Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Wolinski’s daughter: ‘I don’t think you can kill ideas’ | Media | The GuardianCharlie Hebdo cartoonist Wolinski’s daughter: ‘I don’t think you can kill ideas’ | Media | The Guardian










Close






Skip to main content

 









sign in








subscribe









search




jobs






more


from the guardian:


jobs


change edition:



switch to the UK edition


switch to the AU edition







US edition




switch to the UK edition




switch to the Australia edition













The Guardian


Winner of the Pulitzer prize











home


›
media










home




US




world




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







browse all sections
close







 











Charlie Hebdo



Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Wolinski’s daughter: ‘I don’t think you can kill ideas’









Elsa Wolinski says her father, killed in Charlie Hebdo attack, brought her up in the knowledge he was in a ‘risky profession’














Georges Wolinski. Photograph: Di Crollalanza Astrid/Sipa/Rex Features




Anne Penketh in Paris


Friday 9 January 2015 04.12 EST







Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp
















The daughter of one of the cartoonists murdered in the Charlie Hebdo attack has shared a poignant photograph of his empty desk.
The image posted on Instagram by Elsa Wolinski, daughter of Georges Wolinski, shows an office where a pen lies at the ready on a sheaf of paper beside a black notebook. The caption says: “Dad is gone, not Wolinski.”
Her 80-year-old father, known by his last name in France, was shot dead on Wednesday in the offices of the satirical magazine with which he had a long association. Four other cartoonists, including the paper’s editor, were also among the 12 people killed.



Elsa Wolinski said on Thursday that the moment she learned that shots had been fired, she feared the worst. Her father, born in Tunisia, always had a pessimistic and melancholy nature, she said. But the most painful thing for her was to imagine him shot dead with a bullet.
He had brought her up in the knowledge that he was in a “risky profession” in which he had to defend his ideas. “I thought that you could stop him in the street, show disagreement, but I never thought you could kill artists,” she told an interviewer on Europe1 radio. Fighting back tears, she said: “I don’t think you can kill ideas.”
She added: “He was a man who was afraid. He was scared of what would happen to society, and of the world he was leaving to his grandchildren.”
Crowds gathered spontaneously outside the Charlie Hebdo offices on Thursday to pay respect to the victims during a midday minute’s silence.
Elsa Wolinski said she had not been informed by police of her father’s death and only learned of it when her husband went to the scene.



Topics



Charlie Hebdo




Charlie Hebdo attack




France




Europe








Share on Facebook







Share on Twitter







Share via Email







Share on LinkedIn







Share on Google+







Share on WhatsApp



















 






related content












popular












 








The Guardian






back to top














home




US




world




opinion




sports




soccer




tech




arts




lifestyle




fashion




business




money




travel




environment







all sections
close







home




US




world




UK




europe




americas




asia




middle east




africa




australia






opinion




sports




soccer




MLS




NFL




MLB




NBA




NHL






soccer




live scores




tables




competitions




results




fixtures




clubs






tech




games






arts




movies




tv & radio




music




books




art & design




stage




classical






lifestyle




food




health




love & sex




family




women




home & garden






fashion




business




markets




companies






money




travel




USA




europe




UK






environment




development




cities






science




media
selected




crosswords




video











Media




›
Charlie Hebdo








jobs

subscribe
all topics
all contributors

info and resources

contact us

feedback

complaints & corrections
terms & conditions
privacy policy
cookie policy
securedrop


© 2015 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.






















 
