Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz
Encyclopedia
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (October 25, 1920 - February 14, 2002), was a niece of General Charles de Gaulle
, a member of the French Resistance
, and the president of ATD Quart Monde.
in order to keep her alive and use her as a possible exchange prisoner. She was released in April 1945 and married Bernard Anthonioz the following year, a fellow resistance member and art editor, with whom she had four children.
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz wrote a book, fifty years after her release from Ravensbrück, speaking of her life in the concentration camp and the mutual help between the women. This book was called La Traversée de la nuit (literally, "The Crossing of the Night", translated to English as "The Dawn of Hope: A Memoir of Ravensbrück" [ISBN 1-55970-498-5] published by Arcade Publishing), and was published by Points. It was translated into English and published in 1998 as God Remained Outside - An Echo of Ravensbruck.
An active member and later president of the ADIR (Association of Deportées and Internées of the Résistance), she filed lawsuits against Nazi war criminals, then took part in the rise of the political movement launched by her uncle, the Rally of the French People
.
In 1958, she worked with the cabinet of André Malraux
when she met Father Joseph Wresinski
, then chaplain of the town of Noisy-le-Grand
. In the sufferings of the families she met there, it revived those of which she and other deportees had experienced. In 1987, she testified in the case of the Nazi Klaus Barbie
.
Allied with the movement ATD Quart Monde, then a permanent volunteer, she was the president of the movement from 1964 to September 2001.
In 1988 she became a member of the French Economic and Social Council
, and for ten years fought for the adoption of a law against great poverty. Deferred in 1997 due to dissolution of the French National Assembly, her law was voted in 1998.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, a member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, and the president of ATD Quart Monde.
Biography
Joining the resistance just after the occupation of France in June 1940, she expanded the present information networks, in particular the group “Défense de la France”. Arrested by P. Bonny, of the 93rd Band of Rue Lauriston, on July 20, 1943, she was imprisoned in Fresnes and was later deported to the concentration camp of Ravensbrück on February 2, 1944. In October of that year, she was placed in isolation in the camp bunker. This decision was taken by Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
in order to keep her alive and use her as a possible exchange prisoner. She was released in April 1945 and married Bernard Anthonioz the following year, a fellow resistance member and art editor, with whom she had four children.
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz wrote a book, fifty years after her release from Ravensbrück, speaking of her life in the concentration camp and the mutual help between the women. This book was called La Traversée de la nuit (literally, "The Crossing of the Night", translated to English as "The Dawn of Hope: A Memoir of Ravensbrück" [ISBN 1-55970-498-5] published by Arcade Publishing), and was published by Points. It was translated into English and published in 1998 as God Remained Outside - An Echo of Ravensbruck.
An active member and later president of the ADIR (Association of Deportées and Internées of the Résistance), she filed lawsuits against Nazi war criminals, then took part in the rise of the political movement launched by her uncle, the Rally of the French People
Rally of the French People
The Rally of the French People was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.-Foundation:...
.
In 1958, she worked with the cabinet of André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
when she met Father Joseph Wresinski
Joseph Wresinski
Born into poverty, Fr. Joseph Wresinski established major landmarks throughout his life in the fight against the worst forms of poverty, in collaboration with the very poor themselves and other partners...
, then chaplain of the town of Noisy-le-Grand
Noisy-le-Grand
Noisy-le-Grand is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The commune of Noisy-le-Grand is part of the sector of Porte de Paris, one of the four sectors of the "new town" of Marne-la-Vallée.-Name:...
. In the sufferings of the families she met there, it revived those of which she and other deportees had experienced. In 1987, she testified in the case of the Nazi Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...
.
Allied with the movement ATD Quart Monde, then a permanent volunteer, she was the president of the movement from 1964 to September 2001.
In 1988 she became a member of the French Economic and Social Council
French Economic and Social Council
The Economic, Social and Environmental Council of France is a consultative assembly...
, and for ten years fought for the adoption of a law against great poverty. Deferred in 1997 due to dissolution of the French National Assembly, her law was voted in 1998.
Works
- La traversée de la nuit, Editions du Seuil, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1998 - God Remained Outside - An Echo of Ravensbruck (Translation), 1998, ISBN 0-285-63560-1
- Le secret de l'espérance, Fayard / Editions Quart Monde, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 2001
Decorations
- Médaille de la RésistanceMédaille de la RésistanceThe French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
- Croix de guerre 1939-1945
- Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(first woman to receive it)
External links
- Related to the website of CIDEM (file .pdf)
- Discussion with Francoise Colpin
- The official site of ATD Quart Monde