Women And War Essay, Research Paper

Trying to hold the homefront together while there was a war waging abroad was not an

easy task for women during World War I and II. Women were not only asked to complete the

daily chores that were normally expected of them, but they were asked to go to work. Suddenly

their very private lives were turned into a very public and patriotic cause.

Traditionally the woman’s place was thought to be in the home. She was responsible for

cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, and looking her best. So when war broke out it

was clear that America would not be able to win either of the World War’s without the help of

their women, the “traditional” housewife and mother turned into wartime worker. This is the

same for Germany. The men realized it would not be possible for them to continue their wartime

efforts without the help and support of the Nazi women.

World War I was a turning point in American history for women. Women had to put

aside their feminist movement and class issues because their national identity was seen as more

important then their own more private issues. They were going to participate and do their best

whether or not they received recognition, and even though they put their movements aside they

still stayed organized in their women’s groups and networks.

The Nazi women are very much like the American women in some respects. At the

beginning, before the war and before Hitler took power, they felt as if Liberalism was not doing

anything for them and it wasn’t working to anyone’s advantage. “Like their male counterparts,

Nazi women expressed contempt for democracy, liberalism, individualism, and decadence.”

(Koonz 97) The women were working long, hard hours in factories with very low wages, and

they felt economically exploited. When Nazism was introduced they supported it because they

felt it was a better alternative and the women felt a sense of unity not only with themselves, but

also with the men. In some respect one could call it a sense of nationalism, much like what the

American women had during both the World War’s. The Nazi women, unlike the American

women, went through three phases as Hitler was coming to power. The first, “women struggled

shoulder to shoulder with their male comrades.” And After Hitler gained control he “ordered

employed women to relinquish their jobs and dedicate there full energies to rearing large

families.” The third phase was when they were preparing for a war and Hitler sent the women

back out to work. But throughout each of these stages the women were considered unimportant

by the Nazi men, yet crucial if they should succeed. (Koonz 97)

American women were crucial to the success for the World War’s, and they were never

considered unimportant. In fact, they were considered so important that after the first World War

they were granted suffrage as a reward for all their hard work and support during the war. After

World War I when they received their equal rights women began cutting their hair short. The

new fashion trend was both a trend and a political statement. It was a blurring of the gender lines

showing that both men and women could be considered the same and equal. Some critics found

“two aspects of the new styles particularly offensive: first, their ability to blur the boundaries of

sexual difference, causing women not only to look like men, but also to act like men, and,

second, their apparent lack of modesty.” (Roberts 74)

During the war women had adopted a minimalist style that included efficient dressing and

this style carried over after the war. These new styles were considered to be “the spirit of the

era,” and “a sign of the times.” (Roberts 72) Some “post war observers interpreted it as a visible

language for the wars social upheaval.” (Roberts 73). Actually, the post war fashion was

symbolic of the new physical mobility and freedom, not only in their dress, but also in the world

about them. The war opened up a lot of new opportunities for the American women and the

direct result of the war for women was liberation and the fashion was “a visual language of

liberation.” (Roberts 73)

When World War II broke out the government once again teamed up with industry, the

media, and women’s organizations in an effort to urge them to once again join the labor force

because once again it was a patriotic duty to do so. This feeling of nationalism once again

swooped America much the same as it swooped through Germany. Both men and women were

affected by this sense of nationalism. The men went off to fight for their country in both

Germany and America. The women not only tended to their wife and motherly roles, but they

also became the breadwinners of the family because their sons and husbands went off to war.

In Germany, the women would help the war not only by going to work, but also by

spreading Hitler’s propaganda. While the men joined the army, the women joined their

organizations that dealt with home economy and child care. The women in Germany

participated in the war in many ways they were “recruited into the military as scouts, saboteurs,

medics, communications aides, and messengers.” (Koonz 108) Women who opposed the Nazi’s

in Germany also participated in roles the Nazi soldier’s would not have guessed they would. The

women used their womanly charms to conceal illegal pamphlets hidden either on their bodies or

in something they were carrying and also to harbor Jews and others who were hunted by the

Nazi’s.

In America the women were also participating in the war efforts not only by going out to

work and performing some of the jobs men used to do, but also as nurses alongside the men in

battle. They also participated as administrators, clerical worker’s, driver’s, and Nurse’s Aids.

Both the Nazi and American women were very important to their countries during the

war, but the American women were treated with a greater respect for their efforts. They were not

seen only as motherly helpers as the Nazi women were sometimes viewed by the Soldier’s.

Instead they were seen as concerned helpful people, although, not equal to the men. After each

war it seems the American women gained a little more in a sense of equality then the Nazi

women did.

The development of wartime economy had given women more freedom than they ever

had before. Though they did face some discrimination in the workplace, and would face much

more in the future, it could be considered minimal compared to what it had been pre-World War

II. For the first time, women were able to experience some sort of social and economic mobility.

Suddenly women were faced with choices, one’s that had not previously been there before the

World War’s, and by exercising these choices they were able to explore their own independence

and individuality.

One thing is for certain, the effects of the World War’s would be felt for years to come. Women

in every country and on either side of the war, had experienced new opportunities, a sense of

independence, and were experiencing their own individuality. The war allowed women to make

decisions, and it gave them a chance to fight for their right’s. And there is no doubt that the

consequences of the World War’s (discrimination, job cuts, wage inequalities) led to the

development of many of the civil rights movement’s of the 1950’s.

Bibliography

Koonz, Claudia, “Mothers in the Fatherland.” Course Packet Pages 95-109.

Roberts, Mary Louise, “Women are Cutting their Hair as a Sign of Sterility,” from Civilization without Sexes.

Course Packet Pages 71-86.

Robinson-Dunn “The French Resistance and World War II” S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook University. April 13, 2000.

Robinson-Dunn “Women and Fascism” S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook University. April 11, 2000.

Robinson-Dunn “Women and World War I” S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook University. April 4, 2000.

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