Category Archives: Viva!

38 Amateur Photos That Capture Daily Life of Paris Under Nazi Occupation

Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10, 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The French government departed Paris on June 10, and the Germans occupied the city on June 14. During the Occupation, the French Government moved to Vichy, and Paris was governed by the German military and by French officials approved by the Germans.

For the Parisians, the Occupation was a series of frustrations, shortages and humiliations. A curfew was in effect from nine in the evening until five in the morning; at night, the city went dark. Rationing of food, tobacco, coal and clothing was imposed from September 1940. Every year the supplies grew more scarce and the prices higher. A million Parisians left the city for the provinces, where there was more food and fewer Germans. The French press and radio contained only German propaganda.

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Jews in Paris were forced to wear the yellow Star of David badge, and were barred from certain professions and public places. On 16–17 July 1942, 13,152 Jews, including 4,115 children and 5,919 women, were rounded up by the French police, on orders of the Germans, and were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The first demonstration against the Occupation, by Paris students, took place on 11 November 1940. They wrote slogans on walls, organized an underground press, and sometimes attacked German officers. Reprisals by the Germans were swift and harsh.

Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the French Resistance in Paris launched an uprising on August 19, 1944, seizing the police headquarters and other government buildings. The city was liberated by French and American troops on August 25, and General Charles de Gaulle led a triumphant parade down the Champs-Élysées on August 26, and organized a new government.

In the following months, ten thousand Parisians who had collaborated with the Germans were arrested and tried, eight thousand convicted, and 116 executed. On 29 April and 13 May 1945, the first post-war municipal elections were held, in which French women voted for the first time.

Take a look at these fascinating snapshots to see what daily life of Paris looked like during the Second World War.

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ASIA/PHILIPPINES – “In the name of God stop extrajudicial homicide”: bishop’s message for Advent

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Manila – “Extrajudicial homicide is always wrong even when it means killing a criminal. This is our desperate plea at this time of Advent and Christmas: for the love of God, stop these murders! Let healing begin|” this appeal to Fides comes from Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, head of the diocese of Kalookan and Vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines .
The bishop says that to tackle seriously the problems of drug trafficking and drug dependence the right path is not “eliminating drug addicts”, the way chosen by the anti-drug campaign launched by the President Rodrigo Duterte. It is necessary instead to consolidate rehabilitation progammes for those dependent on harmful substances. Bishop David told Fides that “people addicted to drugs need adequate rehabilitation to overcome this dependence, it is not possible to think that the way is to eliminate these people”.
This is why the Catholic Church in the Philippines offers support: the diocese of Kalookan, like 86 other dioceses in the country, runs rehabilitation programmes for persons addicted to drugs and support for the families in particular guaranteeing education programmes and scholarships.
The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte launched a “war on drugs” following his election in 2016. According to official data, the police has killed some 5,000 suspects in raids aimed at capturing drug pushers, but human rights organizations say the number of those killed, including extrajudicial killing by squadrons of “vigilantes” , amount to four times as much. NGO say the “war on drugs” has killed some 20 thousand innocent victims, executed summarily in what is called “systematic extermination” of drug addicts in the poorest communities. The police rejects the accusations and says the killings regard drug pushers resisting arrest.
Once Bishop David described his diocese Kalookan an “extermination camp “, vigorously denouncing extrajudicial homicides. “The war on illegal drugs must be implacable but these killings must be stopped ” the Bishop said in a public plea.
Amidst an apparent “normalisation of violence”, the Bishop never tires of preaching the principle of non-violence: “We will never allow our actions be motivated by anger, hatred, revenge. We will not let evil have the last word. We will not allow the enemy to shape us in his image and likeness “, he repeats. “We cannot passively allow this senseless killing just because some of us think it is good for society “, he states. For these public stances the Bishop has incurred in the hostility of President Duterte.
The Bishop says “drug dependence is a serious sickness which must be treated with rehabilitation not bullets”. Even people who make mistakes deserve a second chance : “This is one of the most important principles of our Christian faith: we all live only thanks to the mercy of a God who forgives. Who are we to condemn if our God forgives? Which of us does not commit errors?” the Bishop asks
Bishop David addresses also the recent killing of Filipino priests, which shook the Church: “Those priests show us just how precious the priesthood is. They are martyrs who gave their lives to care for the flock entrusted to them “.

EU, France step up security, development aid for Africa’s G5 Sahel

So why is it so many from the area are trying to seek refuge in Europe? Old colonialists trying to help or just bribing politicians to hold on to privilege gained initially by force and slavery?

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The EU and France have increased their financial support for projects in the five Sahel states which sit on the southern rim of Africa’s Sahara desert. Terrorism and lawlessness have blighted the region for years.