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The Story of General Charles de Gaulle and his daughter with Down Syndrome (Anne de Gaulle).

 

Anne of Gaulle

The girl in the photo is Anne de Gaulle; the third daughter of Yvonne Vendroux and General de Gaulle. Born on New Year's Day in 1928. His traits, as you can see, are the characteristics of what we call today ′′ Down Syndrome ", and in Anne's case it was severe, so much that she could barely walk in difficulty.

At that time, having a disabled baby was something to hide, many sent them straight to mental institutes where they lived and died, others kept them hidden at home, no attention, no love, just locked and sometimes tied up like animals.

But Gaulles didn't see Anne as a shame, but rather that they felt blessed with her. The photo we shared was taken on a beach in Brittany in 1933. Anne is sitting on her father's lap and he, dressed in a Homburg hat and a three-piece suit, gently holds her hands while the five-year-old girl looks at him intensely in the eyes. It's an image of unconditional love.

This unconditional love made her the center of Gaulle's family. Charles said it was ′′ his joy ′′ and that ′′ she helped him see beyond the faults of men ".

Charles and his wife Yvonne insisted that Anne travel with them always. The general would sing songs to him and read stories to him, showing an affection and tenderness that he really didn't show to many members of his family. The main rule of the family was that they should never make Anne feel less or different than anyone else.

The general had devotion to his daughter, and so told him the military chaplain who treated De Gaulle, with whom he could subpoena and be confidant: ' To me, Anne was a great test, but also a blessing. It's my joy and helped me greatly overcome all obstacles and all honors. Thanks to Anne, I went further, I managed to overcome myself. '

For his latest biographer, Jonathan Fenby, 'Anne symbolized De Gaulle an unconditional affection and although obligations seemed to hinder him, his father was always around'.

In February 1948 Anne passed away from pneumonia in her father's arms. ′′ Now she's like others ′′ Charles said to his wife.

'Her soul has been freed, but the loss of our little girl, our hopeless girl, brought us immense pain'.

Another of former president Jean Lacouture's biographers records him once saying, ′′ Without Anne, maybe I could never have done what I did. She gave me the heart and inspiration. On that note, the man of June 18 and his beloved petite Anne teach us something we are tempted to forget: that we can all find strength in weakness and that nothing is more powerful than the love that surrenders.

In 1962, 14 years after Anne's death, Charles de Gaulle was the victim of an attempted murder. He claimed afterwards that the bullet that could have been fatal had been stopped by the frame of Anne's photograph, which she always brought with her.

Upon dying in 1970, the general was buried in the graveyard with his beloved daughter. Your mother joined them in 1979.

They say the only word Anne could say clearly in her short life was ′′ father ".

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