"MY THOUGHTS TURNED TOWARD ALL THOSE WHO, LIKE YOU… FOUGHT FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE COUNTRY": TYPED LETTER LAUDING THE EFFORTS LEON BEER-GEHLER, A FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER, SIGNED BY CHARLES DE GAULLE THE YEAR HE BECAME PRESIDENT OF FRANCE

DE GAULLE, Charles. Typed letter signed. Paris: June 22, 1959. Letterhead leaf (8 by 10-1/2 inches). $2900.

Original June 22, 1959 typed letter in French signed by de Gaulle on his letterhead, dated six months after he became President of France and the same month he visited Mont-Mouchet to pay tribute to the French Resistance in the heroic 1944 battle against Nazi forces, here praising Léon Beer-Gehler for his role in the struggle and for continuing to honor the ideals of the Resistance.

This one-page letter, signed by General de Gaulle on his letterhead, reads in full (typescript): "Paris, le 22 June 1959. Mon cher professeur, En m'arrêtant au Mont-Mouchet et en y rendant homage à le mémoire de vos compagnons de combat, ma pensée et allée vers tous ceux qui, comme vous, ont, dans ce cadre grandiose, lutté pour la liberation du pays. Votre lettre, dont je vous remercie, me donne l'occasion de vous le dire and de vous féliciter de garder fidèlement, pour vous-même et pour les jeunes que vous formez, l'déal de la Résistance fran?aise. Croyez, mon cher Professur, à mes sentiments les plus distingués et les meilleurs. [signed] C. de Gaulle [typescript] Monsieur Léon BEER-GEHLER 46, Avenue des Vosges STRASBOURG." (Translation: On stopping at Mont-Mouchet and on paying homage there to the memory of your comrades in battle, my thoughts turned toward all those who, like you, in this magnificent setting, fought for the liberation of the country. Your letter, for which I thank you, gives me the opportunity to speak to you and to praise you for your faithful preservation, for yourself and the young people who follow your example, of the ideals of the French Resistance. Be assured, my dear Professor, of my highest and most sincere regard.)

Mont-Mouchet was the site of a famous battle between Nazi forces and the French Resistance that took place shortly after Normandy. In June 1959, the month of this letter, General de Gaulle, as president of the Republic, visited Mont-Mouchet where he paid honor to the heroism of French Resistance. Text in French.

In fine condition.