On the morning of 14 June 1940, the capital of France, declared an open city to spare it from destruction, fell without resistance to the advancing forces of the Wehrmacht. The French government and military authorities had withdrawn southward in the preceding days, leaving the streets largely empty of regular troops. The first German units entered the city in the early hours, establishing control over key points including the Place de la Concorde and the area around the Arc de Triomphe. What followed was a series of formal marches and parades intended to mark the historic occupation of the city that had eluded German arms in 1914 and had been the scene of French triumph in 1918.
Among the formations that moved into the heart of Paris that day was the 30. Infanterie-Division, commanded by Generalleutnant Kurt von Briesen. The division had been advancing from the north as part of the broader pursuit by the 6. Armee. Originally intended to bypass the capital and continue southward after the French forces, the formation altered its route once it became clear that Paris offered no opposition. Patrols confirmed the absence of defending troops, and Generalleutnant von Briesen ordered elements of his division into the city center.
By mid-morning the 30. Infanterie-Division was formed for a ceremonial march along the broad Avenue Foch, one of the grand approaches leading toward the Place de l’Étoile and the Arc de Triomphe. Generalleutnant Kurt von Briesen, mounted on horseback and wearing the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes awarded for his earlier actions in Poland, took up a position to review his troops. Columns of infantry, accompanied by a military band, advanced in disciplined ranks past their commander. The soldiers marched with rifles at the shoulder, steel helmets gleaming in the summer sun, their step measured and precise. Photographic records captured the long files of Feldgrau uniforms stretching along the avenue, with the Arc de Triomphe visible in the background and the German war flag already flying from the monument.
The parade of the 30. Infanterie-Division was both a divisional ceremony and part of the larger demonstration of German presence in the city. Generalleutnant von Briesen saluted each unit as it passed, the men responding with the prescribed military greeting. The event was filmed and photographed extensively by Kriegsberichter of the Propagandakompanien, images that would soon circulate widely in the German press as symbols of the rapid victory in the West. After the march, elements of the division continued through the city and resumed the advance southward, their temporary diversion through Paris complete.
While the 30. Infanterie-Division conducted its review on the Avenue Foch, other formations moved along the principal axes of the capital. Columns advanced down the Champs-Élysées toward the Place de la Concorde, the vast square dominated by the Luxor Obelisk and framed by the classical façades of the Hôtel de la Marine and the Hôtel Crillon. German military vehicles had reached the Place de la Concorde as early as 06:30 that morning, and a command post was quickly established nearby. By late morning the square had become the focal point for a larger formal parade.
At the Place de la Concorde, senior commanders of Heeresgruppe B assembled to take the salute. Generaloberst Fedor von Bock, Oberbefehlshaber of Heeresgruppe B, arrived to review the passing troops. Beside him stood General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler, commanding the 18. Armee, whose formations had played a significant role in the advance on the capital. Other officers present included Generalmajor Bogislav von Studnitz, who would serve as the first German Stadtkommandant of Paris, as well as additional generals from the Heer and Luftwaffe. The assembled commanders watched as infantry, motorized units, and supporting elements marched past the obelisk, the sound of boots and the music of military bands echoing across the square.
The route of the main columns linked the two principal sites of the day’s ceremonies. Troops moved between the Place de l’Étoile, where the 30. Infanterie-Division had been reviewed by Generalleutnant von Briesen, and the Place de la Concorde, where Generaloberst von Bock and his subordinates received the march-past. German sentries were posted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, and the eternal flame continued to burn as soldiers of the Wehrmacht paid their respects according to military custom. Swastika banners appeared on public buildings, and loudspeakers announced the new regulations, including a curfew, to the remaining civilian population.
The events of 14 June 1940 were carefully staged for both immediate effect and later propaganda use. The presence of Generalleutnant Kurt von Briesen at the head of the 30. Infanterie-Division on the Avenue Foch provided striking visual images of a divisional commander reviewing his men in the heart of the captured capital. The subsequent or concurrent arrival of Generaloberst Fedor von Bock and the higher command at the Place de la Concorde underscored the strategic significance of the occupation, placing the leadership of Heeresgruppe B at the symbolic center of the city. Together these ceremonies marked the formal assertion of German control over Paris, eight days before the armistice negotiations at Compiègne would bring the campaign in France to its official close.
The streets of the capital, emptied by the mass exodus of civilians in the preceding week, offered a stark stage for the marches. What remained of the population watched largely in silence from sidewalks and windows. For the German soldiers who participated, the day represented the culmination of the Blitzkrieg campaign that had begun less than five weeks earlier. For the history of the Second World War, the parades of 14 June 1940—beginning with the 30. Infanterie-Division under Generalleutnant Kurt von Briesen on the Avenue Foch and extending to the review by Generaloberst Fedor von Bock and other generals at the Place de la Concorde—stood as the most visible expression of the Wehrmacht’s triumph in the West.
The German victory parade at Place de la Concorde, Paris, on June 14, 1940. Front row from left to right: General der Kavallerie Georg Stumme (Kommandierender General XXXX.Panzer-Korps), General der Artillerie Georg von Küchler (Oberbefehlshaber 18.Armee), and Generaloberst Fedor von Bock (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B). On the far left is Generalmajor Erich Marcks (Chef des Generalstabes 18.Armee), while closest to the camera is Generalleutnant Hans von Salmuth (Chef des Generalstabes Heeresgruppe B).
Source :
https://artsandculture.google.com/search?q=hugo+jaeger&hl=en
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/10/koleksi-ratusan-foto-berwarna-dari-life.html
