32. The Betrayal, Arrest, and Trial of Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell’s efforts to help others were honorable, but also illegal under the laws of war. The Germans suspected Cavell, but could pin nothing on her, until she was betrayed by a collaborator. She was arrested on August 3rd, 1915, and imprisoned for ten weeks – the last two in solitary confinement.
In depositions to the German authorities, Cavell confessed. She admitted to having sheltered about 60 British and 15 French soldiers, plus over 100 Belgian and French civilians of military age, then helped smuggle them across the border. Her admission to having helped enemy soldiers escape to a country at war with Germany sealed her fate. Tried before a military tribunal, Cavell was convicted and sentenced to death.