During World War II, few women worked as spies, but those that did were good at their jobs. One of the most successful spies had one leg and a mountain of determination. Virginia Hall, or the limping lady, had the title of the most feared Allied spy and was the only civilian woman to receive the Distinguished Service Cross. She was considered one of the best spies during WWII because of her skills in disguise, her skill in recruiting, and her sheer grit and determination. Virginia Hall had many different disguises while stationed in France, but she has two majorly notable disguises. Her first disguise was, “a New York Post reporter from Lyon to the Vichy government.”[1] This position allowed her to send valuable information back to the Special …show more content…
According to one of her activity reports (see Image 1)[3], they bombed railroads and bridges, captured Gestapos, and blocked Natzi communications. Even after Virginia had to flee that area, she established a strong enough network that they continued without her presence. At her next station, she led a group of revolutionaries of approximately 100 men. She split her men into four groups of twenty-four and organized the “coordination of airdrops.destroying railroad lines, bridges and disrupting communications.”[4] She designed a new form of guerrilla warfare while leading her men and is still recognized for her genius today. In an interview with the Smithsonian, Sonia Purnell, the author of her biography, says, “Talking to people there [the CIA headquarters], they pointed to Operation Jawbreaker in Afghanistan, and how they drew on the processes that she pioneered”[5] She and her men were constant thorns in the Nazi side and played a part in making D-Day successful. Due to her skill in recruitment, Virginia Hall set up multiple resistance networks and helped make D-Day a success. Virginia Hall was a very successful spy, but her personality was one of the things that made her so
Spies are found all throughout the world. They are most likely looking for clues to help another person. Believe it or not, spies were sent out from the North and South during the Civil War to help provide information “behind the lines.” Spies supporting the North were called, Union Spies. This group contained both men and women. There were few slaves, but often there were patriotic people. The spies of the Civil War worked hard to give their side any small edge in winning. Elizabeth Van Lew, Pauline Cushman, Sarah Thompson, and Sarah Emma Edmonds were Union Spies that played a huge role in relaying information from the South to the North to increase the North’s chance of succeeding during the Civil War.
Rosie the riveter was the face of recruiting women into the Armed Forces during WWII. The increasing demand for soldiers was not being filled fast enough by just males. As a result, between the years 1940 and 1945, the percentage of female service members increased from 27% to 37%. Even on the civilian side of things, the ratio of married working women outside of their homes increased to one out of every four. The population of women that did not join the war was prompted by Rosie the Riveter’s iconic image of working in one of the many munitions industries throughout the US.
Female spies were a great help in the war. Men did not expect innocent women to be involved in such dangerous activities so they often were not found out at first. Men easily trusted the women spies and told them important military secrets. The spies would get information then write it on paper or material and sew it into their clothes or put it in their hair. With bigger stuff they would attach it to the hoops on their skirts and hide the stuff in dolls. People started to suspicious when the women spies started to do “inappropriate” actions “such as allowing men into their homes at all hours of the night, arranging meetings with men in various locations and riding on horses and in buggies unaccompanied.”
Beginning with the aggressive recruiting methods utilized to bring them in, and ending with the return of men from the war -- especially veterans -, women became extremely active in the working force during World War II. This was evident at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where four thousand and six hundred women were employed. Even though they remained employed for up to six months after the war, eventually men did return to their positions, leaving only women veterans still qualified to hold a position there. However, the focus of a speech on this matter by Dr. Sparr was the activity that occurred during these women's employment.
...ing to survive. Their militant demeanor and strong willed nature foreshadowed the coming modern civil rights movement. They realized the importance of education and utilized it to change the climate of their time. I think these to women defined the term "ordinary to extraordinary". They had both broke through color and gender barriers and earned the respect and admiration of colleagues, politicians the African American people. Who knows what would have happened if these two brave women did not stand up and accomplish what they had done. Would "White Supremacy" prevail in a post WWII society. It is hard to quantify the contribution of these women to the civil rights movement but I think it is safe to say that we were fortunate as a nation to have these great crusaders, as well as many other notable figures, to educate us and force us to see change in the United States.
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.
“There was much more to women’s work during World War Two than make, do, and mend. Women built tanks, worked with rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines” (Carol Harris). Have you ever thought that women could have such an important role during a war? In 1939 to 1945 for many women, World War II brought not only sacrifices, but also a new style of life including more jobs, opportunities and the development of new skills. They were considered as America’s “secret weapon” by the government. Women allowed getting over every challenge that was imposed by a devastating war. It is necessary to recognize that women during this period brought a legacy that produced major changes in social norms and work in America.
"...I am other than my appearance indicates": Women as Soldiers and Spies." Women on the Border: Maryland Perspectives of the Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
In the book Women in the Civil War, by Mary Massey, the author tells about how American women had an impact on the Civil War. She mentioned quite a few famous and well-known women such as, Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, who were nurses, and Pauline Cushman and Belle Boyd, who were spies. She also mentioned black abolitionists, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, feminist Susan B. Anthony, and many more women. Massey talks about how the concept of women changed as a result of the war. She informed the readers about the many accomplishments made by those women. Because of the war, women were able to achieve things, which caused for them to be viewed differently in the end as a result.
Sorensen, Aja, Rosie the Riveter: Women Working during World War II. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/pwro/collection/website/rosie.htm, (n.d.)
Howatt, Megan. "Sniper Girls and Fearless Heroines: Wartime Representations of Foreign Women In English Canadian Press, 1941-1943." A Companion to Women's Military History. By Dorotea Gucciardo. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
"Women in WWII at a Glance." The National WWII Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Zeinert, Karen. Those Incredible Women of World War 2: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1994
...also were not represented, and made women understand that this inferiority dilemma that was going on every day had to stop, and that they had to revolt and fight for their own rights. Her influence combined with other women fighting and the spirit of rebellion already set in men spiked women's interests in their rights and made them want to struggle for their privileges.
Great people often arise from unlikely places. During the civil war women were barred from serving in the army; however, women did sometimes disguise themselves as men and enlisted in both the Confederate and Union armies. During the Civil War years of 1861 to 18-65, soldiers under arms mailed countless letters home from the front. There are multiple accounts of women serving in military units during the Civil War, but a majority of these incidents are extremely hard to verify. Nevertheless, there is the one well-documented incident of the female Civil War soldier by the name of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman.