The Pacifist

Edith Cavell was a woman like no other. She had a vision, a mission. She stood for her beliefs, no matter what the consequences. Her life didn’t belong to her, but to humanity. This was a woman who made a career in times where it was not ladylike to have one. She changed lives and saved millions of people along the way. And 200 young men. The story begins weeks before the outbreak of World War One. Edith runs the first and only nursing school in Belgium. It was founded by her and the brilliant doctor Depage. While she visits her family in England, the German army attacks neutral Belgium. She decides to go back to Brussels. Within weeks Belgium is overrun by the German army. Edith transforms her school into a red cross hospital where she takes care of Belgian, French and German soldiers. Her mission is to save lives, no matter if they are friend or foe. But after a couple of weeks, the first rush of wounded soldiers is over. All the armies have now their own hospitals and nurses. Her hospital is practically empty. She asks doctor Depage if she can join him to his field hospital in De Panne. But he refuses, he has chosen to work with Marie Curie. This is a devastating moment for her. Her whole life she had one mission: saving lives. And now she can't. She has to stand at the sidelines. But then, out of the blue, she receives a letter. If she wants to hide and treat some British soldiers. Brussels is now occupied by the Germans. And every enemy soldier she treats must be reported, so they can be sent to a German prison camp or executed. The always obedient Edith decides to save the men. At the risk of her own life. Before she knows it, she is part of the Belgian and French resistance, hiding soldiers in the basement of her school and smuggling them to the Dutch border. Meanwhile, the American government starts a huge campaign called "Brave little Belgium", gathering funds, flour, food and clothing to help the Belgian people. By accident, Edith discovers that this campaign is more or less a scam to feed the ... German Army. She decides to investigate this further and writes an article about it. To make sure the article gets across the border she smuggles it herself at the risk of her own life. She crosses the wire of death (a high voltage fence) and a minefield. Not everyone in her group made it. The men she saves send her innocent postcards to thank her... but the German police gets hold of them. They start investigating her, send spies, and finally, they arrest her. Meanwhile, the American legal aid has intercepted her article and sabotages Edith defence. Her lawyer is not allowed to see her, nor can he consult her case files. They want her head on a platter. And they get it. On the 12th of October, they execute her. But not before she saved the lives of about 200 men. 200 lives against 1, that's a win for Edith.