Gerda Taro - First Female War Photographer

For a young women, like  Gerda Pohoryll, who had grown up in a German Jewish family in the midst of World War II,  being in a war zone was no foreign experience . After Gerda's arrest in 1933 for distributing Anti-Nazi propaganda, the Pohoryll family fled Germany for Paris, where a stroke of luck lead Gerda to find the job that would become her passion.

Where Anti- Nazi propaganda had once been the tools of her opposition, the camera would become her ultimate statement of truth and protest. Finding a job as a picture editor for  Allied Photo she met and fell in love with Andre Friedman, an Allied Photo photographer. Together the two photographed the first ever images of war that the world had seen, but selling that work as a woman and both as Jews was more than difficult. Together, they invented the famous war photographer, Robert Capa, whose work did sell. The secret of their true identities didn't last long, but by then, the strength of their work stood on its own and had opened the world's eyes to the true nature and horrors of war.

It was then that Gerda assumed the last name of Taro and Andre that of Capa. Together Gerda Taro and Andre Capa left war torn France for Spain, then in the middle of a civil war that would put General Franco in power for the next 35 years.  In an unprecedented move, the two risked their lives daily to capture on film the lives lived and lost in the battle.  It was in 1937 during the Battle of Valencia, a confrontation of which the world knew not the realities on the ground, that became her most famous. For they revealed with accuracy the struggle for power between the Republican's and the Nationalist's. It was in covering that battle that Gerda sustained fatal wounds dying of her injuries on July 26, 1937. She had become not only the first woman to become a war photographer but also the first women to die as one.

Andre Capa went on to photograph more of the war in Europe, his most famous being the Allied landing on the beaches of Normandy. Many years later a suitcase was found in Mexico packed with film from both Taro and Capa. Their images live on today and remind us of not only the horrors of war but of their bravery in showing the reality of war to the world.

Margaret Brown - "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

When Margaret Brown (nee Tobin) was born in July of 1867, the Civil War had just ended and the country was still reeling from the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution had recently been adopted putting an end to slavery and providing equal protection under the law to everyone including then freed slaves. It was a perfect time for the powerhouse that was Margaret Brown to be alive. The world was thriving in innovations that we take for granted today. Thomas Edison had invented both the phonograph and the lightbulb when Margaret was just a young girl, the first transcontinental railroad was build across the United States and Henry Ford had just introduced the assembly line. But for all the advancements the country had seen and progress made towards equality for African American's, the late 1800's and early 1900's saw the degradation of rights and equality for both women and Native Americans. 

Margaret Brown has, to the modern era, become best known for being the most famous survivor of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. While she helped survivor's escape the sinking behemoth, her greatest work in that capacity was on the rescue ship, the Carpathia where she organized the Survivor's Committee, raising over $10,000 for survivors. She also stayed on the ship until all Titanic survivors had received medical attention or were received by their families.  She used her new found fame after the tragedy to catapult her life 's work which  was ultimately devoted to women, children, and the destitute. Following her adult siblings from their home state of Missouri to Leadville, Colorado, "Maggie" helped to lead the first women's suffrage movement in the state, founding the National American Women's Suffrage Association and the Denver Women's Club, the latter which promoted literacy, education, women's  suffrage and human rights. She also organized the first International Women's Rights Conference in Rhode Island in 1914, which was attended in great numbers by people from all over the world just two years after surviving the Titanic disaster.

Coming from meager beginnings and having married a man of little means, Margaret was no stranger to a humble life. When her husband, a mine worker in the Leadville mines, suggested an innovation to the mining process that lead to massive success, he was rewarded substantially, thus making the family quite wealthy. From her newfound position, Maggie worked to help those less fortunate by working in the miner's soup kitchen, helped to found a catholic church and hospital as well as the country's first Juvenile Court, which our current system is based upon.

Being an outspoken advocate for gaining women's right to vote, Margaret set her sights on elected office, running for the U.S. Senate eight years before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment which granted women the right to vote. She also worked during World War I to help restore devastated parts of France and was hence given the French Legion of Honor, all this while raising two children!

