Vintage Paris Photos Souvenir from VE Day

When were these vintage Paris photos taken? That’s a question I can’t answer definitively. What I know is my uncle who fought in France during World War II dated the packet 1945.  In addition, he was in Bar-le-duc during the liberation in August 1944. May 1945 he was in Paris for VE Day and purchased this little “tourist pack” of photos at that time. The originals are just 2.5 by 3.5 inches but they are such treasures for so many reasons.

What can I surmise about the photos? They surely must have been produced prior to the entry of France in World War II. I conjecture that they date from the 1930s and here is why.

Events Leading to WWII in France

In a nutshell, the events that led up to France declaring war on Germany started back in September 1913 when Japan invaded Manchuria. Then late October 1935 to May 1936 Fascist Italy invaded, conquered and annexed Ethiopia. Followed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy signing a treat of cooperation in October of 1936 and in November Imperial Japan joined Nazi Germany with the Anti-Comintern Pact directed against the Soviet Union. Japan invaded China July 7, 1937 launching World War II in the Pacific.

In September 1938, the Munich agreement was signed. When Germany violated this agreement in March 1939, France and Great Britain stepped up to guarantee the integrity of Polish borders.

L’arc de Triomphe

Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 which brought the war to Europe. At that point France and Great Britain declared war on Germany.

L’hôtel de Ville

L’Opéra

In May 1940, Germany attacked western Europe, which included France followed by Italy entering the war in early June. Italy invaded France on June 21, 1940. (The Holocaust Remembrance timeline has the entire details from which I gleaned the initial information.)

La Conciergerie

June 14, 1940 Germany occupied Paris. (See BBC article) And on 25 August 1944 Paris was liberated. On May 7, 1945 in Reims, Germany signed an unconditional surrender.

Ecole Militaire

To get to the point, these historical details lead me to believe that these vintage Paris photos must have been produced in the 1930s in order for them to be available for sale in May 1945 when my uncle purchased them.

L’Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Reading Suggestions

If you enjoy historic photographs of this era, then the following books are some of my favorites! They are all affiliate links to amazon.

• Eugène Atget. Paris  – there are approximately 500 photographs assembled here from the Atget archives at Musée Carnavalet and the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris. is work focuses on Paris between 1897 and 1927.
• Egène Atget Old Paris – this is similar to the one above, but another favorite that has earned a place in my library.
• Paris Then and Now – is a visual history of  Paris between the Belle Epoque and 1940. There are historical photographs as well as modern day images of the same location.
• Retour à Paris, Identical Shots 100 Years Apart– is a collection of photographs taken 100 years apart. The left page has the older image and a caption in both French and English while the right page has the current day image.