Term paper on Women and World War II

Women and World War II

RESOURCE GUIDE

Women contributed to wartime efforts in both the military and on the home front. Some 200,000 enlisted for military service, most in either the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) or the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES). The number of wartime women workers increased by nearly 7 million, and by 1945 they constituted slightly more than one-third of the industrial labor force. The poster image of Rosie the Riveter became the patriotic icon for these women, who were doing work previously deemed fitting only for men. With the end of the fighting, most women, voluntarily or not, left their wartime positions and returned to private life.
Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Discuss the role of women in the military during World War II.

2. Did wartime industries discriminate against women?

3. Compare the contributions of women in wartime industries during World War II with those during World War I.

4. Discuss the legacy of wartime work for American women.

5. Discuss the contributions of female entertainers to the war effort.

Suggested Sources : See entries 42 and 46 for related items.

REFERENCE SOURCES

Women and the Military: An Encyclopedia . Victoria Sherrow. Santa Barbara , CA : ABC-CLIO, 1996. An outstanding reference source that chronicles both the contributions and difficulties women have experienced within the U.S. military.

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front . New York : Crown, 1995. Describes how society was changed and women’s lives transformed when they held ‘‘men’s” jobs during World War II.

Gruhzit-Hoyt, Olga. They Also Served: American Women in World War II . Secaucus , NJ : Birch Lane , 1995. Brief sketches of the various organizations in which women served including the auxiliaries of the services, the American Red Cross, the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots, and the Office of Strategic Services.

Keil, Sally V. Those Wonderful Women in Their Flying Machines: The Unknown Heroines of World War II . New York : Four Directions Press, 1994. Recounts the story of over 1,000 women pilots who flew in the military as part of the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. From 1942 to 1944, these pilots flew over 60 million miles, and thirty-eight women lost their lives in services.

Larson, C. Kay. Til I Come Marching Home: A Brief History of American Women in World War II . Pasadena , MD : Minerva Center , 1995.

Describes the achievements of women who participated in World War II. Previously these stories were buried in newspaper files.

Meyer, Leisa D. Creating GI-Jane: Sexuality and Power in the Women’s Army Corps in World War II . New York : Columbia University Press, 1996. Recent informative account of the sociological implications of women in the U.S. Army.

O’Brien, Kenneth Paul, and Lynn H. Parsons, eds. The Home-Front War: World War II and American Society . Westport , CT : Greenwood , 1995. A collection of essays examining the impact of World War II on Americans as it influenced gender, race, class, and ethnicity. Part of the publisher’s Contributions in American History series.

Poulos, Paula N., ed. A Women’s War Too: U.S. Women in the Military in World War II . Washington , DC : National Archives and Records Administration, 1996. Papers presented at a conference devoted to the examination of the role of women in World War II.

Putney, Martha S. When the Nation Was in Need: Blacks in the Women’s Army . Blue Ridge Summit , PA : Scarecrow, 1993. Story of the 6,500 black women who served during World War II, as well as the range of roles in which they were employed.

Tomblin, Barbara B. G.I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corps in World War II . Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1996. Informative narrative history of U.S. Army nurses during World War II. Begins with mobilization for war, leading to service in the Pacific, North Africa, Europe, and China-Burma-India and at home.

Weatherford, Doris. American Women and World War II . New York: Facts on File, 1990. Social history using personal accounts to examine the diverse roles American women played on the home front and in the military.

Wise, Nancy B., and Christy Wise. A Mouthful of Rivets: Women at Work in World War II . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. An interesting and revealing collection of the stories of 125 women who took ‘‘men’s jobs” when they were in the service: welders, truck drivers, factory workers, pilots, and, of course, riveters. The principal author served in the Office of War Information.

Zeinert, Karen. Those Incredible Women of World War II . Brookfield, MA: Millbrook Press, 1994. Brief and easy-to-read account of women in wartime; treats pilots, medical personnel, war correspondents, industrial workers, and others.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Litoff, Judy B. Since You Went Away: World War II Letters from American Women on the Home Front . New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Revealing collection of correspondence from women to their husbands, sweethearts, and brothers in service.

———. We’re in This War Too: World War II Letters from American Women in Uniform . New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Considered to be a valuable addition to World War II history, letters from women in the armed services, and the Red Cross provide insight into training programs, transportation, and war service.

Wingo, Josette D. Mother Was a Gunner’s Mate: World War II in the Waves . Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute, 1994. Humorous recollections of the author’s training experiences in her eighteen months in the WAVES beginning in 1944.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

The Hidden Army: Women in World War II . Botsford, CT: Filmic Archives, 1995. 3 videocassettes. 53-minutes each cassette. Contains three award-winning documentaries: The Hidden Army —how 18 million women meet the war demands on the home front; Women in Defense , narrated by Katherine Hepburn and written by Eleanor Roosevelt; and Army and Navy Nurse P.O.W.s in WWII , the shocking story of the first women prisoners of war.

WORLD WIDE WEB

Wilson, Barbara A. ‘‘Women in World War II.” Women Veterans . May 1996. http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets5.html Brief but informative historical treatment and useful link to further information created by a retired air force captain. Click on the captain’s home page for coverage of women in various wars.