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Charles de Gaulle wanted Frenchmen to lead the liberation of Paris |
| Many of the "French" division which led the liberation of Paris were Spanish |
From BBC Radio 4
Papers and documents unearthed by the BBC reveal that British and American commanders ensured the liberation of Paris on August 24, 1944 during WW II must be seen as a "Whites only" victory.
Many who fought Nazi Germany did so to defeat the vicious racism not only against the Jews, the Gypsies, but also against the Slavic people. Why is it that in the West no one mentions this racism against millions of Slavic people?
Thanks to this BBC exposé, the evidence is clear that the Black colonial soldiers, who made up more than two-thirds of the Free French forces, were deliberately removed from the unit that led the Allied advance into the French capital.
It is also a fact that is not written about that when France fell in June of 1942, over 17,000 of its Black, mainly West African troops of the French colonies – they were known only as Tirailleurs Senegalais – lay dead on the battle fields.
Most of them were shot where they stood by the Germans (as Vichy France started to cooperate with the Nazis) – after surrendering to the Germans who said that they were sub-human savages.
When liberating Paris, despite the Blacks being the overwhelming majority in the French Army, they were not allowed to march into Paris.
The leader of the Free French forces, Charles De Gaulle, made it very clear that he wanted only his White Frenchmen to lead the liberation of Paris.
Involved also in this racist policy was the US General Eisenhower who sent a "confidential message" to his Chief of Staff – Major General Walter Bedell Smith which said: "It is more desirable that the division marching into Paris should be made up of 100% Whites."
Let us not forget that during WW II the US segregated its own troops along racial lines and did not allow Black GIs alongside their white comrades until the very late stages of WW II.Did the British government at that time object to this racist policy by America? No it did not!
Despite the fact that 65% of the Free French Forces were Black and dying in large numbers in the struggles, they had no hero's welcome in Paris.
After the liberation of Paris, they were stripped of their uniforms and shipped back to the French colonies and in 1959 they were even stripped of their pensions!
As one Senegalese war veteran said, when he was 87 years old: "We were colonized by the French. We were forced to go to war. We were forced to follow orders to do what the French Whites commanded. France was not grateful at all. Not at all."
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