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Women in WWII – Sex, Rights, Jobs, Discrimination, Abuse

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Historical Fiction. A lot of people do not like this genre because they do not consider it “real” history. I quite enjoy it because I read a tremendous amount of “real” history every day for my work and personal growth. Sometimes it is nice to get lost in a historical fiction book, even if it is WWII based, and be exposed to new ideas. I appreciate it when the author does her or his homework and provides a bibliography or additional titles within their Author Notes. I know I am not the only person who explores things they had not heard of because they read about it in a historical fiction book.

The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester

I read The Paris Orphan on Thanksgiving. It’s almost 450 pages and I could not put it down. I even stayed up late to finish it because I had to know how it ended, even though I had an idea, though hoped I was wrong.

This book is historical fiction inspired by the life of female model and war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller.

The main character Jessica May is a model for Vogue and a photographer, who chooses to join the war effort and has to deal with discrimination, rape, abuse from the men in the military, a desire to do more than “be a pretty face” or someone’s “sex doll”. The author brings in real-life female correspondents like Martha Gellhorn, Hemmingway’s wife, Lee Carson, Iris Carpenter, and others as she weaves her magic with words.

Jess, like all other women during the war, had to prove themselves over and over. To constantly beg or demand for the opportunity to do the job they were hired for. To go where women had not gone before and help men realize they were fully capable of doing so. Jess and her colleagues also had to deal with traumatizing topics of life and war.

Jess is confronted during the war with the issue of not only hearing the Russians went through and raped German women, but also knowing the American soldiers were doing the same to French, Belgian, Dutch, and German women. We would all like to think none of our soldiers/family members could have done this, but we might be surprised at just how many did if the truth came out. Jess debates writing an article about this after being unable to stop a rape from happening. In the end, to avoid being kicked out of her job, she opts to wait until the war is over to write this particular story. The author raises a question in her reading guide about whether or not this was cowardly or brave.

She also fights her own battle with her male superior officer who tries in every way to make her life a living hell. Sadly, he usually succeeded. She and the other female correspondents all have to deal with his ego and imagined superiority. I wonder how many of our female ancestors, whether in military service or who worked any job outside the home during the war, dealt with these issues and never spoke of them.

While I have done a lot of reading and research on women in WWII – WACs, WAVES, WAPS, Nurses, etc. and knew of the discrimination they were up against, knew the rumors men spread about them being “easy” or “sluts”, the sexual abuse some endured, and how they had to fight for every opportunity even when they could do it better than a man, I knew very little about female war correspondents. I have researched some male war correspondents and photographers and have some books about them. It wasn’t until I read this book that a whole new world of research opened up for me. Thankfully the author provided several books in her notes that I can read.

Why are these topics and this book important?

The more I read this book, the more I admired the women who came before me. The struggles, abuse, trauma, and other things they endured to provide new opportunities for women in the future. I also realized there are many topics I still need to learn more about. Also, as I read, I felt sad because we still have a long way to go in how we view, respect, and treat women.

In 2019, women are still, around the world, fighting for rights, equal pay, and to not be viewed as sex objects because men can’t always control themselves. We are still fighting to be seen as equals. We are still fighting to have our bodies protected and not be told by men what we can and can’t do or how we can or can’t operate our bodies, and who can and can’t touch us. I sometimes wonder, how far have we really come since WWII? Sometimes it does not feel as far as we think we have.

This book and it’s topics also made me wonder what stories are within my family, like Jess’ that were hidden. Jess ends up enduring terrible things during the war, things she keeps secret until almost her dying days. Things she felt would protect her family and those she loved. I’m aware of the abuse that runs through the female ancestors in my family and I wonder if we acknowledge it happened and can work on healing it – how much we can change the world and ourselves.

My Invitation To You

I invite you to explore the deeper, darker, secretive stories of your family. To see if it is possible to discuss these topics with older family members and find out what their experience was. Knowing these things may help you better understand why family members are or were the way they are. To better help you understand the blessings and burdens you carry through your DNA and lineage. I also invite you to write the stories about this for your family. This doesn’t mean you have to share publicly, but get them down on paper so they aren’t lost. There are many lessons to be learned and healing to be done if we are brave enough to start the conversation.

Author’s Suggested Books – Further Reading

These are a few books the author put in her Author’s Note at the end of the book. She also included a reading guide which makes this book a great book for book clubs.

  • The Woman War Correspondent, the U.S. Military, and The Press by Carolyn M. Edy.
  • No Woman’s World: From D-Day to Berlin, a Female Correspondent Covers World War II by Iris Carpenter.
  • The Women Who Wrote the War: The Complete Story of the Path-breaking Women Correspondents of World War II by Nancy Caldwell Sorel.
  • Lee Miller’s Way edited by Antony Penrose.
  • Lee miller: A Life by Carolyn Burke.
  • Martha Gellhorn: A Life by Carolyn Moorehead.
  • Women War Correspondents of World War II by Lilya Wagner
  • Women of the World by Julia Edwards.
  • Where the Action Was: Women War Correspondents in World War II by Penny Colman.

