Historical Figure
Charles de Gaulle
1890–1970
French general and statesman (1890–1970)
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Biography
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France. Following the Algiers putsch, he came out of retirement at the request of President René Coty, who appointed him Prime Minister. He commissioned a new constitution which was approved by voters in a referendum, establishing the Fifth Republic. He was subsequently elected President of France later that year, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. He is widely regarded as the greatest Frenchman of the 20th century.
In Their Own Words (5)
Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.
Attributed to de Gaulle by Romain Gary, Life, May 9, 1969 , 1969
A state worthy of the name has no friends.
Un état digne de ce nom n'a pas d'amis. , 1965
Of course one can jump up and down yelling Europe ! Europe ! Europe ! But it amounts to nothing and it means nothing.
Bien entendu, on peut sauter sur sa chaise comme un cabri en disant l’Europe ! l’Europe ! l’Europe ! mais cela n’aboutit à rien et cela ne signifie rien. , 1965
Character is the virtue of hard times.
1932
Why do you think that at 67 I would start a career as a dictator?
Pourquoi voulez-vous qu'à 67 ans je commence une carrière de dictateur ?
Timeline
The story of Charles de Gaulle, told in moments.
Wounded and captured at Verdun. He tries to escape five times. The Germans transfer him to higher-security camps each time. He spends 32 months as a prisoner of war, studying German, reading history, lecturing fellow prisoners.
France has surrendered. De Gaulle flies to London. From a BBC studio, he broadcasts the Appeal of 18 June: France has lost a battle, not the war. Almost nobody hears it. Petain's government sentences him to death in absentia. He's 49, a brigadier general with no army.
Walks down the Champs-Elysees after the liberation of Paris. Sniper fire from rooftops. He doesn't duck. Two million people line the route. He's made himself the symbol of Free France through sheer will.
Returns to power during the Algerian crisis. The Fourth Republic is collapsing. The National Assembly makes him prime minister, then he writes a new constitution. The Fifth Republic. A strong presidency. Cut to his dimensions.
Withdraws France from NATO's integrated military command. Tells 26,000 American troops to leave French soil. Washington is furious. He builds an independent French nuclear arsenal. "France cannot be France without greatness."
Dies of a ruptured aorta at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. He is 79. Per his instructions, no presidents or foreign dignitaries attend the funeral. Only villagers. His tombstone reads: "Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970." Nothing else.
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