By: HISTORY.com Editors
Hitler takes a tour of Paris
On June 28, 1940, Adolf Hitler surveys notable sites in the French capital, now German-occupied territory.
In his first and only visit to Paris, Hitler made Napoleon’s tomb among the sites to see. “That was the greatest and finest moment of my life,” he said upon leaving. Comparisons between the Führer and Napoleon have been made many times: They were both foreigners to the countries they ruled (Napoleon was Italian, Hitler was Austrian); both planned invasions of Russia while preparing invasions of England; both captured the Russian city of Vilna on June 24; both had photographic memories; both were under 5 feet 9 inches tall, among other coincidences.
These Despots Had Different National Identities at Birth
Napoleon and Hitler were among those who hailed from outside the countries they ultimately ruled.
Napoleon and Hitler were among those who hailed from outside the countries they ultimately ruled.
As a tribute to the French emperor, Hitler ordered that the remains of Napoleon’s son be moved from Vienna to lie beside his father.
But Hitler being Hitler, he came to do more than gawk at the tourist attractions. He ordered the destruction of two World War I monuments: one to General Charles Mangin, a French war hero, and one to Edith Cavell, a British nurse who was executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape German-occupied Brussels. The last thing Hitler wanted were such visible reminders of past German defeat.
Hitler would gush about Paris for months afterward. He was so impressed, he ordered architect and friend Albert Speer to revive plans for a massive construction program of new public buildings in Berlin, an attempt to destroy Paris, not with bombs, but with superior architecture. “Wasn’t Paris beautiful?” Hitler asked Speer. “But Berlin must be far more beautiful. [W]hen we are finished in Berlin, Paris will only be a shadow.”
Hitler Plans a New German Capital
Show: Lost WorldsAdolf Hitler commissioned his engineers to build a domed structure to serve as the center of the new German Capital, Germania.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Hitler takes a tour of Paris
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- November 04, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- May 27, 2025
- Original Published Date
- November 16, 2009
