patrick Bishop explores the liberation of Paris in 1944, one of the great and most dramatic hinge moments of the Second World War.

About the event

When the Germans marched in, the millions who loved Paris mourned. Liberation, four years later, triggered an explosion of joy and relief. General Charles de Gaulle seized the moment to create an instant legend that would take its place alongside the great moments in French history. After years of oppression and humiliation Parisians had risen to reclaim their city and drive out the forces of darkness – or so the story went…

Patrick Bishop looks behind the mythology to tell the real story of the liberation and expose the conflicts and contradictions of France under the occupation – the shame as well as the glory.

About the speaker

Patrick Bishop is the author of two acclaimed bestsellers about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, ‘Fighter Boys’ and ‘Bomber Boys’, and various books such as ‘Wings’, a history of the RAF, and ‘Air Force Blue’, which celebrated 100 years of the RAF. He spent 25 years as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts around the world.