Women took on many different roles during World War II, including as combatants and workers on the home front. The war involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale; the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable, although the particular roles varied from country. Millions of women of various ages were injured or died as a result of the war.
Several hundred thousand women served in combat roles, especially in anti-aircraft units. The Soviet Union integrated women directly into their army units; approximately one million served in the Red Army, including about at least 50,000 on the frontlines; Bob Moore noted that "the Soviet Union was the only major power to use women in front-line roles," The United States, by comparison, elected not to use women in combat because public opinion would not tolerate it. Instead, as in other nations, about 350,000 women served as uniformed auxiliaries in non-combat roles in the U.S. armed forces. These roles included administration, nurses, truck drivers, mechanics, electricians, and auxiliary pilots. Some were killed in combat or captured as prisoners of war. Over 1600 female nurses received various decorations for courage under fire. Approximately 350,000 American women joined the military during World War II.
Women also took part in the resistances of France, Italy, Poland, and Yugoslavia, as well as in the British SOE and American OSS which aided these.
Some women were forced into sexual slavery: the Imperial Japanese Army forced hundreds of thousands in Asia to become sex slaves known as comfort women, before and throughout World War II.
Women soldiers and auxiliaries on all sides of the conflict, when enlisted in the military, were eventually taken prisoners of war, just like their male counterpart. They were often discriminated, particularly by the Axis and the USSR, which were more likely to violate the Geneva Convention.Among the earliest women POWs of the war were women who served in the Polish Army (Germans avoided using women in the military except as auxiliaries—Wehrmachthelferin— until later years); including Janina Lewandowska, Polish aviator and army officer captured by the Soviets during their invasion of Poland and subsequently murdered in the Katyn massacre.
Allies Australia
Australian women played a larger role in World War II than they had done in World War I. Many women wanted to play an active role, and hundreds of voluntary women's auxiliary and paramilitary organisations had been formed by 1940. A shortage of male recruits forced the military to establish female branches in 1941 and 1942.
Canada
When war began to look unavoidable in the late 1930s, Canadian women felt obligated to help the fight. In October 1938, the Women's Volunteer Service was established in Victoria, British Columbia. Soon, all the provinces and territories followed suit and similar volunteer groups emerged. "Husbands, brothers, fathers, boyfriends were all joining up, doing something to help win the war. Surely women could help as well!"Gossage, Carolyn. ‘’Greatcoats and Glamour Boots’’. (Toronto:Dundurn Press Limited, 1991) In addition to the Red Cross, several volunteer corps had designed themselves after auxiliary groups from Britain. These corps had uniforms, marching drills and a few had rifle training. It became clear, that a unified governing system would be beneficial to the corps. The volunteers in British Columbia donated two dollars each to pay the expenses so a representative could talk to politicians in Ottawa. Although all of the politicians appeared sympathetic to the cause, it remained "premature" in terms of national necessity.
In June 1941, the Canadian Women's Army Corps was established. The women who enlisted would take over Drivers of light mechanical transport vehicles Cooks in hospitals and messes Clerks, typists, and stenographers at camps and training centres Telephone operators and messengers Canteen helpers
On 2 July 1942, women were given permission to enlist in what would be known as the Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Lastly the Royal Canadian Navy created the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS). The WRENS were the only corps that were officially a part of their sanctioning body as a women's division. This led to bureaucratic issues that would be solved most easily by absorbing the civilian corps governed by military organizations, into women's divisions as soldiers. According to the RCAF the following are the requirements of an enlisted woman: Must be at least 17 years of age, and younger than 41 years of age Must be of medical category A4B (equivalent of A1) Must be equal to or over 5 feet (152 cm), and fall within the appropriate weight for her height, not being too far above or below the standard Must have a minimum education of entrance into high school Be able to pass the appropriate trades test Be of good character with no record of conviction for an indictable offence Women would not be considered for enlistment if they were married and had children dependent on them. Training centres were required for all of the new recruits. They could not be sent to the existing centres as it was necessary that they be separated from male recruits. The Canadian Women's Army Corps set up centres in Vermilion, Alberta and Kitchener, Ontario. Ottawa and Toronto were the locations of the training centres for the Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force. The WRENS were outfitted in Galt, Ontario. Each service had to come up with the best possible appeal to the women joining, for they all wanted them. In reality, the women went where their fathers, brothers and boyfriends were. Women had numerous reasons for wanting to join the effort; whether they had a father, husband, or brother in the forces, or simply felt it a duty to help. One woman blatantly exclaimed that she could not wait to turn eighteen to enlist, because she had fantasies of assassinating Hitler. Many women aged 16 or 17 lied about their age in order to enlist. The United States would allow only women who were at least twenty-one to join. For their young female citizens, Canada was the logical option. Recruitment for the different branches of the Canadian Forces was set up in places like Boston and New York. Modifications were made to girls with US citizenship, having their records marked, "Oath of allegiance not taken by virtue of being a citizen of The United States of America".
