Samantha K. - QRS

European Women in World War II

European Women in World War II

What roles did European women play in World War

II combat?

What roles did European women play in World War

II combat?

Many went into civil defense and the Women’s Land Army, but it began to change during World War IIConscription began in 1941 for women 21 years of age, which required them to join the armed forces

BritainBritain

Although women were recruited into the military, they were not allowed to fill active combat rolesSeveral non-combat units existed• Women’s Royal Naval

Service (WRNS)• Auxiliary Territorial

Service (ATS)• Air Transport Auxiliary• Special Operations

Executive (SOE)♀ Women as agents♀ Women as radio

operators in areas of Nazi occupation

In 1949 women were officially recognized as part of the British military

BritainBritain

British SpiesBritish SpiesAmong the most notorious British spies, are Lillian Rolfe, Denise Bloch, and Violette Szabo• Members of British Paratrooper Unit (FANY)

♀ Worked as underground spies in France after being arrested by the S.S

“All three were very brace and I was deeply moved. Suhren was also impressed by the bearing of these women…” – Johannes Schwarzhuber (March 12, 1946, at the Hamburg trials in which they were executed.)

British SuffrageBritish

SuffrageJohn Stuart Mill wrote The Subjection of Women which proposed for women’s suffrage• Petitioned Parliament in the Reform Bill of

1867Lydia Becker founded the first women’s suffrage committee, also in 1867In 1897 all women’s suffrages committees united to form the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Socialites At the start of World War I, women joined the war effort and temporarily halted women’s suffrage effortsIn February 1918 women over the age of 30 received the right to vote• In 1928 suffrage rights were equalized for men and

women

Cecily Margot Lefort

Cecily Margot Lefort

April 30, 1900 – May 1, 1945With husband Alex Lefort, opened their home for underground resistanceJoined the British Auxiliary Air Force in 1941

• Was sent to Special Operatoins Executive in London to translate French• Was arrested by the Gestapo

♀ Sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany♀ Was held prisoner from 1943 – 1945♀ Was gassed May 1, 1945 when she was considered useless to the

Nazi’s

Heroine of World War II

Similar roles to the British women• Nursing, air raid signaling, hospitalization,

rationing

Lotta Svard organization• Auxiliary work of armed forces• Largest voluntary organization in WW2• Helped Finland hold off Soviet forces

Did not typically engage in combatWas the first nation to allow women as candidates

FinlandFinland

Suffrage in Finland

Suffrage in Finland

The first major European country to permit women’s suffrageGranted in 1906Was also the first country to allow females to run in elections• 19 females were elected in 1907 to the

Parliament of Finland

Extensive role in the resistance movementWorked as couriers delivering messages from the cells of the movement to the printing pressesTook part in the actual combat• Warsaw Rising (1944) participated in the

Home Army♀ Wanda Gertz – commanded DYSK

- Women’s Sabotage Unit♀ Over 2,000 female pow’s held under the

German army

Women over 30 were granted suffrage in 1918

PolandPoland

Wanda GertzWanda GertzApril 13, 1896 – November 10, 1958Polish major and solider of the Armia Krajowa Polish defensive war of 1939• Participated in defensive

of Warsaw• Was a member of the

SZP (Polish Victory Service)

Organized and commanded the DYSK• “Women’s sabatoge

unit”

Was a prisoner of war in several campsAfter U.S army liberated Poland she became a member of the Polish I corps in the West

Third Reich offered positions to many womenAuxiliary units in the navy, army and air force• Auxiliary called

Aufseherin• Majority of women at

Ravensbruck (Concentration camp)

♀ Female Soviet POW’s placed in Ravensbruck

♀ Began arriving February 27, 1943

GermanyGermany

Suffrage in Germany

Suffrage in Germany

Was granted in 1918 after World War IWas revoked from 1935 – 1945• Under Nuremburg Laws

Female voting restrictions were also applied to all territories that were occupied by the Nazi’s during World War IIFull voting rights restored at the end of the war

Carrie Chapman Catt spoke of the women’s conference for suffrage that was held in Berlin.

