Anne de Gaulle

Anne de Gaulle (1 January 1928 – 6 February 1948) was the youngest daughter of General Charles de Gaulle and his wife, Yvonne. She was born in Trier, Germany, where her father was stationed with the Army of Occupation in the Rhineland.

Anne de Gaulle
Anne and her father Charles in 1933
Born	(1928-01-01)1 January 1928 Trier, Germany
Died	6 February 1948(1948-02-06) (aged 20) Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, France
Resting place	Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises Parish Churchyard
Parent(s)	Charles de Gaulle Yvonne de Gaulle
Relatives	Philippe de Gaulle (brother)

She was born with Down syndrome and lived with her family until her death. De Gaulle's relatives all testified that the General, who was normally undemonstrative and stoic in his affections for his family, was more open and extroverted with Anne. De Gaulle would entertain her with songs, dances, and pantomimes.^[1]

The grave of Anne beside her parents

In October 1945, Yvonne de Gaulle bought the Château de Vert-Cœur at Milon-la-Chapelle (Yvelines), where they installed a private hospital for disabled young girls: the Fondation Anne de Gaulle.

Anne died of pneumonia^[2] on 6 February 1948, aged 20, at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises. She could only say one word clearly: "Papa". Upon her death, her father said: "Now, she is like the others." ("Maintenant, elle est comme les autres.")^[1]

On 22 August 1962, Charles de Gaulle was the victim of an attempted assassination at Petit-Clamart. He later said that the potentially fatal bullet had been stopped by the frame of the photograph of Anne that he always carried with him; placed this particular day on the rear shelf of his car. When he died in 1970, he was buried in the cemetery of Colombey beside his beloved daughter.

She is portrayed by Clémence Hittin in the 2020 film De Gaulle.

References

1. Nixon, Richard (1990). In The Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat, and Renewal. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 229. ISBN 0-671-70096-0.
2. Bauer, Patricia E. (June 4, 2007). "Public man, private father". Disability News. PatriciaEBauer.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2011.