When the Nazis Tried to Get Hitler to Climb the Eiffel Tower (But Failed Miserably)
In June 1940, Paris fell to Nazi Germany. Swastikas flew over the city's most iconic buildings, and soldiers marched down the Champs-Élysées with the confidence of those who believed they had conquered the world. Among the many images symbolizing the Nazi occupation of Paris, one is missing: Adolf Hitler on the Eiffel Tower. And it wasn't by chance.
Hitler, who considered himself a lover of art and architecture, wanted to celebrate the conquest of Paris with a visit to its most famous monuments. And what could be more iconic than the Eiffel Tower? A photo of the Führer atop the symbol of Paris would have been a perfect trophy for Nazi propaganda.
The problem? The French had already anticipated this.
When German troops entered the city, the Eiffel Tower's technicians decided to mount a small symbolic resistance. They deactivated the elevators, declaring them "out of service" due to a lack of spare parts, which officially could not be obtained due to the war. This meant that anyone wishing to reach the top would have to climb over 1,600 steps.
When Hitler arrived at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, accompanied by his generals, the reality became clear: to reach the top, he would have to walk up. The dictator, known for his poor health and poor physical stamina, decided that perhaps Paris could be admired equally well from the Trocadéro. So, the group limited themselves to a few photos from the terrace with the Eiffel Tower in the background and then continued their tour of the city.
That was Hitler's only visit to Paris. The dictator left the city shortly thereafter and never returned. The Eiffel Tower, however, remained standing as a silent symbol of the Parisian resistance, and when the city was liberated in 1944, the elevators began operating again...
The sabotage of the Eiffel Tower did not change the course of the war, but it became one of the small acts of resistance that showed that the spirit of Paris would not be easily broken.
And so, the photo of Hitler smiling from the top of the Eiffel Tower doesn't exist. And it never will.
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