Women Of WWII

Nancy Wake

In 1943, in the midst of the Second World War, a charming Nancy Wake, nicknamed White Mouse, headed the Gestapo hit list. At the same time, the fascists had no idea what the mysterious intelligence officer looked like and where to look for her. For her head was promised 5 million francs. However, each time, clever Nancy managed to leave the Gestapo with a nose. This legendary woman, who passed away four years ago at the age of 99 years, was and remains one of the most successful scouts, a kind of symbol of the struggle for the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.

On account of Nancy Wake hundreds of lives saved by the allies, including the Chief Air Marshal of Great Britain Sir Lewis Hodges. Thanks to her, thousands of Jewish refugees managed to leave occupied France. In addition, she played a decisive role in Operation Neptune (D-Day) in Normandy. In France, Britain and New Zealand Nancy Wake has the status of a national hero. It was her biography that formed the basis of the wonderful film "Charlotte Gray" with Cate Blanchett in the lead role (Fitzsimons, & Daniel, 2010).

Nancy Wake was born in 1912 in the town of Rosenet, near Wellington in New Zealand. After 2 years, the family moved to Sydney. The future scout had no cloudless childhood at all. My father left the family shortly after moving to Australia, when baby Nancy (the sixth child in the family) had not even gone to school. The character, however, the future star of intelligence since the adolescence was militant. At 16, she ran away from home and got a job as a nurse. And then suddenly she was lucky - her aunt left a decent legacy to her beloved niece, and Nancy moved to the UK, taking up journalism. Work in one of the London prints did not prevent her from moving to France. In the 1930s, she worked as a correspondent for the newspaper Harest Media Magnates in Europe. On her journalistic account, an interview with Adolf Hitler, which was taken shortly after he came to power in 1933.

With the rise of fascism in Germany, this topic became dominant in Nancy's articles. A witness to the first crimes of the Nazi regime in Europe, she fearlessly denounced fascism in her publications. Then she vowed to fight this plague for life and death. It's amazing how much power was in this fragile fairy with the face of a film star.

In September 1939, when Hitler swiftly occupied Poland, Wake first faced the war face to face, organizing and supplying refugee camps. In November 1939, Nancy Has Brought For Secured French entrepreneur Henri Fiokk, who became not only her husband, but also a friend and soul mate. When France capitulated to Hitler’s regime in June 1940, the couple entered the ranks of the newly created Resistance movement. Nancy and her husband facilitated the transfer of Jewish refugees and allied troops from France to Spain.

Reference

FitzSimons, P., & Daniel, S. (2010). Nancy Wake. Bolinda audio.