Mr. Gahan, the English clergyman connected with the prison, was
permitted to see her a short time before her murder. He gave her Holy
Communion at ten o'clock on the night of October 11th. To him she
declared she was happy in her contemplation of death; that she had no
regret for what she had done; and that she was glad to die for her
country.
Brand Whitlock, American Minister to Belgium, and Hugh Gibson, Secretary
of the Legation, did all that was humanly possible to avert the crime,
but without avail. They were told that, "the Emperor himself could not
intervene."
Defending the murder, Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, German Under Secretary for
Foreign Affairs, callously disposed of the matter thus:
"I see from the English and American press that the shooting of an
Englishwoman and the condemnation of several other women in Brussels for
treason has caused a sensation, and capital against us is being made out
of the fact. Men and women are equal before the law, and only the degree
of guilt makes a difference in the sentence for the crime and its
consequences."
Monuments to Edith Cavell were reared in widely scattered communities. A
mountain was named in her honor. Her murder multiplied enlistments and
fed the fires of patriotism throughout the Allied countries. In the end,
Germany lost heavily.
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