WASPs: Women Airforce Service Pilots

W.A.S.P.s  were the women pilots during WWII and played a key roll in establishing the United States as a major threat against Hitler's acquisition of Europe. The roll for women in the Airforce emerged when there was a lack of skilled male pilots to take the newly produced aircraft into battle. Most male pilots were overseas fighting, thus there was a need for skilled flyers. To make use of the new aircrafts, the United States government launched a program to train female flyers. The sad part about this story is that female flyers received no honor for flying for their country, and had nothing that commemorated their efforts in the war. Of course it was revolutionary, and in fact there were few female pilots in service during WWII (if not none.) Nevertheless, women continued to get the short end of the bargain, and as the war in Europe concluded, they were no longer needed and their inspiring story came to an end.

My List is the Best List

Here is my list of WWII movies worth a watch:

The Great Escape: a movie on prisoners of war and their quest to escape a P.O.W. camp in Germany.

The Great Raid: a movie on prisoners of war and their quest to escape a P.O.W. camp in the Philippines. 

U-571: a film on submarine crews and their role in the war.

Hitler's Bodyguard: a series on the military channel illustrating the illustrious organization that was Hitler's Bodyguard.

The War: a miniseries on PBS, which contains real footage and photographs from the war

Women Needed

During World War I women did not have much involvement in the war, when it came to fighting. The women were forced to stay at home while the men went out and fought for their country. The immense number of men going out to join the army left a very high number of jobs at home undone. Since most men were gone the women were given the opportunity to fill in for the men. This gave them more power and rights. However, most of this control was stripped back away from the women once the war was over and the men returned. The only involvement the women had directly to the war was serving as nurses, working in munitions factories, sowing clothes and other similar jobs, but the women never entered the battlefields.
During World War II women had a more involvement in the battlefields. After the bombing of Pearl harbor people began to abandon some of the weak feminine views because they knew that more manpower was needed in the war. In 1942, the women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was established in a bill. This allowed women to go to combat in some areas of the military. Slowly new groups were made so that the women could have some involvement in the war. Like a new section in the Navy. However, they were still discriminated in lack of military benefits that most men received. It wasn’t until 1943 that the women gained full military status with the same benefits.
Comparing the role of women in each of these wars is very interesting because we see the evolution of women’s rights in this short span of time. In both cases the women were a crucial part to the war, but it is quite clear that during World War II they had more rights and power. However, we must notice that the women gained most of these rights because the countries knew that they need the women fighting and would probably not have received these rights if they weren’t needed.

The Riveter

World War II was fought on the battlefield by men as we know but at the same time we have learned that there is so much to a war than what you see on the beaches. When a hefty majority of the young men, a lot of the workiong population leave to go off fighting, in both world wars the women stepped right in to their position and took over the job of running the homefront. Now Rosie The Riveter was a propaganda poster designed to encourage more Americans to help the War effort and who knows how the war would have turned out without this inspirational photograph.

Pop Cluture 1940's

Enemy at the Gate- Russian WWII movie
Saving Private Ryan
BAND OF BROTHERS
The Diary of Anne Frank
Mein Kampf
The Sound of Music

World War II media

Books:
The Book Theif: about a young girl in Germany while the Nazis are in control
A Separate Peace: which we all know
The Sunflower: which we all know
The Upstairs Room: During the Holocaust somebody is hiding a group of Jews upstairs

Movies:
Atonement: to children are separated during the war. A love story where the boy is sent to war.

Role of women in WWII

Like in WWI, women helped out by assuming men's jobs. Women would work in the factories. Stalin labeled WWII as a battle of machines. The soviet union produced a lot! They produced 78,000 tanks and 98,000 artillery pieces. In the soviet union, the women worked in factories, railroads, and mines. The number of women working in industry increased by 60%. The soviet Union used women so much, that they were the only country to use women as soldiers in the war. 

The United States also used women in the war effort on the home front. However, the big difference with the United States home front and those of other places like Soviet Union, is that the United States didn't have a threat on their own territory. At the peek of the war in 1943, the United States were producing 6 ships a day. Women worked in the factories. 

In Japan, women were to serve for the greater good. Women were to have more children. General Hideki Tojo was against using women in the war. He said, "the weakening of the family system would be the weakening of the nation.... We are able to do our duties only because we have wives and mothers at home." Women worked more in places like farming and factories. The japanese government used chinese and koreans to meet the demand of workers, not their own women.

WWII things

sound of music- nazis

saving private ryan

sunflower- nazis

Maus

Rosie the Riveter

Throughout the two World Wars, the role of women has essentially stayed the same, except for the increased role of women in WWII.  Their involvement in the wars changed the social status and working lives of women around the world.  The service of women as "home front regulators" was crucial to allied success in both wars.  In World War II, women became iconic symbols of hardwork; Rosie the Riveter is a classic example.  The propaganda created by female workers inspired all citizens of the US to partake in the war effort.  Women have played key roles in both World Wars, and in doing so, have helped their respective nations.  Their work in wars also contributed to the great female suffrage acts during the early part of the twentieth century.  Without them, who knows what would have happened during war, both on the battle front and home front. 

WWII Movies

Saving Private Ryan- Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel.  A timeless classic, full of action and drama

Valkyrie- Tom Cruise, story of Claus von Stauffenburg and his plan to assassinate Hitler

Defiance- Daniel Craig, story of Eastern European Jews who survive in the Nazi occupied Belarussian forests during World War II

Band of Brothers- 10 episode Mini Series, following the missions of Easy Company, from the US Army 101st Airborne division, in WWII Europe.

Flags of Our Fathers- Clint Eastwood, chronicling the Battle of Iwo Jima from the American perspective

Letters from Iwo Jima- Clint Eastwood, chronicling the Battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective