Marie Elisabeth Louise de Croix ( fr. Marie Elisabeth Louise de Croÿ ; November 26, 1875, London - June 20, 1968, Saint-Benin-d'Azi ( Nievre ) - Princess de Croix and Solre, member of an underground organization during the first German occupation of Belgium , memoirist.
| Marie de Croy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fr. Marie de croÿ | |||||
| Date of Birth | November 26, 1875 | ||||
| Place of Birth | London | ||||
| Date of death | June 20, 1968 (92 years old) | ||||
| Place of death | Saint benin d'azi | ||||
| Nationality |  Belgium | ||||
| Occupation | |||||
| Father | Alfred Emmanuel de Croy | ||||
| Mother | Elizabeth Mary Parnell | ||||
| Awards and prizes |
| ||||
Biography
Daughter of Prince Alfred Emmanuel de Croig and Elizabeth Mary Parnell.
At the beginning of World War I , on August 22, 1914, she organized a Red Cross hospital in her castle in Beligny ( Nor ), and in December 1914, together with her brothers Leopold and Reginald, she joined the underground York network organized by Edith Cavell to transport Germans occupied Belgium in neutral Holland, soldiers and officers of the allies, who were behind the front line. Beligny Castle, located between Valenciennes and Maubeuge , five kilometers from the Belgian border, owned by the de Croy family, was used as a transshipment point [2] .
Until the end of the summer of 1915, when the network was discovered, about 170 people were transported. Edith Cavell was arrested in August, Marie de Croy - in early September. By a verdict of a military court on October 9, 9 of those arrested, including Edith Cavill and Philip Bock, were sentenced to death, 17 - to hard labor, and 8 - were acquitted [3] .
Princess de Croy was sentenced to 10 years and on November 5 sent to prison in Siegburg , near Cologne , where she became close friends with Baroness Martha Boel [3] . Severe conditions of imprisonment that undermined the prisoner's health, as well as repeated requests to Kaiser Wilhelm II to commute the sentence of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, papal Nuncio Eugenio Pacelli , Archbishop of Cologne, relatives from the German line of the house of de Croy and Empress Zita [2] [4] forced the prison authorities on July 4, 1917 to transfer the seriously ill princess to the hospital in Munster , then to Bonn . November 13, 1918, after the surrender of Germany, she was released [5] .
The memoirs of Marie de Crois about the German occupation and imprisonment were published in Paris in 1933, and reprinted in 2015 [6] .
During World War II, Princess de Croix harbored General Giraud , who escaped from German captivity, and was arrested in Lille for helping other fugitive prisoners of war [4] .
Rewards
- Knight of the Order of Leopold
- Knight of the Legion of Honor
- Military cross
- British Empire Officer
Editions
- Le Martyre des pays envahis. Souvenirs de la Princesse Marie de Croÿ, 1914-1918. - P .: Plon, 1933
- Princesse et combattante: Mémoires de Marie de Croÿ, 1914-1918. - P .: Omnibus, 2015 .-- ISBN 978-2258116702
Notes
- ↑ Albéric Cahuet. Six héroïnes (French) . L'Illustration . N ° 392 - 655 (06/28/1919). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Alain Chiron. Françaises sous l'uniforme, 1852-1993 (fr.) (05/15/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Chrystian Laporte. Marie de Croÿ-Solre, la princesse combattante (fr.) (07/13/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Généalogie de la branche belge (French) . Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- ↑ Marie de Croy témoigne sur la vie des prisonnières dans une prison allemande (French) (05/15/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- ↑ Sophie Humann. Princesse et combattante: mémoires de Marie de Croÿ (French) . Le Figaro (12.16.2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
Links
- Chrystian Laporte. Marie de Croÿ-Solre, la princesse combattante (fr.) (07/13/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Alain Chiron. Françaises sous l'uniforme, 1852-1993 (fr.) (05/15/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Marie de Croy Themoigne sur la vie des prisonnières dans une prison allemande (Fr.) (05/15/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Jacqueline de Croÿ. Pas d'amélioration depuis Siegburg 1914-1918 (fr.) (01/16/2010). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Albéric Cahuet. Six héroïnes (French) . L'Illustration . N ° 392 - 655 (06/28/1919). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Sophie Humann. Princesse et combattante: mémoires de Marie de Croÿ (French) . Le Figaro (12.16.2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Marie Croÿ (princesse de, 1875-1968) (French) . BNF . Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Généalogie de la branche belge (French) . Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Ivan Ollevier. Edith Cavell 100 jaar geleden gefusilleerd (nid.) (10/10/2015). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- A splendid heroine The British Journal of Nursing (07/19/1919). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.
- Princess Marie de Croy: Moving story of dignity and courage (English) (12/29/1915). Date of treatment September 8, 2016.