“Twenty-five years ago a small group of women met in Berlin, Germany, for the purpose of organizing an international women’s suffrage alliance. At that time there was a law in Germany which forbade any woman to go to a political meeting. Yet the organization was effective. “

Therese Elisabeth Alexandra Förster-Nietzsche • Sister of Friedrich Nietzsche

♀ Distorted his work “The Will to Power” after his death

• In 1933 Elisabeth became a prominent supporter of the Nazi party

♀ Gave large funds to the party

Irma Grese supervised Ravensbruck, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen• Was nicknamed the “bitch of Belsen”

♀ Notorious war criminal ♀ Executed in 1945

Hundreds of female Nazi’s were executed for war crimes at the end of the war

Female Nazi’sFemale Nazi’s

Thea RascheThea Rasche1899 - 1971First female pilot in Germany• As a member of the 99’s

Was the only woman in the air show in BerlinWas awarded “wings around the world for peace”

Melitta Schenk Gräfin von

Stauffenberg Melitta Schenk Gräfin von

Stauffenberg January 9, 1903 – April 8, 1945German aviatorHer professional aviation abilities saved her and her family from being sent to concentration campsAwarded the Iron Class 2nd Class in 1943On April 8, 1945 she was shot down and later died from injuries

Was invaded by Germany on April 9, 1940• Called Operation Weserbung• Germany took over the economy

Women involved in the armed forces since 1934• Ground Observer Corps

Danish Women Army and Naval Corps as of 1946 Suffrage for women in 1908 in local elections• 1915 women received full voting privileges

DenmarkDenmark

Women have been serving in the military since 1938Women were allowed to serve in any branch desired• Including direct involvement in combat• Many women were involved in the resistance

movement against Germany

Directly after World War II (1947) limitations were placed on women in the military• As a result of injuries sustained by females in

the war

NorwayNorway

Women as aviators• Marina Raskova, known as the Russian Amelia

Earhart♀ First woman pilot in the Soviet Air Force

First nation to allow female pilots

The three divisions that women could participate in were• 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment• 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment• 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment

Women as snipers• Nina Alexayevna Lobkovskaya and Lyudmila

Pavlichenko killed over 300 German soldiers

Women as machine gunners, medics, political officers, tank drivers and communication personnel

Soviet UnionSoviet Union

Suffrage in the Soviet Union

Suffrage in the Soviet Union

Since women played a large roll in the war, they felt they particularly deserved voting rights• Many organizations petitioned the Soviet

government for female suffrage

Granted by the 1918 Soviet Constitution• However there were many restrictions• No direct voting by females

Direct voting was not granted until the 1936 Soviet constitution

Soviet and Russian Militias

Soviet and Russian Militias

Played a greater role in the military than women of any other countryOver 800,000 women served on the front line• 89 of which

eventually received the highest military honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union

Sexism still persisted however• Very few women

were ever promoted to officers

Russian AviatorsRussian Aviators

Marina Raskova was the first female aviator• First to become a navigator in Soviet Air Force,

in 1933• She convinced Stalin to create female sectors

of the air force♀ 586th Fighter Aviation Regime♀ 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation

Regime♀ 125th Guards Bomber Aviation Regime

Women flew over 30,000 missions• Several were named Hero’s of the Soviet

Union♀ Raskova included

Russian Land Forces

Russian Land Forces

Women were especially talented as snipers• Excellent hand-eye coordination required• Nina Lobkovskaya and Lyudmila Pavlichenko

killed over 300 German’s as snipers

Served as machine gunners, medics, tank drivers, political officers, communication workersWomen aided resistance movements again Germany • Zinaida Portnova – was awarded Hero of the

Soviet Union • Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya – awarded Hero of

the Soviet Union for work as a Partisan

Natalya MyeklinNatalya Myeklin

Born September 8, 1922 in RussiaCombat pilot in one of the three women-only Russian air units• Unit named the Night Witches by the Germans• Joined in 1942, at 19 years old• Flew 980 millions in total by the end of the war

