She Became One Of The Most Famous Nurses Who Served Her Country During World War I After She Was Executed For Helping About 200 British, French, And Belgian Soldiers Escape The German Military And Get To Safety
Some of the underrated heroes of World War I and World War II were the women who worked as nurses and took care of wounded soldiers on and off the battlefield.
One of the most famous nurses from World War I was Edith Cavell, who devoted her life to serving her country and speaking out for what she believed in.
Edith was born in England in 1865. She briefly worked as a governess in Belgium before training to become a nurse in London. She worked at several hospitals in England before getting accepted to work at Belgium’s first training hospital and school for nurses in Belgium in 1907.
By 1911, Edith was an extremely experienced nurse and was the training nurse for 24 schools.
Then, when England declared war on Germany in 1914, Edith’s training school in Brussels was taken over by the Red Cross.
While Brussels was under German military law, Edith continued working as a nurse. Then, she began harboring British soldiers and smuggling them out of Belgium and into Holland, which was a neutral country.
She did this for 11 months, helping around 200 British, French, and Belgian soldiers to escape the German military and get to safety. It was a major violation of the German military law.
Not only was Edit smuggling these soldiers out of Belgium, but she was also very outspoken against the German occupation, making more German soldiers suspicious of her. In August 1915, Edith’s actions were discovered, and she was arrested.
Edith was charged with harboring the enemy and admitted to everything with no defense during her deposition. Her actions were deemed punishable by death under German law, and British government officials could not help Edith get out of her situation.
Pellinni – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
While the German civil governor expressed beliefs that she should be pardoned for all her life-saving work as a nurse, the German military governor still ordered her to be executed.
A firing squad executed Edith in October 1915. Her death outraged international countries, including America, who entered the war two years later.
Edith became a powerful symbol for the Allies, and her bravery inspired many to continue fighting for what they believed in.
It is said that one of the last things she said before being executed was, “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness to anyone.”
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