Russian & American Women's Roles in WWII

1. RRuussssiiaann && AAmmeerriiccaann
WWoommeenn’’ss RRoolleess iinn WWWWIIII
Created by Angel Jacklyn, 12/2013

2. Representation iinn FFaaiirryyttaalleess
“Folkloric heritage, combined with a general belief that Russian women were physically strong,
made it thinkable for women en mass to engage in combat in the Second World War” (Harris)
The Russian Woman
“Warrior”
“Although rarely encouraged to fight prior to the 1930’s, there were
historical precedents that made it easier for Soviet women to fight
than for their sisters in other countries” (Harris 2008) – i.e. Served in,
& prior to, the Crimean War (1853-56) & WWI
•Field of slain warriors by warrior queen
in magic tale Ma’ria Morevna
•Polianitsy/Polinitzi- Women disguised
The American “Damsel in
as male knights in medieval poems
Before WWII, American women always helpless & waiting
called byliny (i.e. Vasilisa Nikulichna
Distress”
to be rescued by men in cultural representations (i.e.
of Stavr Godinovich)
Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella)
•Armed women in novels/ films of 1920’s & 30’s-
Novels like And Quiet Flows the Don 1928, In the East 1936, Bread 1937 & the Film Chapaev

3. 1930’s Soviet
Women
Life before the War

4. 1930’s American Women: Life before the
War

5. 1930’s Women: LLiiffee bbeeffoorree tthhee
WWaarr
The Russians vs The Americans
• Russian women lived in a totalitarian state where
“getting married, staying out of trouble, and
raising a family loomed as tickets not only for
survival but also for the relative freedom
associated with the privacy of the kitchen,” as
best put by Wilma Rule and Norma Noonan.
• This was the beginning of Stalin’s 5 Year Plans,
where women were mobilized into the workforce
by Soviet state demand, dreams of rapid
industrialization and a need to fulfill production
quotas. The “ideology called on women to match
men’s performance in the workplace,” while at the
“same time excel as loving wives and mothers
who find fulfillment in organizing cozy homes for
their husbands and children” (Rule 1996).
• Low wages meant that most wives had to work in
order for their families to survive.
• Agriculture was the bulk of the female labor force,
with 20 million by 1939 while the next largest
industry, the service sector accounted for 6
million female workers. 2,500,000 were employed
in manufacturing, construction and mining.
• Beginning June 26, 1940, Soviet law stipulated
any absence or change of employment without
consent of the proper authorities constituted
punishment, as by the Criminal Code. This was
enforced until 1956.
• American women were generally
restricted to domestic home duties, with
the exception of nurses and teachers.
• At this time, people simply did not want
to employ women. Women were thought
of as less competent & able to do the job
as men.
• It wasn’t until factories were forced to
hire women in absence of men that they
figured out that they handled explosives
more carefully, worked harder and
produced in less time!
• Before this though, they remained
cooking, cleaning, rearing the children
and looking through fashion magazines
while waiting for their husbands to come
home from work.
• It was the era of white picket fences.

6. Russian Propaganda
Women portrayed as
motherly/ sisterly OR in the
hands of the enemy!

7. American Propaganda
Women told
the more you
lend a hand,
the quicker
your fathers,
husbands &
sons will be
able to return!

8. hhttttpp::////
wwwwww..yyoouuttuubbee..ccoomm//==QQGGpp9933iijjzzookk44

9. AAmmoouunntt ooff WWoommeenn iinn tthhee FFoorrcceess
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
Total
Recruits
Drafted Volunteers
Russian
American
Figures are as according to figures from Stalin, the Russians, and
Their War: 1941-1945 (2004, Print), which goes on to add, had the
war lasted a month or two longer American women would have
most likely been drafted for nurses.

10. Soviet Women in WWII:
Militarized Combat Fighters

11. American Women in WWII:
•Considered emergency “Volunteers”
• Restricted to NON-Combat Positions

12. Women iinn tthhee AArrmmeedd FFoorrcceess::
WWhhaatt wweerree tthheeiirr ooppttiioonnss??
• Spie, or the Resistance
• WAC- Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
• WAVES- Navy Women’s Reserve
• Marine Corps Women’s Reserve
• SPARS- Coast Guard Women’s Reserve
• WASP- Women’s Airforce Service Pilot
• Cadet Nurse Corps
• Army Nurse Corps
• Navy Nurse Corps
“General Eisenhower felt that he could
not win the war without the aid of
women in uniform” even if it was, for
Russia “were blind to one another’s
nationality. Friendships between people
the most part, clerical, cleaning or
in the army were really genuine.” After
manufacturing positions they
that date, nationalism became
relieved men of (WWII Museum).
instigated from above and “soldiers that
hailed from ‘exiled’ peoples [were] now
dismissed from the army” (Broekmeyer
2004). Quarrels ensued over who
belonged to the ‘bad nations’ and ‘good
nations’ of the Soviet state, and
language barriers added to that Americans
tension. • Spie, or the Resistance
• 586th Fighter Regiment
• 125th Guards Bomber Regiment
• 46th Taman Guards Bomber Regiment
aka the “Night Witches”
• Snipers
• Tankers
• Field Medic
• Mechanic
Unlike in the USA, up until 1943 the people of
Russians
Only 6,500 African American
women served in the US military.

