Brandstrom, Elsa (1888–1948)

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Brandstrom, Elsa (1888–1948)

Swedish-born heroine and nurse. Name variations: Elsa Brändström; Elsa Uhlig. Born Mar 26, 1888, in St. Petersburg, Russia; died Mar 4, 1948, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; dau. of General Edvard Brandstrom, Swedish ambassador to Tsar Nicholas II during WWI; m. Robert Uhlig (taught at Harvard University).

Known as the "Angel of Siberia," assisted German POWs in Siberia during WWI, in part privately, in part as a delegate of the Swedish Red Cross; later married and moved to Germany, where she worked among the destitute; with rise of Hitler, fled with husband to US, where they cared for European refugees during WWII.

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