And I think I've got too much on my plate :)

Margaret Brown lived until October 26, 1932 where she passed away in  New York after a power packed 66 years of life.

Harriet Beecher Stowe - the woman who helped start the Civil War

Harriet Beecher Stowe penned Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851 amid mounting pressures between the Northern and Southern states that would eventually result in the Civil War. Compelled to speak out against the recently adopted Fugitive Slave Act, a component of the Compromise of 1850, in which citizens of all states, both free and slave holding, were legally bound to capture and return escaped slaves from the south. The Fugitive Slave Act made it illegal to assist escaped slaves by providing them passage, food or shelter and was punishable with six months in prison and $1000 fine to anyone known to assist escapees, as she and her husband had done. That the Act financially rewarded officers who actively pursued escaped slaves made it all the more heinous.
Based on an escaped slaves memoirs,  Uncle Tom's Cabin was a fictionalized story that sought to bring to life the reality of slavery to the hearts and minds of those in the north. Initially it had been published as a once a week installment in the abolitionist National Era newspaper, but finding immediate success was published as a novel that following year. Stowe had struck a cord in a nation bitterly divided. Selling out of its first and second print runs, the novel quickly became a stage play and was  stated to have been the most popular book of its time second only to the bible.

After the start of the Civil War, Harriet Beecher Stowe had been invited to the White House where she met Abraham Lincoln. It is said that when the two met, Lincoln was quoted as saying "So this is the little lady who started this great war."  The following year Lincoln passed the Emancipation  Proclamation and in 1865, the war was brought to an end. Stowe spent the rest of her life advocating for the rights of women, making comparisons to the treatment and legal status between women of the time and slaves.
Though the book had come under scrutiny in the modern era, it was credited by historians as having helped to ignite the war that brought an end to slavery in the United States. Ms. Stowe lived to see the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) which allowed persons of all color, race, creed or previous condition of servitude,  the right to vote. Only narrowly, did she miss the passage of the Nineteenth which permitted women to vote. She died in 1896 at the age of 85.

Rose Valland and the Monuments Men

It is 1940 and World War II had been raging for two long years. France had just fallen to the Germans, who occupied much of the northern part of country, including Paris; home to the Jeu de Paume Museum. Within the museum worked a highly educated young woman named Rose Valland, who received multiple degrees in fine arts and art history from prestigious universities such as the Ecole de Beaux-Arts, Ecole de Louvre and Sorbonne University.  Having gained the position of assistant before the German Occupation, she was required to stay once the city fell to maintain the museums records.
For four years, the Germans used the Jeu de Paume as their sorting ground for art and objects looted during the war by the Nazi's, most of which was taken from private Jewish collectors, though some was also looted from French National Galleries. Once in the gallery, the art was sorted, with some pieces going to Hermann Goring's own collection (he chose 594 pieces) while the rest was to go to Adolf Hitler's Furhermuseum in Linz, Austria. The Nazi's cataloged and wrapped the art before shipping it by train or truck to hiding spots throughout Germany all the while not realizing that Rose spoke German and could understand what they were saying and where they were taking the nations art.  With her close proximity to the looting, she kept records of her own, working in affiliation with loyal truck drivers, packers and guards. She shared in bits and pieces her information with her former colleague, Jaques Jaujard, the Director of the Musees Nationalaux and the French Resistance. It wasn't until six months after the Allied Invasion of France in (June) 1944 that she finally divulged the entirety of the information she held to James Rorimer of the Monuments Men, a group of men and women tasked by Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect cultural properties during the war. Rose Valland not only was absolutely instrumental in the discovery of where the looted art had been hidden but in the restitution of nearly twenty thousand pieces of art.
Because of the risk she took to her own life to preserve hundreds of years worth of art, she became the most decorated women in French history having gained the following titles and honors:
French Legion of Honor
Medal of the Resistance
Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (by the French government)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (by the U.S. government 1948)
Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
And after twenty years of service to French art museums, finally received the title of "Curator" in 1953.

