Paris - Whether it be with thousands of tourists queueing or soldiers parading in victory or defeat, Paris’s iconic landmarks are as recognisable today as they were when the city was torn apart by war.
A clever collection of composite images by French art director Julien Knez brings together scenes from 1940s Paris with peaceful pictures of the city today.
In front of Notre Dame Cathedral, tourists now pile in and out of the revered example of Gothic architecture where Nazi gunners once stood guard and tanks later paraded as Allied soldiers celebrated the liberation of Paris.
undefinedIn another work, Knez holds an old photo over a modern-day scene. Here in 1940 when German forces took over the city, troops drive under the Eiffel Tower, today the tourist attraction synonymous with Paris.
Earlier this month marked 70 years since the end of World War II in Europe, after last year’s milestone marking the anniversary of the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation in August 1944.
German soldiers hold up their arms in surrender on the Rue de Castiglione as they walk by what is now The Westin Paris, the hotel facing the Tuileries Garden that opened in 1878 as the Hotel Continental – it was the Inter-Continental Paris from 1969 before it took the current title in 2005.
In another shot, General Charles De Gaulle marches down the Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, after the liberation, with the 2nd Armoured Division behind him.
It is now the spot where the Tour de France concludes and tour buses routinely pass by.
Other images show fearful Parisians hiding behind cars in Place de la République and behind the fountains of Place de la Concorde, while soldiers are marched under guard past the Louvre. Today thousands queue to visit the famous gallery.
Daily Mail