The General's Niece

by Paige Bowers

  Tillion wrote about the gas chamber and Mittwerda in Ravensbrück, 258–77; see also “Nazis’ Camp Data Bare Its Killings,” New York Times, January 1, 1945, 5. Morrison wrote about the gas chamber in Ravensbrück, 289–91.

  Tillion reprinted a section of Verfügbar in Ravensbrück, 259.

  Geneviève wrote about the crematorium smoke and her recurring dream of facing a tribunal in Dawn of Hope, loc. 449–65.

  The following articles chronicled the fall of Bonny and Lafont: “Le brigade du crime: Bony et Lafont livraient à la Gestapo les patriotes françaises,” Ce Soir, September 5, 1944; “La rue Lauriston au travail,” Le Populaire, December 4, 1944, 1.; “Bonny précise comment fut arrêtée Mlle Geneviève de Gaulle,” Ce Soir, December 5, 1944, 2; “Bonny connaissait Geneviève de Gaulle,” Libération, December 9, 1944, 1.

  General de Gaulle reassured the country in the following articles: “De Gaulle Hails Rebirth of France: Says Allied Aid Assures Big Army,” New York Times, January 1, 1945, 2; “Tolerance for Vichyites Seen,” New York Times, January 3, 1945, 5; “De Gaulle Cites Need for Order,” New York Times, January 16, 1945, 10.

  These stories talk about the reprisals against collaborators: “French Continuing Purge of Traitors,” New York Times, January 9, 1945, 11; Le Monde is quoted in “Three Frenchmen Lynched in Prison,” New York Times, January 10, 1945, 12; “France Sentences Three FFI Officers,” New York Times, January 12, 1945, 5.

  Geneviève wrote about her pleurisy attack, healing, and desire to see Monet’s paintings at the Orangerie in Dawn of Hope, loc. 430–48.

  Chapter 9: Release

  Geneviève wrote of her final moments in the camp in “Le chantage d’Himmler,” en ce temps là: De Gaulle 46 (1972): 31, and in Dawn of Hope, loc. 464–522.

  Geneviève captured the details of her escape from Ravensbrück and first “La Marseillaise” in “Ma première Marseillaise,” en ce temps là: De Gaulle, no. 47 (1972): 27–31. Virginia d’Albert-Lake also wrote about the harrowing details of their exodus in An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Diary and Memoir of Virginia d’Albert-Lake (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006), 234–45.

  Chapter 10: Liberation

  Germaine wrote about protecting the Rabbits in Ravensbrück, 174–76.

  Jacqueline wrote about hiding in “Forgive, Don’t Forget,” 7–9.

  Anise Girard spoke with Weschler about Émilie Tillion’s end in Sisters in Resistance and wrote about it in Vivre, 80–87.

  Margarete Buber-Neumann wrote about hiding Germaine in Under Two Dictators, 265–66.

  Jacqueline chronicled her final moments before the camp’s liberation in “Forgive Don’t Forget,” 9–10. Anise also captured them in Vivre, 91–97. See also “L’expédition de sauvetage à Ravensbrück,” Voix et Visages 18 (December 1948): 1.

  Chapter 11: The Return

  Micheline Maurel’s story is captured in her book An Ordinary Camp (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958), 136–41.

  Geneviève spoke about her postwar feelings in Dialogues, 119–22.

  Neau-Dufour wrote about Geneviève’s shock in Switzerland in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 110.

  Neau-Dufour recounted conversations between Geneviève and her uncle in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 114–18. Glorion shared details of Geneviève’s reunion with her uncle in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 58–59.

  Clerc wrote about Hitler’s Mercedes in Les de Gaulle, 227–28.

  Voix et Visages had frequent dispatches from the doctors ADIR had in its employ, and those professionals would give advice on how to tackle the various ailments the female detainees faced after May 1945. Some examples of these columns include (but are not limited to): “L’Obésité des femmes déportées rapatriées,” Voix et Visages 2 (August–September 1946): 4; “Chronique du docteur,” Voix et Visages 4 (November 1946) 4; “Chronique du docteur,” Voix et Visages 5 (January 1947): 7.

  Henri Frenay wrote about some of the difficulties of repatriation in The Night Will End (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976).

  Historian Philippe Mezzasalma covered the beginnings of ADIR in “L’ADIR, ou une certaine histoire de la déportation des femmes en France,” Materiaux pour l’histoire de notre temps 69 (2003): 49–60.

  Michèle Moët-Agniel’s account of her postwar circumstances come from an author interview on January 9, 2016, and a follow-up e-mail dated February 4, 2016.

