World War II changed lots of people’s lives drastically. For six years many European households were suffering from lack of income, individuals were being taken from their families and being thrown in concentration camps. Imagine if this went on for a few years more? How much more damage would the Nazis have caused? Luckily, Nancy Wake was a strong-willed spy who joined the French Resistance making a big impact. Though many doubted, she ended up saving thousands of lives and the world from the dominant Nazi force.
Nancy Grace Wake was born on August 30, 1912 in New Zealand. Growing up, Nancy had a hard childhood, she was the youngest of six children and her Dad was out of the picture in her life by the age of four. When she was age sixteen she ran away from her unhappy home life to train as an aspiring journalist. Later, during training Nancy met Henri Fiocca and married him three years later. Together the couple moved to Paris and Wake began working for Hearst Newspapers. (1)
In 1933 Nancy Wake got assigned to interview Adolf Hitler. While going in to sit down and interview Hitler, Nancy saw the early persecution…show more content… They thought that because she was a woman she would be unable to complete tasks at hand. But yet, determined to receive respect Wake challenged the men to a drinking contest. She was able to drink at least ten gin and tonics a day and she beat every single man. From there she was able to get 7,000 mean to join the Resistance. (4)
During the height of Nancy Wake’s career in the French Resistance, she had accomplished so many hard tasks. Many of which she brings up in her book. Wake once said she found out that her men did not have the heart to kill a female German spy, but Wake did and she says she never regretted it. One of Nancy’s peers, Henri Tardivat said that “Nancy was the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts. Then she is like five men.”