Women's Roles During World War II

Mrs. Urbach's Multigenre Project

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Suggested Thesis:
During World War II, women of American greatly contributed to the war effort which resulted in their helping the United States to win the war.

How your 5 projects must support your thesis:
Your projects must reveal how women during World War 2 greatly contributed to the war effort and how that resulted in helping to win the war.

Research

Women and Railroads During World War II The industry that would carry the lion’s share of responsibility for achieving war readiness was the railroads. One unrecognized group of people that greatly contributed to this mobilization effort by the railroads was the women of America.

Rosie Pictures: Select Images Relating to American Women Workers During World War II The selected images were issued by the U.S. government or by commercial sources during World War II, often to encourage women to join the work force or to highlight other aspects of the war effort. Original titles and captions have been retained.

It's a Woman's War Too These jobs will have to be glorified as a patriotic war service if American women are to be persuaded to take them and stick to them. Their importance to a nation engaged in total war must be convincingly presented.
--Basic Program Plan for Womanpower Office of War Information

Women's Roles in World War II (click on the provided links)

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter During World War II, an unprecedented number of American women responded to government encouragement to enter the high-paying world of heavy war-production industry. Women who had worked at pink-collar jobs, or in lower-paying women's industrial jobs, flocked to war production work as an opportunity to learn new skills and make higher wages.

Tending the Homefront Woman power was the critical weapon in FDR's "Arsenal of Democracy," which was designed to overwhelm the enemy through superior industrial output. Approximately 12 million women worked in defense industries and support services across the Nation, including shipyards, steel mills, foundries, warehouses, offices, hospitals and daycare centers.

Women Remember World War II (click on the provided links)

WAR, WOMEN, AND OPPORTUNITY World War II opened a new chapter in the lives of Depression-weary Americans. As husbands and fathers, sons and brothers shipped out to fight in Europe and the Pacific, millions of women marched into factories, offices, and military bases to work in paying jobs and in roles reserved for men in peacetime.

What did you do in the war, Grandma? (multiple interviews of women)

Rosy the Riveter - Revisited (poem)

Production Soldiers More than 50 years ago, fire trucks raced through Huntsville delivering an "Extra" edition of the local newspaper. The 3 July 1941 Huntsville Times' banner headline trumpeted the construction of a $40 million war plant on the southwestern edge of what was then a quiet town in northern Alabama. A month later, the Army's Chemical Warfare Service broke ground on a new chemical munitions manufacturing and storage facility named Huntsville Arsenal.

Shipyard Day Care Centers of World War II:The Kaiser Experiment During World War II, the Kaiser Company built shipyard child care centers for working mothers.

Women’s Annual Earnings Are Substantially Lower than Those of Men During World War II, a number of states passed legislation to combat salary inequities suffered by women workers. Many unions also adopted standards to insure that female employees received the same salaries as males who performed similar jobs. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, the first Federal legislation guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, prohibited firms engaged in interstate commerce from paying workers according to wage rates determined by sex.

Gold Star Mothers/Sons in Service Flag The "Sons in Service" flag was used during World War I and World War II. Each family was entitled to hang a small Son In Service flag in their window; the blue star in the center of the red-bordered white rectangle signified a family member in active service. The star was replaced (or covered) with a gold star (in practice, yellow or dark yellow) if the family member died in action. (Hence the name of the organization "Gold Star Mothers" of women who had lost sons in the war.) There were other variations to the star for missing in action, injured, captured, etc, etc, but flags of that sort are rarely, if ever, seen.

Woman's Place After the War by Eleanor Roosevelt

World War II Posters: Women's Roles (includes civilian and military women)

Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II explores the evolution of "Rosie the Riveter"and discusses the lives of real women workers in World War II (watch the video or read the transcript)

The Home Front During World War II In this striking image, couples, family groups, and men and women in uniform, move through the monumental interior of New York City's Penn Station, illuminated by glowing lights and the bright backdrop of a huge American flag hanging within an arched niche.

Supervising Women Workers (1944) Management addresses the special problems of women workers with concern and a heavy dose of sexism. (Government Produced Film)

Bobbie Sterne, former Cincinnati mayor and city councilwoman, tells about her experiences as a nurse in WWII (Video)

Interviews:

In 2011, a person around 80 years of age would have been around 10 years old at the start of WW II; therefore, you must choose carefully concerning the age of the person you decide to interview. Unless a younger person in their later 70's has clear memories concerning this time period, I suggest you ask people who are 80 or older to consent to be interviewed.

