The Belgian resistance during WWI was not a single organization but a collection of about 300 informal groups. These networks, often led by aristocrats like Prince Reginald de Croix, focused on intelligence, underground newspapers, and smuggling Allied soldiers rather than widespread sabotage.
Cavill's famous statement "patriotism is not enough" suggests a transcendent Christian morality. However, this contrasts with her reported last words, "I'm glad to die for my country." This ambiguity creates a tension between her image as a universal humanitarian and a nationalistic martyr.
The execution of a nurse, regardless of its legal justification, provided a powerful symbol for Allied propaganda. It was framed as an act of barbarism, galvanizing anti-German sentiment in Britain and neutral nations like the United States, far outweighing any military benefit of stopping her network.
The network was compromised partly due to its own carelessness. Allied soldiers who escaped via the network gave interviews to local newspapers or sent postcards to Edith Cavill to thank her, inadvertently providing German intelligence with valuable leads and prompting warnings from within the network.
Demonstrating the enduring power of her story, when Hitler visited occupied Paris in 1940, he specifically ordered the destruction of two monuments. One was for a French general, and the other was for Edith Cavill, revealing how deeply her martyrdom narrative resonated as an insult to German national pride.
Contrary to the propaganda narrative of a lawless murder, Cavill was tried under Section 58 of the German military code. Her actions, including helping able-bodied men join Allied armies, clearly constituted "war treason," for which death was the prescribed and explicit penalty for foreigners.
Cavill openly confessed her role in helping almost 200 Allied soldiers and civilians escape. This unusual honesty, potentially stemming from her pious Christian faith or naivety, meant she effectively condemned herself, making no effort to deny the charges that led to her execution.
Two months after Cavill's execution, a baby girl was born in Paris to circus performers who had been following the story. Despite the name being uncommon in France, they named their daughter Edith Giovanna Gassion, who would grow up to be the world-famous singer Edith Piaf.
The resistance network's downfall came from Georges Gaston Quillon, a criminal who posed as a French fugitive officer. He successfully fooled the network's leaders, including Cavill, gathered intelligence for two weeks inside her clinic, and reported back to his German handlers, leading to mass arrests.