"This new occupation of Loches extended over ten days during which the Germans progressively left for the Eastern Front. The residents of Loches witnessed an incessant stream of German trucks. The whole time the Germans were fleeing by any means possible, including by bicycle. Loches didn't immediately believe in the Liberation.
On 2 September 1944 the last German soldiers left the town. On 3 September a car full of maquisards entered Loches, surrounded by delighted Loches residents. Nevertheless, the town did not feel free, the painful memory of 20 August still remained present in everyone's mind.
On 5 September the rumour of a parade leads to a crowd forming in the Town Hall Square. The different maquis groups met there to work out who would do what in the parade to come and to make sure that Lecoz did not participate. An exchange with a prisonner was enough to avoid this undesirable presence.
On 6 September 1944 the liberation parade took place. The different maquis groups paraded in Loches, surrounded by flags and onlookers. But the enthusiasm was not quite so strong as on 16 August. The first 'liberation' of Loches had left the residents cautious. After an assembly in Place de Verdun there was a call to arms and a speech by Raymond Mallet. Friday 15 September an American jeep arrived in Loches with a Major Knapp on board. Everyone saw that as a sign of the real liberation of Loches and the announcement of the end of the War in the Touraine."
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This poster is part of an exhibition in the Chancellerie on 'Loches in 1944' https://www.ville-loches.fr/expositions-article-3-10-56.html
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