The Dark Years: Occupation and Resistance (1940-1944)

The fall of France in June 1940 brought Nazi occupation. Hitler visited Paris on June 23, 1940, and was photographed at the Trocadéro with the tower as backdrop—an image that symbolized France's humiliation. He reportedly said, "It is our duty to destroy Paris," but even he couldn't bring himself to demolish the tower.

French resistance began immediately. As German troops approached, lift operators sabotaged the elevators. When German soldiers hung a swastika from the summit, the French excuse was simple: "The lift is broken. You'll have to use the stairs." The massive flag required constant replacement due to "wind damage"—in reality, resistance fighters repeatedly cut the cables at night.

The tower became a symbol of quiet defiance. René Barthélemy, a resistance member who worked as a tower electrician, used his access to hide radio transmitters that broadcast to London. "Every day I passed German guards to maintain equipment, carrying resistance messages in my toolbox. The tower protected us—it was too important for them to search thoroughly."

In August 1944, as Allied forces approached Paris, Hitler ordered the city's destruction. General Dietrich von Choltitz was instructed to reduce the tower to "a heap of scrap iron." The general famously refused, later claiming he couldn't destroy such beauty. In truth, the French Resistance had made clear that any attempt would trigger a general uprising.

On August 25, 1944, French firefighters climbed the tower to replace the Nazi flag with the French tricolor. Captain Charles Cariou, who led the climb, recalled: "We could hear gunfire below as the last Germans retreated. My hands shook as I attached our flag. All of Paris was watching. When the tricolor unfurled, the cheering could be heard from the tower to Montmartre."