Our lives are filled with moments of strength and weakness, but few have quite as many at such opposite ends of that spectrum as Dr. Anne Spoerry. She was a medical student who joined the French resistance during World War II, was caught and transported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, helped separate others out to go to the gas chambers, injured and killed the mentally ill, hid prisoners from guards and saved lives, was exiled by a French military tribunal, charged with war crimes (although not convicted), escaped to Africa, and then spent fifty years not talking about her past, becoming a ground-breaking “flying doctor” and doing a whole lot of good while still being a very complicated and difficult person. Whew!
This might not be a story that could happen today, with social media and Google searches that surely would have “outed” her long before her death, but it’s fascinating, unsettling, horrible and inspirational. I still don’t know how I feel about her, but John Heminway’s done an amazing job uncovering the totality of her life. Decide for yourself.
In Full Flight: a story of Africa and atonement by John Heminway
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