Nurse. She was the daughter of the Swedish ambassador in Russia. During WWI, gazing down from the window of the Embassy in St. Petersburg, onto German prisoners of war on their way to the frozen tundra of Siberia, Brändström was moved to leave the luxury of diplomatic life and became a nurse. She ministered to the prisoners of war in Siberia, in part privately and in part as a delegate of the Swedish Red Cross and with the protection of the Swedish and Danish embassy authorities. The prisoners of war benefited tremendously and named her "The Angel of Siberia." After the war, she attended the orphans of the German soldiers who had been killed, and Russian prisoners of war. She married Robert Uhlig, and moved to Germany where she served among the destitute. When Hitler rose to power, Elsa and her husband were forced to flee from Germany and came to America, where she and her husband offered care to European refugees. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Germany, several streets and schools have been named after her.
Nurse. She was the daughter of the Swedish ambassador in Russia. During WWI, gazing down from the window of the Embassy in St. Petersburg, onto German prisoners of war on their way to the frozen tundra of Siberia, Brändström was moved to leave the luxury of diplomatic life and became a nurse. She ministered to the prisoners of war in Siberia, in part privately and in part as a delegate of the Swedish Red Cross and with the protection of the Swedish and Danish embassy authorities. The prisoners of war benefited tremendously and named her "The Angel of Siberia." After the war, she attended the orphans of the German soldiers who had been killed, and Russian prisoners of war. She married Robert Uhlig, and moved to Germany where she served among the destitute. When Hitler rose to power, Elsa and her husband were forced to flee from Germany and came to America, where she and her husband offered care to European refugees. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Germany, several streets and schools have been named after her.
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