On August 19, 1944, the French Résistance in Paris began an armed uprising against the German garrison – the prelude to the liberation of the city, which lasted until August 25. At the same time, Allied forces advanced from the west; the Free French forces under General Philippe Leclerc were ordered to be the first to march into the capital. Jack Lieb documented the fighting in the streets of the city as part of his color footage, which records the advance from Normandy to Paris. Despite Hitler’s order to destroy the city, the German city commandant General Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered on August 25, leaving Paris largely intact.