\"Liberty. Equality. Fraternity\" against the Swastika: How the French Motto Became the Weapon of Resistance In 1940, France collapsed in six weeks. German tanks roared down the Champs-Élysées, and instead of the blue-white-red flags on the towers of Paris, swastika banners were hoisted. It seemed that with the republic fell its great motto — \"Liberty. Equality. Fraternity.\" The occupiers did everything to erase these words from the memory of the French. But they were wrong. It was during World War II that this slogan, born in the flames of the 1789 revolution, found a new, tragic, and heroic life. It ceased to be just a declaration — it became the banner of struggle, a symbol of hope, and a password for those who did not surrender. The Motto That Was Abolished But Could Not Be Destroyed \"Liberty. Equality. Fraternity\" (Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité) is not just beautiful words. They are the three pillars on which the French Republic stands. The slogan was born in the flames of the Great French Revolution, was enshrined in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, and became the official motto of the republic in 1792. However, its history knew periods of oblivion. The motto was abolished during the Second Empire and other times of open reaction. But the most difficult test for it was the German fascist occupation of France from 1940 to 1944. The occupiers perfectly understood the power of these three words. They could not allow the French to remember about liberty, equality, and fraternity while themselves carrying slavery, inequality, and hatred. \"One People, One Reich, One Führer\" against \"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity\" The symbolic confrontation of two worldviews was vividly manifested at the border between France and Germany. As the famous historian Anatoly Utkin recalled, when Winston Churchill visited the border on the Rhine, he saw a striking contrast. On the French side hung a huge poster with the inscription: \"Liberty, E ... Read more