Role of Women in WWII
When I previously thought about the participants of World War I, I imagined brave, young men fighting fearlessly for the country they believed in. I envisioned the war fields dotted with machinery, trenches and fortresses that helped to protect the heroic men who fought continuously until the end. I pictured the victorious soldiers returning home to accepting and joyous companions whom they had been away from for so long. Not once did I think of the women volunteering for the war. I figured they simply sat at home praying for the safe return of their loved men. However, in closer examination of The Great War, I have learned of my naivety. In reality, women were as much a part of the war as were men. Although women played distinctly different roles, their experiences were often virtually indistinguishable to those of their male comrades. For example, women and men had the same pressure put upon them to volunteer for the war. Once involved in the war, both genders were forced to question their previous beliefs and their learned virtues while discovering that this "great war" wasn't what had been expected. Men and women had to suffer from extremely horrible living conditions, face the fact that they were simply a number to
Thoughts of one women volunteer describe a common trait among both males and females, "I do not care. Everyone was dealt with the same way, making it almost impossible to stand out as an individual when even the dead were ". In having to deal with a multitude of agonizing experiences, participants virtually became desensitized to the happenings around them. Although women are far less recognized than men, they contributed equally to the war and thus had to suffer equally. Sickness and illness went untreated, reinforcements were lacking and wounds were not properly cared for. As if these intolerable living conditions weren't bad enough, participants in the war had to learn to deal with the fact that they had become numbers to the country they were fighting for. Something has gone from me that will never return" (Smith 169).
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,
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Acceptance Essays
