Monaco marked the 82nd anniversary of its liberation from German occupation on Thursday, September 3, with a ceremony honouring Allied forces and local Resistance fighters, joined by members of the Association MonacoUSA alongside Monegasque, French and Italian citizens taking part in a commemorative parade through the Principality.
Dressed in authentic 1944 U.S. military uniforms, MonacoUSA members rode in restored World War II jeeps and vehicles along a route from Avenue Saint-Laurent to Place du Palais, with stops at the Maison de France, the Conseil National and the Mairie. Wreaths were laid at each location in tribute to the liberators, Resistance heroes and wartime victims. In a symbolic echo of the period, the American participants handed out chocolate bars to residents along the route, recalling the gestures of gratitude that followed the original 1944 liberation.
The date marks the end of a brutal final stretch of occupation for the Principality. German forces had taken control of Monaco on September 9, 1943, after Italian troops, who had occupied the territory since November 1942, withdrew following Italy’s surrender to the Allies. In the final weeks before liberation, Monaco endured heavy Allied bombing raids targeting the port, along with a series of German attacks on the civilian population, including a bombing raid on August 27, 1944, that killed several residents. By the early hours of September 3, no German soldiers remained on the streets of Monaco, Resistance fighters emerged from hiding, and American troops arrived to a jubilant reception, with a large rally held that afternoon at Place de la Crémaillère in nearby La Turbie.
The day’s commemorations concluded with an official ceremony at the Monaco Cemetery, where MonacoUSA members laid a wreath at the war memorial and at the graves of Resistance figures René Borghini and Joseph Lajoux. Borghini, a Monégasque Resistance fighter, was shot on August 15, 1944, alongside his liaison officer Esther Poggio, just weeks before the liberation he had fought to bring about.
Image courtesy of MonacoUSA