13. WWoommeenn RReeccrruuiittmmeenntt
ooff WWWWIIII
• Russia is more flexible, and females
are drafted as early as 16.
• The US is more rigorous, restricting females more so
than men.
SU
uqeR
•Age generally 21 to 44 years
•US Citizenship
•Excellent character, plus witnesses needed
•Armed forces often required no dependents (i.e. children under
14 years old)
•In armed forces, 2 years high school
•In nurse corps, graduation from high school
•Eye sight correctable with glasses to 20/20 vision
•Hearing- “Ability to distinguish whispered words at 15 feet”
(Blitzkrieg Baby)
•Height and weight varied
•“Teeth in sound condition or satisfactory replacements,”
specifically for WAVES enlistees (Blitzkrieg Baby)
•Marriage status

14. TThhee RRuussssiiaann ““NNiigghhtt WWiittcchheess””
• One of their attack techniques
garnished them the “Night
Witch” nickname by the
Germans
• 1 of 3 woman-based groups
mobilized by military in early
1942
• Only group that remained
entirely female throughout
duration of war
• “At its largest size, it had 40
two-person crews” (Night
witches)
• Mission was to disallow
Germans peace at night
– Destroy tactical targets close
to front lines (i.e. fuel deposits,
ammunition dumps, group
troops, support vehicles,
bridges, enemy headquarters)
• Flew 23,000+ sorties and
dropped 3,000+ tons of bombs

15. OOuurr AAmmeerriiccaann WWAASSPPss • Coined first women to fly American
military aircraft
• Originally two groups of women
pilots before merging into one, the
Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
1. WFTD- Women’s Flying Training Detachment
2. WAFS- Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron
• 25,000 women applied, 1,830 took
oath & were excepted yet only 1,074
passed training
• 2 Chinese-American and 1 Native
American women were accepted; the
rest were white as no blacks were
allowed to join
• “Stationed at 120 air bases across
the US, assuming numerous flight-related
missions, and relieving male
pilots for combat duty” (Women
Airforce)
• Flew aircraft from factories to ports
and military training bases. “They
also towed targets for live anti-aircraft
artillery practice, stimulated
strafing missions, and transported
cargo” (Women Airforce)
• Between Sept 1942 and Dec 1944,
delivered 78 types of a totaled 12,650
aircrafts to needed destinations.

16. The Russian
Nurse
went into battle.

17. American Nurses
may have
occasionally
went overseas to
help, but
generally
stayed close to
home!

18. CChhaalllleennggeess ooff WWoommeenn iinn WWaarr
• Women faced sexual harrasment on a daily basis, but it was worse off for the
Russian women. Although both countries had integrated groups of males and
females, only Soviet women had to squeeze in little barricades with the
opposite sex for long hours during combat.
– This led to Soviet women being alienated and regarded with suspicion by civilians-particularly
wives, when they returned home from the war. “What did our husbands do
with them? And what did they do with our husbands?” was the attitude (Broekmeyer
2004). In Russia, jealousy was made worse by an excess of women.
Women tended to be underminded by men, and had to prove their worth to
the men.
In Russia, women had to piss in their trousers when in battle unlike their
male counterparts. However, this was not necessarily limited to women in
their country as training conditions could be equally deployable in the
USA.
In both countries, women were not always able to bathe. Even if there were
rivers nearby, it was impossible to access them privately with the amount
of men around.
In America, women rarely witnessed the rape and torture of their own people
and the enemy as Russian women did on a daily basis… uniform not
required.

19. American Women on the Home Front

20. RRoossiiee tthhee RRiivveetteerr::
HHooww iitt RReeaallllyy WWaass
“Sheridan Harvey explores the evolution of "Rosie the Riveter" and
discusses the lives of real women workers in World War II.
Sheridan Harvey is Women's Studies Specialist in the Humanities
and Social Sciences Division and senior editor of ‘American Women,’
a resource guide for the study of women's history and culture in the
United States,” as directly quoted off of Youtube.
http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v
=04VNBM1PqR8

21. Russian Women on the Home Front

22. EEnntteerrttaaiinnmmeenntt aanndd WWaarr
• In Russia,
strictly the
government
communicates
to women, as
everything is
regulated by the
Soviet Union.
• In the USA,
the
government
AND women
communicate
to women (as
free speech
here exists). American film actress Veronica Lake illustrates what can happen to women
if they wear their hair long in the factory.

23. DDeemmoobbiilliizzaattiioonn
Russia
• The gender of
imbalance of 1945
was 1.8 women for
every man. By 1950,
it fell to 1.5.
• Beginning Sept. of
1946, 7 million people
were demobilized. All
women were sent
home and expected
to devote themselves
unselfishly to raising
a family (a role that
was supposed to
“fulfill” her) and work,
as before, to rebuild
the countries
industrialization.
• To promote
population growth,
Stalin awarded
women who birthed 7
or more children
metals and financial
help. Of these were
the “Order of
Maternal Glory” and
the “Mother Heroine.”
•At end of war, the WAC and WAVES were the only
groups officially integrated into the Army. Still,
most of these women were demobilized and sent
home; a very small percentage remained.
•Women forced to give up their newly gained
industrial jobs to the men as they returned home
from the forces. In contrast to Russia, women
were expected to resume only household duties.
ehT

24. WWhhaatt WWWWIIII mmeeaanntt
ffoorr WWoommeenn
FFoorr tthhee RRuussssiiaannss,, tthheeyy ““ddiidd nnoott
wwiittnneessss aann eexxppaannssiioonn iinn wwoommeenn’’ss
ppoolliittiiccaall aauutthhoorriittyy..”” IInn ccoonnttrraasstt ttoo
AAmmeerriiccaann wwoommeenn’’ss nneeww ggaaiinnss,,
““iinnsstteeaadd,, tthhee SSttaalliinniisstt lleeggaaccyy
eessttaabblliisshheedd ppaatttteerrnnss ooff wwoommeenn’’ss
ppoolliittiiccaall ppaarrttiicciippaattiioonn tthhaatt
ppeerrssiisstteedd ffoorr ddeeccaaddeess”” ((RRuullee 11999966))..

25. Remembering WWoommeenn ooff WWWWIIII
http://www.screencast.com/t/HRsU1cF0R