Two letters from Geneviève de GAULLE-ANTHONIOZ about the General.

Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (1920.2002)

A set of two autograph letters signed to Michel Cazenave.

Four and a half pages in-8°.

Vieil Estrée, July 25, 1988 and Paris, June 10, 1990.

"I often think that the French are primarily grateful to General de Gaulle for having ennobled them (even more than liberated them)."

Moving letters from General de Gaulle's niece reacting with admiration to the two publications by her correspondent about the man of June 18, 1940.

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I. “Dear friend, our last meeting—which brought us much joy—was like a continuation of ‘De Gaulle and the Land of France.’ I look at the cover of your book, which so aptly illustrates your meditation: the general, so small yet immense, in this landscape he loved, where his earthly remains rest . Is the dream you pursue alongside Charles de Gaulle yours, or his? Perhaps your secret reaches the same heights? (or the same depths?) He also shares those you love: Claudel, Péguy, Malraux, Chateaubriand… This ‘old Earth’ will have given us similar lessons and, who knows? close consolations. Dear Michel Cazenave, we feel even more fraternally united since this meditative walk in the land of France and alongside the one who served it so well. ”

II. “Dear friend, I understand and share your unconditional devotion to de Gaulle. That is why I read your book with passion. No one before you has better grasped the thinking of the man of June 18th , nor explained the profound driving force behind his actions. Yes, you are right to speak of his “worldview” and of what he embodied in France. He revealed to him his vocation of service and greatness; but each of those who followed him could undoubtedly say the same. I often think that the French are above all grateful to General de Gaulle for having ennobled them (even more than liberated them). “De Gaulle, a certain idea of ​​France,” certainly, but also a certain idea of ​​man. Thank you, dear Michel Cazenave, for making us reflect on this difficult path whose grandeur Charles de Gaulle showed us.”

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Geneviève de Gaulle was the daughter of Xavier de Gaulle, Charles's older brother. A member of the French Resistance (under the name Germaine Lecomte) during the Second World War, she was arrested in July 1943 and deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in February 1944. In 2015, President François Hollande announced the transfer of her remains to the Panthéon, alongside those of Jean Zay and fellow Resistance fighters Pierre Brossolette and Germaine Tillion. However, the family refused the actual transfer of her body to the Panthéon. On May 27, 2015, an empty coffin containing a small amount of soil taken from the Bossey cemetery was solemnly placed in the crypt of the Panthéon.

Bibliography:

De Gaulle and the land of France , Plon, 1988.

De Gaulle, a certain idea of ​​France , Criterion, 1990.