{"id":65443,"date":"2021-03-08T14:16:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T19:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=65443"},"modified":"2023-11-13T14:28:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T19:28:59","slug":"womens-history-month-wwi-nurse-hero-edith-cavell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/womens-history-month-wwi-nurse-hero-edith-cavell.html","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s History Month: WWI Nurse & Hero Edith Cavell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article \u2013 in honor of March being Women\u2019s History Month \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega writes about a British heroine from WWI, nurse Edith Cavell. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We often mistakenly think that women were not involved in wars prior to World War II (when women could join the military as WACs and WAVEs). However, women were on the battle front long before WWII, working as nurses and as soldiers \u2013 as in the case of the American Civil War, when some women joined military units dressed as men.<\/p>\n

With war comes the possibility of death, even for nurses who are in non-combat roles. World War I saw women working as nurses, which put them at danger. In a few cases, women were executed during the war. The most well-known example is the work and execution of British nurse Edith Cavell.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: nurse Edith Cavell as she sits in a garden in Brussels, Belgium, with her two dogs before the outbreak of war. The dog on the right, \u201cJack,\u201d was rescued after her execution. Credit: Imperial War Museum; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edith Cavell (1865-1915)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edith Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston, Norfolk, England. She began her work life as a governess in Belgium, but after taking care of her father during an illness she was inspired to become a nurse. She worked in hospitals before accepting a position in Belgium at a \u201ctraining hospital and school for nurses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Edith Cavell (seated center) with a group of multinational student nurses whom she trained in Brussels, Belgium. Credit: Imperial War Museum; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When World War I broke out she was in England visiting her mother and decided it was time for her to return to Belgium. (1) Eventually the Germans occupied Belgium and Edith\u2019s training hospital became a Red Cross hospital helping soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Nurse Cavell not only provided medical aid to all soldiers, regardless of which side they were on, but she also assisted the escape of Allied soldiers across the border to neutral Holland. She is credited with saving the lives of 200 soldiers. (2)<\/p>\n

The Germans began to suspect that she was doing more than just nursing, and on 5 August 1915 she was arrested and imprisoned. (3)<\/p>\n

The Execution of Edith Cavell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cavell was charged, court martialed, and found guilty of treason by the Germans for her part in aiding enemy soldiers of Germany, even though she was not a German citizen. Cavell didn\u2019t deny the charges and openly confessed.<\/p>\n

After being sentenced to death, diplomats from neutral countries like the United States and Spain tried to convince the Germans to spare her life, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

The night before her execution she told an Anglican chaplain:<\/p>\n

\u201cPatriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With her final words before her death, Cavell said she was willing to die for her country. (4) On 12 October 1915, Edith Cavell was shot to death. (5)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Oregon Journal (Portland, Oregon), 18 October 1915, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

International Outrage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the reaction to Germany sinking the Lusitania<\/em> earlier in the year, the execution of Edith Cavell was used to inflame hatred toward the Germans, which in turn mobilized allies. The murky details of Cavell\u2019s execution, including the story of her fainting and then being shot in the head by a German officer with a revolver, outraged civilians and leaders alike. These stories encouraged the idea that Germans were brutal monsters.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: a propaganda stamp issued shortly after Edith Cavell\u2019s death. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Newspaper opinion writers weighed in with articles that questioned what type of people execute women. Acknowledging that she may have been involved in helping allied soldiers, this writer said that, as a woman, Cavell should have been dealt with differently:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a war degenerates to the willful slaughter of women and children it is time to stop it. Nations cannot afford to have such crimes charged against them in the histories of future ages. Men who kill one another in battle, risking their own lives in strife with an enemy on equal terms, may be accredited with all the heroic qualities of courage and manhood: but no such ascription may be accorded the others who slay women and children; and there never was a cause so holy that it could justify such acts.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Diego Union (San Diego, California), 20 October 1915, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edith Cavell, like the victims of the Lusitania<\/em>, began appearing in propaganda posters \u2013 which in turn helped to recruit additional soldiers. Her sacrifice made an impact and influenced British men. The week after her execution, British military recruitment doubled from 5,0000 to 10,000 soldiers. (6)<\/p>\n

Baron Oskar von der Lancken, the chief of Germany\u2019s Political Department at Brussels during the occupation of Belgium \u2013 referred to as the \u201cassassin of Edith Cavell\u201d \u2013 was still defending himself in the 1930s against accusations that he didn\u2019t do enough to stop the execution of Cavell. In this newspaper article, he blames the United States, who did not enter World War I until 1917, for not intervening in a timely manner so that he could convince authorities to stop the execution.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Detroit Times (Detroit, Michigan), 14 December 1930, page 34<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Von der Lancken said of the secretary of the U.S. Legation to Belgium, Hugh Gibson:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guilt for asking for my intervention only at a moment when it was too late to take any effective steps for the pardon of Miss Cavell falls upon the American Legation, particularly upon Mr. Gibson\u2026 It was up to Gibson, who knew more about the sentence on Miss Cavell and the danger she was in, to call for my intervention at the right time.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Von der Lancken continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy intervention against the execution of Miss Cavell had first of all only political and to a smaller degree general humane motives when I urged General von Sauberzweig to accept the appeal for mercy. Her heroism was apparent to me only later, and my regret at not having been able to save her was all the greater.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Edith Cavell was not the only woman that the Germans arrested or executed for espionage during World War I. Other women included Louise de Bettignies and Gabrielle Petit. Today, Cavell is known for her care of soldiers on both sides of the battlefield and her heroism. Cavell is honored with numerous memorials in England, Canada, Australia, and Belgium.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> An online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, is not only a great way to learn about the lives of your ancestors \u2013 the old newspaper articles also help you understand American history and the times your ancestors lived in, and the news they talked about and read in their local papers. Did any of your ancestors serve in WWI? Please share your stories with us in the comments section.<\/p>\n

_________________<\/p>\n

(1) \u201cWho was Edith Cavell,\u201d Imperial War Museum (https:\/\/www.iwm.org.uk\/history\/who-was-edith-cavell<\/a>)
\n(2) \u201cWho was Edith Cavell,\u201d Cavell Nurses\u2019 Trust (https:\/\/www.cavellnursestrust.org\/edith-cavell<\/span>)
\n(3) Ibid.
\n(4) \u201cEdith Cavell,\u201d Wikipedia (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Edith_Cavell<\/a>)
\n(5) \u201cBritish Nurse Edith Cavell executed,\u201d History (https:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/british-nurse-edith-cavell-executed<\/a>)
\n(6) \u201cNurse Edith Cavell and the British World War One propaganda campaign,\u201d BBC News http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-england-norfolk-34401643<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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