What was the name of the British nurse who was shot by a German firing squad during World War I after being court-martialled for helping Allied troops escape from a military hospital in Belgium?
Edith Cavell Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell (; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage. The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I
German occupation of Belgium during World War I war, was arrested after helping Allied soldiers to escape the country and was executed by a German firing squad in 1915. Another "résistante", Gabrielle Petit, who had participated in various forms of resistance activity, was executed in 1916 at the "Tir national" in Schaerbeek and became a posthumous national heroine. A resistance movement developed in Belgium soon after the German occupation. The resistance took various forms. Although some sabotages by the resistance, notably the destruction of the Brussels-Aachen railway line, were celebrated at the time, armed resistance represented a minority of their acts. Around 300 separate resistance networks existed which