How come there is such ignorance about womens role in world war II?

Question

A few days back i had asked the lads about the few in battle of britain.

One feminist actually remarked that women were denied their share of the glory.

What do we know about the following?

a) WAAF (Womens auxiliary air force - RAF)

b)All female VVS(Soviet air force) ground attack air regiments.

The famous "night witches" and fighter aces like lilya litvyak.

Answer 1

Interesting: there's a film addressing this - two american female spies who were instrumental in the final days of the war, but did not recieve thanks after the war. And obviously, there were other female spies, and female resistance agents in France, and women involved in smuggling Jews out of Germany etc...

More known at the time, there were such things as the WRENs in army situations, and women were "land girls" and did all the factory work back home as well.

Answer 2

I hadn't heard about this in Britain but I had heard about this in the USSR women were used as fighter pilots and snipers.

Most people don't know anything about history so they fill in the blanks themselves.

Answer 3

I'm not sure. I didn't really understand it until I studied in university. Now, I understand that the war was a major event that promoted change and equality (along with the Industrial revolution & Urbanization). But...I would have never known that without pursuing an actual history course...

Answer 4

Probably because percentage-wise, there are so few women who's exploits equalled that of men.

Plus, there aren't a lot of first name war heroes from WWII.  They're all generals and admirals, not front line soldiers.  You hear about Big Red One, not Pvt. Schmuckatelly (unless you're reading MOH briefings).

Answer 5

I doubt stories about female "war heroes" are any more true than that of that Russian sniper ace. Such stories of glory were to motivate the grunts.

The Russians tried to use female soldiers and quickly abbandonned the idea again because they didnt even stalled the enemy and any kind of equipment put in their hands meant wasting it.

There are aces with insane kills, like that German tank commander Weisshaupt I think which shot 144 tanks, but thats because he was driving an next to indestructible Tiger tank and not because he was some sort of uebermensch.

Answer 6

could partly be generational, also the govt wanted women in the home after the war and ran very effective campaigns to that end almost creating that creature of terror the fifties housefrau/wife. cheers good question.

Answer 7

I think deep down inside you know the answer, Women suffered the same fate in history as did African Americans, Japanese Americans, Native Americas, Troops from India, and a host of other minorities,

Remember who writes the history and that will answer your question.

Answer 8

women are always said to be inferior to men.. yeah, which is  not tru!

Answer 9

British women pilots during WW2 did not fly in battle, but they did fly in the Women's Auxiliary Airfroce, ferrying planes and dispatches around Britian.  The famous female aviator Amy Johnson disappeared over the Thames estuary while flying on a mission for them.

Women fulfilled many roles during WW2, but I think one of the biggest myths is that all women were at home before WW2, then they all went to work during the war, then they suddenly stopped again after the war.  This is rubbish.  Most single women were already working before the war, and though they might have done different jobs during the war, they still had to work when the war was over.  

Some housewives did go to work during the war, but not all by any means.  And after the war most were quite happy to go back to being housewives.  Being married and having to work as well was not seen as a desirable option by most women in those days, it was something you only did if you were very poor and had no choice.  'Juggling' a job and a family was not seen as the ideal in those days like it is now.