He is best known for disobeying Adolf Hitler's direct order to destroy the city; legend has it that he was so moved by the city's beauty, as seen from his hotel room on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, that he chose not to carry out the command. Another legend has Hitler phoning him in a rage, screaming, "Is Paris burning?"
He surrendered to French general Philippe de Hautecloque ("Leclerc") at the Gare Montparnasse on August 25, 1944. He was imprisoned and subsequently released.
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