Women had to undergo to medical examinations and meet fitness requirements as well as training in certain trades, depending on the aspect of the armed forces of which they wanted to be a part. Enlisted women were issued entire uniforms minus the undergarments, for which they would receive a quarterly allowance.
To be an enlisted woman during the creation stages was not easy. Besides the fact that everyone was learning as they went, they did not receive the support they needed from the male recruits. To begin with, women were initially paid two-thirds of what a man at the same level would make. As the war progressed the military leaders began to see the substantial impact the women could make. This was taken into account and the women received a raise to four-fifths of the wages of a man. A female doctor however, would receive equal financial compensation to her male counterpart. The negative reaction of men towards the female recruits was addressed in propaganda films. Proudly She Marches and Wings on Her Shoulder were made to show the acceptance of female recruits, while showing the men that although they were taking jobs traditionally intended for men, they would be able to retain their femininity.
Other problems faced early on for these women were those of a more racial nature. An officer of the CWAC had to write to her superiors regarding whether or not a girl of "Indian nationality" would be objected to for enlistment. Because of Canada's large population of immigrants, German women also enlisted, creating great animosity between recruits. The biggest difficulty was the French-Canadian population. In a document published on 25 November 1941, it was declared that enlisted women should "unofficially" speak English. However, seeing the large number of capable women that this left out, a School of English was stabled for recruits in mid-1942. In 1942, Mary Greyeyes-Reid became the first First Nations woman to join the Canadian Forces. She was featured in photographs to represent native people in the forces, yet at the same time was not welcome in the barracks due to discrimination.
Once in training, some women felt that they had made a mistake. Several women cracked under the pressure and were hospitalized. Other women felt the need to escape, and ran away. The easiest and fastest way out of the service was pregnancy. Women who found out that they were expecting were given a special, quickly executed, discharge.
The women who successfully graduated from training had to find ways to entertain themselves to keep morale up. Softball, badminton, tennis, and hockey were among popular pastimes for recruits.
Religion was of a personal matter to the recruits. A minister of sorts was usually on site for services. For Jewish women, it was custom that they were able to return to their barracks by sundown on Sabbath and holidays; a rabbi would be made available if possible.
At the beginning of the war, 600,000 women in Canada held permanent jobs in the private sector. By the peak in 1943, 1.2 million women had jobs.Veterans Affairs Canada, "Women at War," Government of Canada, 2 August 2013 Women quickly gained a good reputation for their mechanical dexterity and fine precision due to their smaller stature.
Female munitions workers were sometimes nicknamed: "Bomb Girl", "Fusilier", "Munitionette", "Munitions Gal".Dickson, Barbara. Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo. Dundurn Press, 2015, p. 66. Canadian munitions factories that hired women include the General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited (GECO) and Defence Industries Limited (DIL).
Women in the GECO (or "Scarboro") munitions plant filled fuses, primers, tracers and tubes Dickson, Barbara. Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo. Dundurn Press, 2015, p. 18. In addition to buildings dedicated to munitions manufacturing, GECO also included a bank, offices, a guardhouse, a kitchen, proofing yard, changing houses, medical department, laundry, Recreation Club and more.Dickson, Barbara. ‘’Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo’’. (Toronto:Dundurn Press Limited, 2015)
Women also had to keep their homes together while the men were away. "An Alberta mother of nine boys, all away at either war or factory jobs – drove the tractor, plowed the fields, put up hay, and hauled grain to the elevators, along with tending her garden, raising chickens, pigs, and turkeys, and canned hundreds of jars of fruits and vegetables".
In addition to physical jobs, women were also asked to cut back and ration. Silk and nylon were used for the war efforts, creating a shortage of stockings. Many women painted lines down the back of their legs to create the illusion of wearing the fashionable stockings of the time.
Italy