Many books and movies have been made about Ms. Valland including  the new George Clooney-written and directed film, The Monuments Men, based on the book of the same name by Robert M. Edsel. Rose Valland is portrayed by the character Claire Simone played by the lovely Cate Blanchett.

Women of the French Resistance - Helene Studler

It was 1939 and within the year France would fall to the German Third

Sister Helene Studler

 Reich.  In the northeast corner of France, where the borders of France, Germany, and Luxembourg intersect sits, what is now, the capitol city of the Alsace- Lorraine region, Metz. Being the last of the Medieval fortified cities in France, Metz held a particular interest to the Germans, and would eventually be captured and occupied by the Third Reich.
It was during these desperate times that the one hundred thousand villagers of Moselle were evacuated, being given less than a day to leave the city and thus many had to leave behind all their personal belongings. Witnessing this, Sister Helene Studler (1891-1945), from the Daughter''s of Mercy, used her truck to personally collect and deliver the villagers' belongings to them after their evacuation. That truck would be indispensable in months to come. After organizing a group of volunteer nurses to provide care and food for a column of prisoners being marched toward Metz, she then used that truck to bring food, supplies and clothing to those prisoners in the stalags. Once there she had to force open the door to get the supplies to them. Knowing that desperate times call for bold action, Helene Studler took it upon herself to set up an organized group of smugglers to make an escape system for the prisoners. During that time she saved over 2000 Frenchmen by helping them to escape to the border and to their safety.  She also used her truck to hide prisoners that she herself drove to safety.
But by 1941 the Gestapo had figured out who she was and what she was doing and had her arrested. During her imprisonment Sister Helene's health declined and she (amazingly) was released early because of it.  She must have had an iron will to survive because she continued her work immediately upon her release smuggling prisoners to the border. However, it wasn't long before the Gestapo was onto her again. Fleeing to Lyon for her own safety, she left the Daughter's of Charity behind using her connections to come to the aid of the French Resistance where she helped them with General Henri Giraud's escape.
It is said that at her sick bed (1945) , the General pinned on her the Legion of Honor and kissed her hand. She never lived to see the U.S. Third Army liberate the city of Metz nor the end of the war but thousands of men who survived those horrors have her to thank for her courage, bravery and ultimate dedication to the assistance of those in need.
She is laid to rest in Metz where her liberated prisoners erected a memorial in her honor in front of the hospice from which she worked during her time with the Daughter's of Mercy.  

Joan of Arc

The Hundred Years War had been raging for nearly the entirety of the
Fourteenth Century. Having employed "scorched earth" tactics against
its enemy, England had laid to waste many of the villages and much of the agricultural land in France,  financially crippling the French population.
By the time Joan of Arc is born on January 6, 1412, France had barely overcome the ravages of the Black Plague, which devastated the European Continent in the first half of the century before they were again assaulted by the dynastic Hundred Years War in which a very "Game of Thrones" battle ensued for the French throne  for the remainder of the 14th century and into the next.
England enjoyed a long series of victories over the French that lasted generations, beating down the French peoples so greatly as to reduce their population significantly not only by means of war, but through the resulting epidemics, civil wars, and famine.
It is not until 1429, nearly one hundred years since the wars inception, that France finds a glimmer of hope in a young woman named Jehanne d'Arc. (Some records show that she was also referred to as Jehanne Romee, her mother's maiden name, though at her court trail she referred to herself as Jehanne la Pucelle, or "Joan the Maid".)
Having had a vision, while alone in a field as a young twelve year old girl, Joan stated that the Saint's Catherine, Michael and Margaret appeared to tell her to held rid France of the enemy and bring the Dauphin (uncrowned King) of France, Charles, VII to Reims for his rightful coronation. For five years her vision fuels her destiny until at last,  she travels to the French garrison commander to make a military prediction that was laughed off until she was deemed to be correct. The credibility of her prediction gained her an audience with the Dauphin Charles in which she so boldly asked to travel as the leader of his Army on a relief mission  to the town of Orleans. It is said that her request was granted due in part to her courage and intelligence but also that France having tried every other tactic was out of options and thus decided to try something different.
Joan changed the way the French military met their opponent in the field thus reversing the tide of fortune in France's favor (for the first time since the war's start) and gained her the support of previous naysayers. With her standard and sword she lead her men into a series of successful battles that ultimately lead to King Charles coronation.
Her success was short lived though as she was captured by the English, tried and convicted of heresy shortly after in 1430. King Charles VII who, without her help, never would have ascended the throne, betrayed her by apathetically refusing to save her life when he could.  Joan was ultimately burned at the stake as a result. Nearly a quarter of a century later, her trial was reviewed and nullified by the Pope, claiming her trial illegal and her death unjustified. He deemed her a martyr. She has become a symbol of French national pride, and a patron saint to many including women of the armed forces.  