What Do You Think?

What do you think about these topics? Have you explored them within your own family history? How have you been able to move beyond and heal the trauma of the past?

Can I help you with your research?

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? Email us at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time. You can also sign-up for our free newsletter and receive our latest free download!

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© 2019 World War II Research and Writing Center

An Inspiring Woman

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Today is International Women’s History Day. Who are the women in your family that you are remembering or honoring today? How did those women change your life?

There is one woman who is very special to me and inspired me to continue moving forward in a time of great change and sadness for me. Her name is Virginia, or Ginny. Ginny married my cousin, Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, in November 1942. Three weeks after they married, she watched him die in a plane crash as he trained pilots in Orlando, Florida. After Robert’s funeral, no one in the family knew what happened to her. When I began researching Robert’s story, I posted a message on the Flying Tiger message boards in 1996. In 2005, nine years later, Ginny emailed me. The rest is history as I wrote Robert’s book and then others before my marriage collapsed and I became a single mother.

I visited Ginny for the first time, a few months before I moved and started my new life. We spent only three days together, but we laughed, told stories, and only cried a little. Listening to how she coped with life after Robert’s death and moved forward, rather than giving up, inspired me. I wasn’t planning on giving up but in moments of great change and emotion, a lot of things run through your mind. Ginny gave me strength to move forward with less fear.

In 2013 I started writing my book series, “Stories of the Lost.” I asked Ginny if I could write her story, so it could inspire the world. At first she was hesitant because she told me she didn’t do much. She wasn’t [a man] on the front lines with a gun. I responded that she DID make a difference. Her choice to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), like many others during the war, allowed women of future generations, including mine, to have more choices in life than to be housewives, nurses, or teachers, all common life paths in the 1940s for women. She gave women of future generations the choice to join the military and serve their country. Ginny contributed to the war effort just as everyone else did and her service should be remembered.

I also explained what LOST meant in the context of my books. Not that you’ve lost your mind or your car keys, but you lost something important that could not be recovered. She lost her husband after three weeks of marriage. All their dreams of the future were gone. My grandfather came back from the war changed and spent the rest of his life in a VA hospital. He lost seeing his boys grow up. My grandmother, his wife, lost her husband in a sense and became a single mom. My cousins who were in their early 20s and died in the war lost their futures. No love, no college, no adventure.

Two books were written and published by early 2014. Stories of the Lost and The Tiger’s Widow. Stories of the Lost contains four stories of my family members who died in service. Robert’s story is in this book. Ginny’s story continues in The Tiger’s Widow, in which we hear a little of Robert’s story and move through Ginny’s experience. It is a good idea to read Robert’s first so you understand everything that happened.

Ginny’s book, The Tiger’s Widow, begins with the following, which illustrates how souls can help and heal each other. The one thing I never expected when I wrote her story, was to end up as part of the story. You’ll have to buy the book if you want to know what happens.

Five Hearts Joined Together

Love knows no boundaries of time and space or life and death. It exists forever in our hearts as we remember and honor those who have gone before us. Through those memories we pass life lessons on to the next generation. We teach others there is light after darkness, hope after despair, and love is the glue that puts shattered hearts back together. This is a story of five hearts separated by time and space; hearts which would meet in the perfect moment. It is a story about never ending love that lived on even after death.

A famous pilot met a young beauty and the two fell in love, Robert and Ginny. Their love soared with the eagles. Their time together was brief but they lived so fully in love in the moment, it is as if nothing but death could have broken them apart. Then death knocked on their door and a plane fell from the sky in a fiery ball. One heart silenced on earth but lived forever in death. One heart shattered into a million pieces.

A year later on another continent, two brothers fought a war, Harvey and Fred. The boys grew up as orphans and wanted a heart to come home to. Fred flew a bombing mission over Austria and was lost, listed as missing for a year. Harvey feared the worst and waited for word which came a year after Fred went missing. A brother’s love lived on after death.

Less than a year after Fred went missing, Ginny found Harvey. A chance meeting and two hearts became one. Pieces of Ginny’s shattered heart started to glue back together, slowly at first and then more quickly. Harvey’s heart had finally found its home with Ginny. He was no longer an orphan or alone. They found each other during a time of war when the world around them collapsed in chaos. Together they created a new world filled with joy, love, and the memories of those lost before their time.

Almost 65 years later, another heart emerged. A young woman trying to start a new life after her heart was shattered. She and Ginny, now a widow for the second time, connected. Little did they know the impact that meeting would have.

Five hearts separated by time and space that met in perfect time, would change the lives of all they touched. Their love would span decades. Their life lessons would provide hope to others in the future.

Five hearts joined forever.

© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center