? ?
[cheerful music]
Mildred Fish grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and loved the vibrant German community.
But this community was in danger.
In 1917,
the United States battled Germany in World War I
and Americans became scared of their German neighbors.
Mildred watched as the community she loved
was torn apart by fear and hate.
Years later,
when Mildred became a teacher at the University of Wisconsin,
she met Arvid Harnack, a scholar from Germany.
[cheerful music]
Mildred and Arvid studied together.
They became passionate about German culture, equal rights,
and each other.
? ?
[crickets chirping]
[soft piano music]
After they moved to Germany, Arvid worked for the government
while Mildred made new friends
who shared her interests in equal rights and German culture.
But Germany was in danger.
World War I left many Germans poor and scared.
In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi party,
used this fear to gain control of the country.
He spread lies to make Germans hate each other
and attacked anyone who would not swear loyalty to him.
Control of Germany wasn't enough;
Hitler's desire to take over the world started World War II.
The German community that Mildred loved
was about to be torn apart.
[harsh German voices]
[boots marching]
Mildred and Arvid were forced to live under Nazi rule.
So they began to secretly fight against the Nazis.
Arvid used his government job to steal Nazi secrets.
Mildred and her friends snuck the information
to the United States and the Soviet Union.
They knew that if they were caught they might be killed.
Despite the risks, they tried to warn the Soviet Union
of Hitler's plan to attack Stalingrad.
If the Nazis are defeated there,
it could change the course of World War II.
[shortwave radio transmits Morse code beeps]
[airplane engines and bombs]
The Nazis suffered huge losses during the battle.
The Soviet Union was desperate to get more information
and tried to contact the Harnacks.
[Morse code beeps on radio]
But the Nazis intercepted the radio signal.
[Morse code on shortwave radio] [running and breathing fast]
Mildred, Arvid, and their friends
were captured and tried for treason.
Arvid knew the Nazis were going to kill him.
He took the blame to spare Mildred's life.
Arvid was executed and Mildred was thrown in jail.
But Hitler wasn't satisfied.
He blamed Arvid and Mildred for losses during the war
and demanded that Mildred pay the ultimate price.
Mildred stood up for what was right until the very end.
Her last words were "And I have loved Germany so much."
[somber piano music]
Two years after Mildred was killed,
Hitler and the Nazis lost World War II.
Wisconsin declared September 16th "Mildred Fish Harnack Day"
to honor her selfless actions.
[gently rowing boat in water]