Charles de Gaulle
General de Gaulle was leader of the Free French Movement during the Second World War.
Person
De Gaulle was a soldier, politician and president. From 1913, De Gaulle[1] was a French soldier, and in 1916 he was taken prisoner of war by the Germans at the Battle of Verdun. When, in June 1940, Marshal Petain wanted to conclude an armistice with the Germans, De Gaulle ran away to England. He was therefore sentenced to death for desertion by the new French government in Vichy. De Gaulle was the leader of the Free French. After the Allied invasion of North Africa, he established his headquarters in Algiers. Although he joined the Allies, there remained a distance between the general and his allies.[2]
On 6 June 1944, Reuters news agency reported De Gaulle's arrival in England.[3] On 10 June he was received by Queen Wilhelmina.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ Anne refers to him as de Gaul. Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 6 June 1944, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.
- ^ Wikipedia: Charles de Gaulle.
- ^ Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 7 juni 1944.
- ^ Amigoe di Curaçao, 12 juni 1944.