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Liberated France 1944-1945 exhibition (from 18 April 2025)

Starting in 1944, the French Foreign Ministry gathered tens of thousands of photos of liberated France for the American press. Although 1945 marked the definitive victory over Nazism, the joy and pride were mixed with pain upon the revelation of mass atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis and the destruction caused by Allied air raids (1.5 million homes destroyed or inhabitable, ports and railways at a standstill and cars unable to run due to lack of petrol).

In the face of these shortages, the government took emergency measures to start rebuilding. Thankfully, there was much solidarity in both France and abroad, and the people’s courage and resilience would enable France to open a new chapter in its history with 30 years of economic growth: the Trente Glorieuses.

This exhibition features a series of images explained by historian Olivier Wieviorka in the book La France libérée, 1944-1945, victoire, renouveaux, espoirs created by the French Diplomatic Archives and published by La Martinière.

“The Washington press office’s distribution of these photos illustrates the commitment and creativity of diplomats in liberated France in order to bring France back onto the international stage. These photos paint (…) an objective and touching portrait of a France which is rebuilding and rediscovering its freedom.

Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs

At the Communards’ Wall in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, a commemoration ceremony was organized by the National Federation of Assistance Centres for Political Internees and Deportees, 8 June 1945.

Mr Deschamps places flowers on the grave of his four daughters who lost their lives in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre on 10 June 1944.

© ACME Wartime Picture Pool/Charles Haacker/public domain.

In Metz (Moselle department, north-eastern France), a family returns home following the liberation of the city, November 1944.

In Cherbourg (Manche department, north-western France), the ferry terminal suffered extensive damage following the liberation of the city in June 1944 by the American army, photo taken 1945.

Teens enjoying a summer camp (undated).

In Paris, an open-air dance was organized at Place de la Bourse, as part of the ceremonies on 18 June 1945.