Please review the information provided by the numerous links that are on this web page before interviewing someone. This way you will have background knowledge of women's roles during this time period and will be better prepared to ask pertinent questions.

If you are planning to interview women in our community concerning their personal memories of WW II, you may want to click on the next link:

Women of WW II Interview Template

Women in the Military

Women Air force Service Pilots (WASPs) (on the web page, scroll down to find this title)

What Was It Like to Be a WASP? (on the web page, scroll down to find this title)

Fly Girls All over the country, young women postponed their weddings, put their educations on hold, and quit their jobs to respond. From 1942 to 1944, more than 1,000 women were trained to ferry aircraft, test planes, instruct male pilots, even tow targets for anti-aircraft artillery practice. Despite serving with grit and determination, women pilots often encountered disbelief and resentment. Thirty-eight would give their lives.

The American Experience: Fly Girls

WOMEN PILOTS IN WORLD WAR II

WASP on the WEB On these pages, you'll find games, songs, video, records, links and great educational information on the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII

Women Were There! While Hitler was skulking around Europe pretending to save Germany the erstwhile military minds in Washington were stonewalling womens organizations, patriotic pressures, and anyone who had the temerity to suggest that women should be in the military. The politicians, in typical gerrymandering fashion, made flimsy promises of considering an auxiliary of sorts while quietly hoping it would all go away and secretly trying to figure out how to stop it. Fortunately Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers and Eleanor Roosevelt thought otherwise.

THE WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS Applicants had to be U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 with no dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more. Over 35,000 women from all over the country applied for less than 1,000 anticipated positions.

Angels of Mercy: Nurses' Tales

Nursing Posters from World War II The National Archives has digitized images of posters that were produced by various government agencies during World War II. Over 30 of the posters in this series depict nurses.

The Army Nurse Corps in World War II More than 59,000 American nurses served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.

WWII Women's Recruiting Posters During World War Two patriotism was as high as it has ever been. So was propaganda. And there was no televison. Thousands of recruiting posters and magazine advertisements were created by famous illustrators of the times. They hung in store windows, on post office walls, and in the lobbies of government buildings. Displayed here for your viewing are some of the most eye-catching ones that abounded in the '40s. Ironically women didn't really need these glamorous posters to entice them to join. Over four hundred thousand women accepted the challenge and served America in uniform in WWII.

Women Come to the Front The women featured in this exhibit were chosen because of the strength and variety of their collections in the Library of Congress.

Women Mariners in World War II Clara Gordon Main, a stewardess on the SS President Harrison was among the first American Prisoners of War. The ship was captured by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, while rescuing U.S. Marines from China.

Coast Guard SPARS (ca. 1943) Women in the wartime Coast Guard. (Government Film)

Army Nurse, The (1945) Shows the daily life and work of the Army nurse, including training and off-duty activities. (Government Film)

The Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS/WASP) Although women were not allowed to participate in battle, they did serve in so-called "noncombat" missions. These missions often proved to be extremely dangerous.

First Lt. Annie G. Fox, Army Nurse Corps First Lt. Annie G. Fox, Army Nurse Corps, was on duty at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. For her outstanding performance, she was recommended for and awarded the Purple Heart.

Oveta Culp Hobby:

Oveta Culp Hobby Biographical Sketch

Oveta Culp Hobby

Oveta Culp Hobby, Founder of the WACs And First Secretary of Health

YouTube: The Little Colonel

USO

Women in WWII: The USO during WWII The USO was formed in 1940 out of 18 national organizations, including the YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army, the National Jewish Welfare Board, National Catholic Community Service and travelers Aid-International with the intent of forming a wholesome recreation and moral supporting services to young Americans would soon be serving in the Armed Forces.

USO: Home Away From Home It was created to serve the religious, spiritual, and educational needs of the men and women in the armed forces. USO clubs were to be financed by the public through voluntary contributions.

Identified WW II USO Canteens As America mobilized, the United Service Organizations, USO, was formed in partial response to the need for providing Canteen services for the troops.