In the years following the war, she worked as a translatorCurrently is a member of the Union of Soviet Writers

Lilya Vladimirovan Litvyak

Lilya Vladimirovan Litvyak

August 18, 1921 – August 1, 1943Known as the “white rose of Stalingrad”1943, awarded the Order of the Red Banner• Promoted to Lieutenant, then Senior

Lieutenant• 296th IAP was renamed the 73 Guards

Shot down and killed on August 1, 1943Completed 168 millions and had 12 victories

Frieda Belinfante

Frieda Belinfante

May 10, 1904 – April 26, 1995Leader of the Dutch Resistance movement• Mainly contributed by

forging documents for Jews to hide their identities

• Helped to organize the bombing of the population registry in Amsterdam

♀ Destroyed thousands of documents which helped many conceal their identities

Pursued a music career in the U.S, but was fired for being a lesbian.

“Quoi qu’il arrive, la flamme de la résistance française ne doit pas s’éteindre et ne s’éteindra pas” [Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished] – Charles de GaulleMovement against German occupation of FranceResistance groups consisted of armed men and women, underground newspaper writers and those that facilitated the escape networksCooperation with Allied secret services helped defeat the Nazi’s

French Resistance

French Resistance

French Resistance

French Resistance

Notable women from the movement include• Abbe Pierre• Lucie Aubrac• Jacqueline Auriol • Josephine Baker• Denise Bloch• Martha Desrumeaux• Marie Fourcade• Eilane Plewman• Suzanne Spaak• Evelyn Sullerot

Women as Spies

Women as Spies

French women served as spies for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) after the invasion of Southern France• Became a part of the 36trh Infantry Division

Women were mainly used for short-range intelligence workOdette and Simone, resistance fighters and intelligence workers were went to Germany• Forced the surrender of several German’s • Discovered information vital to France’s

resistance movement

French SuffrageFrench

SuffrageLouis Napoleon proposed universal suffrage in the Constitution of 1851• Democratic

caeserism, which was the policy used by his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte

1871 Paris Commune granted female suffrage• Suffrage revoked with

the fall of the commune

Was not extended to females until 1944• By Charles de Gaulle

♀ A French military and statesman

Tiny Mudler, a 19 year old Dutch citizen was a prominent leader of the underground resistance movement• “The German’s treated the Dutch very well at

first, to gain our trust. Then we began to see what was coming”

• Worked in the government office, distributing clothing, food and oil

• Rescued Allied airmen from the Germans

The movement destroyed German war industries and lifted Dutch morale

Dutch Resistance

Dutch Resistance

The Other SideThe Other SideMany countries and individuals tried to prevent or limit the amount of women involved with actual combat• Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway

the Soviet Union and Switzerland were the only countries in which women could participate in combat

Romantic relationships and friendships could potentially disrupt the unit’s capabilitiesFor many it was just because of tradition, which typically excluded women from combat• Virtually no women were involved in combat in

World War I

The possible subjection of women to sexual and physical abuse

The Other SideThe Other SideIt was believed that females did not possess the physical strength of their male counterpartsExcerpts from With the Armies of the Tsar: A Nurse at the Russian Front in War and Revolution• “Some remained in the trenches, fainting and

hysterical; others ran or crawled back to the rear.”

• “Bachkarova retreated with her decimated battalion; she was wrathful, heartbroken, but she had learnt a great truth: women were quite unfit to be soldiers.”

Effects of Women in the Military

Effects of Women in the Military

Female involvement in the military, especially in live combat helped progress women’s rights significantlyPrior to World War II, there were very few women actually involved in combat• By the end of the war women proved that they

were highly capable of fulfilling combative positions

Different countries allowed varying degrees of female involvement in the military• Soviet Union had the greatest amount of female

military involvement• In the majority of countries women lead resistance

movements

Lead to greater rights for women, and in many countries, namely France, universal suffrage for the first time

The EndThe End