Role of Women in WWII essays

Role of Women in WWII essays 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 wasnt 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 the country they were fighting so valiantly for and learn to psychologically deal with experiences nobody had ever fathomed before. And when those who were lucky enough to survive returned home, they had to reevaluate their relationships with those they had left behind, often times discovering that the only thing that war had provided was an uncertain future. I often wonder if as many men and women would have volunteered for the war if they had known what they were up against beforehand. Deductive reasoning tends to tell us they would have been more reluctant, but the pressures from their countries were so intense that many may not have had much of a choice but to enlist. Volunteers entere...