square du Serment-de-Koufra

You are approaching a place that serves as a quiet monument to a pivotal moment of the Second World War. The name refers to the Oath of Koufra, a solemn vow taken by Colonel Philippe Leclerc and his men on March second, nineteen forty-one. After capturing a remote Libyan oasis, they swore they would not lay down their weapons until the French flag flew once again over the cathedral of Strasbourg. This small park stands as a testament to that promise, which was fulfilled more than three years later when the Second Armored Division successfully liberated that city. Its location here, near the Porte d Orléans, is historically significant because this was the very gateway through which Leclerc’s division entered Paris to liberate the capital on August twenty-fifth, nineteen forty-four.