…Nancy Wake, an Australian woman, working with the French Resistance, was responsible for a major push to defeat the Nazis in France?
Nancy was called ‘The White Mouse’ by the Nazis for her ability to consistently escape their traps and disappear.
Nancy, a very feminine socialite married to a wealthy Frenchman, witnessed a Pregnant woman tied to a pole and her belly ripped open and left to die, with her 2 yr old watching. Though Nancy was already driving an ambulance and smuggling Allied soldiers across the border to freedom, this event determined her decision to get into the “real” fight. Crossing the Pyrenees in winter to get to Britain, she joined the SOE for training and support. After training, she parachuted into enemy territory in France and became a leader among the Maquis Resistance fighters in France. For one year she directed all parachute drops of weapons and goods and trained the Maquis to fight. They all had great respect for her.
Nancy Wake became the most decorated person in WWII receiving medals from France, Britain, U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
“Nancy Wake: Biography of Our Greatest World War II Heroine” by Peter Fitzsimons