  “I am not saying it was always easy”: Geneviève sat for an interview with Le Patriote Résistant in June 1986.

  Voix et Visages always listed information on its teas, talks, and concerts. Two examples: “Les conférences du Foyer,” Voix et Visages 1 (June 1946): 2; “Notre Foyer,” Voix et Visages 3 (October 1946): 3.

  “We sought out other camp survivors”: Anise told Weschler about deportees’ need to find kindred spirits after the war in Sisters in Resistance.

  Voix et Visages ran recurring stories on the paperwork women needed to submit in order to be considered for resister/deportee benefits. It also ran stories on what paperwork women needed to file in order get assistance if a loved one hadn’t returned from the war. See “L’activité du service social,” Voix et Visages 1 (June 1946): 3; “État-civil de non-rentrés,” Voix et Visages 1 (June 1946): 4; among others.

  For background on Bernard Anthonioz, see Bernard Anthonioz, ou la liberté de l’art (Paris: Adam Biro, 1999). Also see Neau-Dufour, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 126–27.

  Anise Postel-Vinay wrote about Germaine’s work on Ravensbrück in Vivre, 110–12.

  Anise wrote about traveling with Geneviève in Vivre, 107–9.

  Françoise Robin Zavadil wrote about the rest homes in “Maisons d’accueil en Suisse,” Voix et Visages 275 (March–April 2002): 13.

  “A look shared”: Geneviève wrote about the duties of their return in “Le Retour,” Voix et Visages 1 (June 1946): 1.

  Description of women’s first chance to vote in France from “Record French Poll as Women Vote for 1st Time,” Dundee Courier, October 22, 1945, 3; See also “Vote Today to Set Future of France,” New York Times, October 21, 1945, 1; “De Gaulle Scores Threefold Victory in French Election,” New York Times, October 23, 1945, 1; “French Reds Lead As Left Takes Over Charter’s Revision,” New York Times, October 23, 1945, 1; “De Gaulle Plans Unity Government,” New York Times, October 24, 1945, 9.

  Account of Geneviève’s speech reported in “Au Meeting de Gentilly: Consécration Populaire de l’Amitié Française,” December, 1945.

  Although she did not write about it in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, Glorion told me in an interview that Geneviève and Bernard were not only deeply in love but also partners in every sense of the word. Geneviève did not want her to include details of their love story in her book because, she told her, “no one is interested in that.” Isabelle Gaggini, Geneviève’s daughter, also told me that her parents had a strong partnership based on mutual affection, respect, and long-held beliefs. They were their own people, but together they made each other stronger. Neau-Dufour wrote about Geneviève and Bernard falling in love in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 127–30.

  Jacqueline d’Alincourt told Weschler about her postwar life in Sisters in Resistance.

  Anise wrote about meeting André Postel-Vinay in Vivre, 38–41.

  Neau-Dufour wrote about Geneviève’s wedding and the argument between Charles de Gaulle and his wife in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 130–31.

  Anise talked about imitating Geneviève in an author interview on January 9, 2016.

  Chapter 12: The Antidote

  Voix et Visages expressed outrage that only twenty-two people were being tried for war crimes in “Le procès de Ravensbrück,” Voix et Visages 4 (November 1946): 1.

  Suhren’s escape was reported in “German Escapes as Trial Nears,” New York Times, December 1, 1946.

  Geneviève wrote about the 1946 Ravensbrück trial in “L’Allemagne jugée par Ravensbrück,” which was reprinted in Anthonioz and Tillion, Dialogues
, 143–58. Germaine Tillion covered the trial in “Le procès de Ravensbrück,” Voix et Visages 5 (January 1947): 1, and “Le procès des assassins à Ravensbrück,” Voix et Visages 7 (March 1947): 1.

  ADIR called on its members to send in written testimony for the next trials, giving them specific instructions on how to submit their information in “Le prochain procès de criminels de guerre de Ravensbrück,” Voix et Visages 8 (June 1947): 1. The group continued to cover trials in successive issues, including Geneviève’s front-page report on Fritz Suhren in the May/June 1950 issue.

  Neau-Dufour wrote about Geneviève’s family life in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz (131–33), basing some of her detail on interviews with family members. Isabelle Anthonioz-Gaggini captured what it was like to have resisters who were like family to her and her brothers in Anthonioz and Tillion, Dialogues, 13–18.

  General de Gaulle’s words, penned by Malraux, were reprinted in Lacouture’s De Gaulle: The Ruler, 1945–1970 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1993), 137–38.