Happy Birthday Jehanne.

St. Lucia - Winter Festival of Light

When the nights are long and dark, when the cold etches itself into our bones and when the days are seemingly over before they've begun, the Winter Festivals of Light carry us in their arms to Spring's doorstep. Feasts, festivals and holy days sprinkle the weeks between Hanukah and the New Year lifting our spirits and brightening the darkness.

Tomorrow, December 13, marks the Feast day of Saint Lucia, (also referred to as St. Lucy or the Goddess Lucia) a young Christian martyr who lived in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, Italy from 284-304 ad. The Feasts of Saint Lucia have spread far and wide throughout the world which is in and of itself, quite remarkable. Most notably is that an Italian Saint would be predominantly celebrated in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark so early in history.
Whether one knows of the legends surrounding St. Lucia, her image is easily invoked: a young woman robed in white with a sash of red (signifying her martyrdom) adorned with a crown of candles upon her head (yes- they're lit. Getting the wax out of her hair must not have been an easy feat.) Sometimes she is carrying a tray laden with food while other times the tray instead holds a set of eyes.
Multiple legends are attributed to St. Lucia that influence not only the rituals surrounding her feast day but also that of her image throughout time.
The first is that St. Lucia, dedicating her life to her faith, carried baskets of food to persecuted Christians, who had hidden themselves in underground tunnels, using a a crown of candles to light her way. Today, St. Lucia is honored and celebrated on her feast day by young women who are chosen to deliver food to their families and communities dressed as St. Lucia in her white and red, complete with the crown of lit candles.
The second legend shares with the first St. Lucia's spirit of devotion and generosity. In this, she is betrothed to a wealthy man who learns that she has given away a significant portion of his money and jewels to the poor and needy. Enraged, he tries to have her killed, but the oxen to whom she is bound  can't pull her. Then he tries to burn her, but she won't burn. Ultimately, she meets her end by the sword. Since her veneration, St. Lucia has been called upon to care for and feed the poor and starving.
And in the third, she is again betrothed to a wealthy man, the arrangement made by her sickly mother (who only wants the best for her I'm sure)  but the young and beautiful Lucia is devastated and takes matters into her own hands by poking her eyes out so as to be so unattractive, the young man backs out of the marriage. It must be said here, however, that it was reported that when she was buried, her eyes were intact. Because of this association with eyes and sight, St. Lucia has become the patron saint of the blind and the protector of sight. She also has been called the Goddess of Childbirth who opens the eyes of infants. Images of the young saint carrying a tray with eyes upon it have been attributed to this legend, however, in one that I discovered, the hypothesis was given that it's possible that images of her carrying the small cakes upon her tray were mistaken for eyes out of which grew the third legend.
As the legend of Saint Lucia traveled North, her story was combined with that of the Nordic Goddess Freya. Both Goddesses are associated with sun symbols such as that representing the Winter Solstice, the original day of her Feast. According to the Julian calendar, December 13 was the longest night of the year but was adjusted to the Gregorian calendar date of December 21, the day we now celebrate Winter Solstice.