Navigate to News section

City Mouse

Shivah Stars

by
Stephanie Butnick
August 11, 2011
Nancy Wake at the Australian war memorial in London in 2004. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images )
Nancy Wake at the Australian war memorial in London in 2004. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images )

Each week, we select the most interesting Jewish obituary. This week, it’s that of Nancy Wake, the fearless Australian who worked with the French Resistance during World War II. Though not Jewish, Wake’s actions against the Nazis during World War II grant her honorary admittance to the ranks of Shivah Stars.

The beautiful and daring Wake, who died Sunday at the age of 98, ran away from home at 16 and never returned. She would go on to grace the Gestapo’s most wanted list—nicknamed the white mouse for her ability to elude their grasp.

She may have used charm to navigate dangerous situations, but she was frighteningly tough (she reportedly killed an SS officer with her bare hands) and in possession of a wild temper. After the war, the U.S. awarded Wake the Congressional Medal of Freedom, and Charlotte Gray, the 2001 film starring Cate Blanchett, is said to be largely based on Wake’s own experiences.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.