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(Friday, June 14, 1940, 5:30 a.m. West European Summer Time; during the Battle of France, part of the Western Front of World War II) — German troops marched unopposed into Paris today.

The first German advance guard entered at Porte de La Villette early this morning and took the rue de Flandres toward the center of the “City of Light.”

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They were followed by several German columns, which, following an established plan, moved to the principal intersections. German military vehicles with loudspeakers circulated, instructing Parisians not to leave their buildings.

At eight in the morning, delegations of German officers arrived at the Invalides, headquarters of the military governor of Paris, Henri Dentz, and at the Prefecture of Police, where the Prefect, Roger Langeron, was waiting. The Germans politely invited the French officials to put themselves at the disposition of the German occupiers.

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By the end of the afternoon, the Germans had hung a swastika flag at the Arc de Triomphe and organized military parades with a marching band on the Champs Élysées and Avenue Foch, primarily for the benefit of the German army photographers and newsreel cameramen.

The city was eerily silent since 2 million Parisians had already fled and all shops and businesses were closed.

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Tense, grim-faced Parisians — the few who had remained behind — stood silently on the curbs as a hostile forced marched through the famous boulevards of Paris for the first time since 1871.

The French High Command said it had abandoned Paris because there was no “valuable strategical reason” why it should be defended and did not want the city devastated.

In Berlin, there were scenes of wild rejoicing. On Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s orders church bells were rung for a quarter of an hour and the Nazi flag was ordered displayed for three days.