Arthur Zimmermann - Nurse Edith Cavell's Execution

Nurse Edith Cavell's Execution

Arthur Zimmermann as foreign secretary also felt called upon to comment on Edith Cavell's execution by firing squad on October 12, 1915. The incident had caused a sensation in the UK and US press and political capital was being made out of it. He began by saying that "it was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed", but that it was necessary.

He continued by saying that although it was a terrible thing that the woman had been executed, consideration should be given to the consequences if a state, particularly one at war, were to leave women unpunished after they had committed crimes aimed at the safety of its armies. No criminal court in the world – least of all one with jurisdiction over the laws of war – would make such a distinction (as man and woman are equal before the law), etc. He had before him the court's verdict and was "convinced that no court in the world would have given any other verdict", and so on.

Looked at in those days, although it was part of his office to defend the indefensible, to the world it would have been easy to condemn him for this, especially since these crimes in peacetime almost certainly would have been no crimes at all. But with hindsight, we have gained some understanding of some of the processes which caused these "miscarriages" of justice, especially since the offence of "cowardice before the enemy", for example, was punishable by firing squad in most armies.