  Neau-Dufour talked about how Geneviève and Bernard chose to get involved with the RPF in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 134–36.

  In its account of ADIR’s first General Assembly, Voix et Visages wrote about the need to raise membership fees and the high costs of administrative costs and social services: January 1947, no. 5, 3–4.

  “That is why ADIR was born”: “11 novembre,” Voix et Visages 9 (November 1947): 1.

  Michèle Moët-Agniel shared her postwar story in an author interview on January 9, 2016.

  Voix et Visages chronicled the lodging trouble and disorganization in the February/March 1948 issue, no. 11–12, pp. 3–4.

  By 1951 the health and wellness of ADIR’s members . . . and accounts of cutbacks: “Rapport moral,” Voix et Visages 28 (March/April 1951): 3.

  Geneviève called out the ADIR membership for not being active in Voix et Visages 32 (January/February 1952): 1.

  On the Rabbits: “L’indemnisation des victimes des expériences humaines,” Voix et Visages 33 (March/April 1952): 3–4; “Cobayes,” Voix et Visages 73 (March/April 1960): 1–2; “Cobayes,” Voix et Visages (May/June 1961): 4; “A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors,” http://connecticuthistory.org/a-godmother-to-ravensbruck-survivors/.

  Anne’s death, Charles de Gaulle’s corresponding malaise, and his relationship with his brother Pierre are covered by Clerc in Les de Gaulle, 257–59, 264–66.

  The decline of the RPF and Bernard’s entry into public service is chronicled in Neau-Dufour’s Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 137–39.

  “She would say”: Anise recalled her close friendship with Geneviève in the Gobelins years in an author interview on January 9, 2016.

  The women of ADIR wrote about when or whether they told their children about the camps in “Notre enquête,” Voix et Visages 51 (May/June 1956): 7.

  Geneviève told Weschler in Sisters in Resistance about her little-by-little approach with her children.

  Germaine wrote about Algeria in “L’Algérie en 1957,” Voix et Visages 55 (January/February 1957): 5–6.

  Anise’s stance on the war in Algeria is spelled out and Geneviève accepts her resignation in Voix et Visages 82 (January/February 1962): 7.

  General de Gaulle’s May 15, 1958, announcement that he was ready to take over the powers of the Republic was covered by United Press International in “De Gaulle Ready to Rule.” The story is located online: www.upi.com/Archives/1958/05/15/De-Gaulle-ready-to-rule/4611027740242/.

  Geneviève said ADIR needed to take an issue in “certain human problems” in “Rentrée,” Voix et Visages 85 (July–November 1962): 1. She devoted the rest of that issue to hunger, which she had become exposed to in the Noisy-le-Grand slum.

  In a January 9, 2016, author interview, Anise said that Geneviève and Bernard would pass Germaine’s reports from Algeria to General de Gaulle.

  Neau-Dufour wrote about Tillion’s meeting with General de Gaulle in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 146–47.

  Glorion wrote about Bernard and Geneviève’s entry into Malraux’s cabinet in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 69–70.

  Chapter 13: Noisy-le-Grand

  Deaths and hardship resulting from the “brutally cold winter of 1954” were dramatized in the 1989 French film Hiver 54, l’abbé Pierre, starring Claudia Cardinale.

  The emergency housing proposal was debated and rejected on January 3, the same day the infant died in the cold. After that, Abbé Pierre wrote an open letter to housing minister Maurice Lemaire, which said, “Sir, the little baby . . . who died from the cold during the night of January 3, during the speech in which you rejected the emergency housing, will be buried on Thursday January 7, at 2 p.m. It would be nice for you to be with us during that time. We are not bad people.” Letter from Abbé Pierre to Maurice Lemaire, Le Figaro, January 5, 1954.

  Lemaire attended the funeral, toured a makeshift encampment for the poor, and was shocked by what he saw. He pledged to have emergency housing ready by May. Three weeks later, the evicted woman was found dead in the street. “L’abbé Pierre réédite son appel du 1er fevrier 1954 en faveur des ‘couche-dehors,’” Le Monde, January 24, 2007.

  Abbé Pierre is an icon in France. For more about his life and work, see Boris Simon, Abbé Pierre and the Ragpickers of Emmaus (New York: P. J. Kenedy, 1955); Frédéric Lenoir and Abbé Pierre, Why, Oh Why, My God: Meditations on Christian Faith and the Meaning of Life (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2007); Axelle Brodiez-Dolino, Emmaüs and Abbé Pierre: An Alternative Model of Enterprise, Charity and Society, trans. Alexandra Harwood (Paris: Les Presses des Sciences-Po, 2013).

