de GAULLE-ANTHONIOZ, Genevieve 1920-2002

PERSONAL:

Born 1920; died February 14, 2002, in Paris, France; daughter of Xavier de Gaulle; married Bernard Anthonioz, 1946 (deceased); children: four.

CAREER:

Resistance fighter and worker for the poor. Worked as an assistant to Andre Malraux, French Minister of Culture; ATD Quart Monde, cofounder with Joseph Wresinski.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Croix de Guerre; Medaille de la Resistance; Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Evaluation des Politiques Publiques de Lutte Contre la Grande Pauvrete: Seances des 11 et 12 Juillet 1995, Directions des Journaux Officiels (Paris, France), 1995.

The Dawn of Hope: A Memoir of Ravensbruck, translated by Richard Seaver, Arcade (New York, NY), 1999.

L'Engagement: Drout au Logement, ou Droit a la Vie, Seuil (Paris, France), 1998.

La Traversee de la Nuit, Seuil (Paris, France), 1998.

Le Secret de L'Esperance, Fayard, Quart Monde (Paris, France), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

In 1940, at the young age of nineteen, Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz, niece of General Charles de Gaulle, joined the Resistance after France surrendered to Germany during World War II. Her work for the Resistance included delivering messages and editorial work. In 1943 she was captured by the Germans and sent to the Fresnes Prison in Paris. After six months she was sent to Ravensbruck, a women's concentration camp. Ravensbruck was designed to hold only 6,000 prisoners, but while de Gaulle-Anthonioz was imprisoned there it held more than 36,000 prisoners. At Ravensbruck women were treated brutally, and by April 25, 1945, the date in which the camp was liberated, more than 50,000 women had died.

In her book The Dawn of Hope: A Memoir of Ravensbruck de Gaulle-Anthonioz recounts her memories of Ravensbruck, memories which she could not bear to speak or write about until more than fifty years later after her experiences there. In The Dawn of Hope, de Gaulle-Anthonioz describes her memories of how women were beaten, tortured, experimented upon, and killed during their imprisonment. She also writes about her friends at Ravensbruck and her Christian faith that helped keep her alive. Library Journal contributor Marie Marmo Mullaney noted, "An uplifting account."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of The Dawn of Hope: A Memoir of Ravensbruck, p. 504.

Library Journal, November 15, 1999, Marie Marmo Mullaney, review of The Dawn of Hope, p. 76.

Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2002, "G. de Gaulle-Anthonioz," p. B10.

Times (London, England), February 20, 2002, "Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz," p. B38.

Washington Post, February 16, 2002, "Fighter in French Resistance Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz," p. B7.

OTHER

Age,http://www.theage.com.au/ (July 19, 2002), "Death of de Gaulle's niece Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz."

All Readers,http://www.allreaders.com/ (July 19, 2002), Michael JR Jose, review of The Dawn of Hope.*