This photograph by Roger Parry captures a fleeting moment of Paris during its liberation in August 1944, marking the end of four years of Nazi occupation. At the time, the city was a crucible of emotion—jubilant yet tense—as French Resistance fighters, Allied forces, and Parisians worked together to reclaim its streets.

The liberation, spanning August 19–25, ignited widespread strikes, street battles, and celebrations, with Paris emerging from the shadows of war into a hopeful, if fragile, new era. The city’s cultural life, suppressed under occupation, was poised for a vibrant revival, setting the stage for the post-war cultural boom.

Roger Parry, a French photographer and illustrator born in 1905, brought his keen eye to this historic moment. Known for his work in avant-garde photography, advertising, and later war correspondence, Parry joined the Comité de Libération des reporters photographes de presse in August 1944 to document the popular uprising in Paris.

His background in innovative techniques, such as photograms and photomontages, informed his approach, but for this period, he used 35mm black-and-white film, capturing the raw intensity of the liberation with a handheld camera. This method, emphasizing spontaneity and natural light, allowed him to preserve the urgency and humanity of Paris’s pivotal days, following the Allied advance through France until 1945.

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