  “Tonight, in every town in France”: Call of Abbé Pierre, Radio Luxembourg, February 1, 1954. The next day, Le Figaro published the transcript of the appeal at Abbé Pierre’s request.

  “I hope that this is the beginning of a war”: “L’insurrection de bonté à 60 ans,” Le Point, February 1, 2014; “Charlie Chaplin and the Homeless of Abbé Pierre,” Le Monde, October 16, 1954. After World War II, Charlie Chaplin became openly critical of capitalism and supportive of Soviet-American friendship groups at a time when Cold War tensions were on the rise. Conservative politicians considered his political views “dangerously progressive and amoral,” and the FBI began to investigate his ties to Communist groups. The English actor maintained that he wasn’t a Communist but a “peacemonger.” Yet his failure to pursue US citizenship and unabashed disapproval of the House Un-American Activities Committee led to cries for his deportation. He left America for Europe in 1953 and remained there for the last twenty-four years of his life. For more details, see Charles J. Maland, Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), 221–56.

  In 1954, one Communist group awarded Chaplin a monetary peace prize, which the Tramp, in turn, signed over to Abbé Pierre. Chaplin told reporters outside of Hotel Crillon, “I thought it was normal that the money I received for the peace prize should go to help the underprivileged.” Abbé Pierre added, “By doing this, the man who all of his life wanted to embody ‘the little man,’ or the unhappy man became a beautiful symbol.” See “Charlie Chaplin et les sans-logis de l’abbé Pierre,” Le Monde, October 16, 1954.

  The homes . . . were meant to be a temporary solution (and the following narrative about the Noisy encampment): The 2001 Claire Jeanteur documentary Le Camp de Noisy ou l’inversion du regard uses archival footage and interviews to tell the history of this camp and show how it played a pivotal role in several impoverished families’ long fight to have a better life.

  Glorion wrote about Geneviève and Father Joseph’s first meeting in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 70–74.

  He told her she could come whenever she wanted: Glorion captured this conflict in Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 70.

  In her memoir, Geneviève wrote, “There was always a little voice telling me not to get mixed up in this and another that explained that maybe it was not so bad to know about it. A few days la
ter, I began to know about it” (Anthonioz, Le Secret de l’Espérance [Paris: Fayard, 2001], 19).

  Readers get more of a sense of Geneviève’s independence and determination from historian Frédérique Neau-Dufour’s account of this same day in her 2004 book, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz. Neau-Dufour writes of the “echos” from the past that made her feel like this trip was something she needed to experience on her own. “She was the deportee who, deep within herself, felt something strong” (155). Although all accounts indicate that Geneviève went by herself, and felt it was something she needed to do, Geneviève has been quoted as saying that she didn’t actually make a connection between her experience at Ravensbrück and Noisy-le-Grand until she saw the camp (Anthonioz, Le Secret, 17). It’s worth noting that seeing Noisy-le-Grand was an overwhelming experience for any so-called outsider who walked through its gates, regardless of his or her life experience. In 1959 Elle writer Marlyse Schaeffer said it was like arriving at the “end of the world” (“1,000 enfants qui ne peuvent pas croire au Père Noël,” Elle, December 1958).

  “This sign has been here for four years”: Glorion, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 74. Glorion has also written widely about Father Joseph Wresinski and made two films about him. Joseph l’insoumis (2011) is a dramatized account of his life, while Joseph Wresinski: 50 ans de combat contre le misère (2008) is a documentary drawing on interviews and archival footage and papers. She is well known in France for her reporting on social issues.

  “One family invited Father Joseph and Geneviève into their home” and the account of what Geneviève learned as she sipped coffee with them: Glorion, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 75–77; Anthonioz, Le Secret, 15–17.

  “I never imagined such distress”: Glorion, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 77–78.

  “I’m not sure when I became so lucky”: Glorion, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz, 79.

  Not everyone saw the camp the way Geneviève and Father Joseph did: Geneviève recalled some of her interactions with government officials on the priest’s behalf, saying that she either battled their perceptions of Joseph as a slum lord or of the camp’s inhabitants as dangerous and habitually drunk. As she fought plans to tear down the igloos and move the inhabitants elsewhere, she asked local officials, “Sir, could you please tell me why another department would take on these families that you have refused?” It was a polite and persuasive argument instrumental in preventing the demolition of the igloos. Put in the same position, her uncle would have probably thrown a fit in order to get the same result. Anthonioz, Le Secret, 31–33.