Summit Gist

This is Nancy Wake who was the Gestapo's most wanted person during World War 2.  ⁣ Wake was born in New Zealand in 1912 and was of European and Māori descent. In 1914, her family moved to Australia. At age 16, Wake ran away from home with £200. She traveled to New York City and then London where she began working as a journalist. ⁣ During the 1930s, she saw the rise in power of the Nazi Party. In Vienna, she witnessed “roving Nazi gangs randomly beating Jewish men and women in the streets.” She later admitted, “my hatred of the Nazis was very, very deep.” ⁣ When France was invaded by Germany, Wake immediately joined the French resistance. From 1940 to 1943, she saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers by guiding them through occupied France to Spain. During this time, she had numerous close calls with the Nazis, but always managed to elude capture. They called her “la souris blanche” (the white mouse). In 1943, Wake had to flee France because the Nazis had put a 5-million-franc boun...