Wöhler, Lieb and Choltitz

From left to right: General der Infanterie Otto Wöhler (Oberbefehlshaber 8. Armee), Generalleutnant Theo-Helmut Lieb (Kommandeur 112. Infanterie-Division), and Generalleutnant Dietrich von Choltitz (Führer XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps). The picture was taken in Dniepr/Kanev, in the end of September 1943..

Source :
https://www.ebay.de/itm/355379177852?hash=item52be3fe97c:g:bdIAAOSwU~5lpEvb

Award Ceremony by Hermann Göring for Luftwaffe and Heer Personnel in 1940

The ceremony for awarding the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes medals to Luftwaffe and Heer officers who excelled in the battles for Rotterdam and the Moerdijk Bridge. The award ceremony was held on May 24, 1940 in Moerdijk, Netherlands, and handed over by Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe). The recipients are, from left to right: Oberst Bruno Bräuer (Kommandeur Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division); Hauptmann Fritz Prager (Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division); Oberleutnant Horst Kerfin (Chef 11.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division); and Oberst Hans Kreysing (Kommandeur Infanterie-Regiment 16 / 22.Luftlande-Division).

This photo was taken some time after the Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Luftwaffe and Heer officers who excelled in the battles for Rotterdam and the Moerdijk Bridge, which was held on 24 May 1940 in Moerdijk, Netherlands, and was handed over by Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe). The proud recipients pose for a photo with the Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe (who is also a number two in the hierarchy of Nazi Germany after Hitler). From left to right: Hauptmann Fritz Prager (Kommandeur II.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division), Oberst Bruno Bräuer (Kommandeur Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division), Major im Generalstab Heinrich "Heinz" Trettner (Ia Erster Generalstabsoffizier 7. Flieger-Division), Oberst Hans Kreysing (Kommandeur Infanterie-Regiment 16 / 22.Luftlande-Division), Göring, Oberstleutnant Dietrich von Choltitz (Kommandeur III.Bataillon / Infanterie- Regiment 16 / 22.Luftlande-Division), Oberst Dipl.Ing. Gerhard Conrad (Geschwaderkommodore Kampfgeschwader z.b.V. 2), and Oberleutnant Horst Kerfin (Chef 11.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 / 7.Flieger-Division).

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/12/foto-hermann-goring-dan-upacara.html
https://www.forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=116785

The Surrender of Dietrich von Choltitz

General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered to Général de brigade Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (Commander 2e Division Blindée), 25 August 1944. On 7 August previously he was appointed as Kommandierenden General und Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris (Military Governor of Paris). At a meeting in Germany the following day, Hitler instructed him to be prepared to leave no Parisian religious building or historical monument standing. After Choltitz's arrival in Paris on 9 August, Hitler confirmed the order by cable: "The city must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete rubble." A week later Hitler, in a rage, screamed, "Brennt Paris?" (Is Paris burning?). On 15 August 1944, the Paris police went on strike, followed on 19 August by a general insurrection led by the French Communist Party. The German garrison under Choltitz fought back but was far too small to quell the uprising. He brokered a ceasefire with the insurgents on 20 August, but many Resistance groups did not accept it, and a series of skirmishes continued on the next day. On 25 August, Choltitz surrendered the German garrison of 17,000 men to the Free French, leaving the city largely intact. Because Hitler's directive was not carried out, Choltitz has been described by some as the "Saviour of Paris". General von Choltitz later claimed in his memoir of 1951 that he defied Hitler's order to destroy Paris because he loved the city and had decided that Hitler was by then insane. It is known that the Swedish consul-general in Paris, Raoul Nordling, and the president of the municipal council, Pierre Taittinger, held several meetings with Choltitz, during which he negotiated the release of political prisoners. The all-night confrontation between Nordling and Choltitz on the eve of the surrender, as depicted in the 1965 book and 1966 film, Is Paris Burning?, and again in the 2014 film Diplomacy — in which Nordling persuades Choltitz to spare the city in return for a pledge to protect his family — was reported as factual in some newspaper stories, but lacks a definitive historical basis.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_von_Choltitz
https://wtop.com/europe/2019/05/rare-color-footage-brings-d-day-memories-alive-75-years-on/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbBA77lgbak