One of the original plans for Paris was to destroy it.
Specifically, to what extent did Hitler want to execute this?
I have heard that General Dietrich von Choltitz, either refused or convinced Hitler from executing the plan. Was it a divided consensus within the Nazi regime? What were the interests of the powers?
Thanks for your time
When Paris was originally captured in 1940, there were no plans to destroy the city nor its historic landmarks. The Germans moved in a garrison and proceeded to loot the French economy most thoroughly - by forcing the French to pay for their own occupation and by setting the exchange rate of the reichsmark to the franc to three times what it had been in 1930, essentially forcing French businesses to sell to German businesses and soldiers at less than 1/3 of the price.
When the allies aproached Paris in 1944, von Choltitz was takes with holding the city with a mottley garrison of rear line troops, engineers and supply personell of some 17 000. He planned to blow bridges, railroads, electrivity installations and roads and railroads to create a redoubt of ruins and deny the city as a transport hub for the allies.
There were orders from Hitler to destroy the city, but von Choltitz never had the time nor the resources to actually destroy the city - many of his men were fighting the Parisians who rose with the resistance as the allies aproached the city.
Beyond infrastructure and perhaps a few famous landmarks, the Germans could not destroy much of Paris.
The Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling negotiated directly with von Choltitz and not only managed to get 4 000 French prisoners that were to be executed freed, but also persuaded von Choltitz to surrender without destroying as much of Paris and its infrastructure as he could. As allied troops reached the city, von Choltitz and his men surrendered, and the transport hub of Paris remained intact, which was a boon to the allied supply efforts (which would get increasingly strained as they advanced over France).
The family of von Choltitz was placed in a concentration camp as a punishment for him surrendering, but survived the war and could be re-united with him when he was released from captivity in 1947.
Consul-General Raoul Nordling was made an honorary citizen of Paris (together with Dwight D Eisenhower and Winston Churchill) and was awarded the Croix de guerre avec palme, the highest Award available to foreign civilians.