Case Study: Women in the Second World War

Case Study: Women in the Second World War

MaTheresa Picart

Devry University

Case Study: Women in the Second World War

‘#MakeitHappen’ recently trended worldwide on various social media platforms. It is the theme for International Women's Day 2015 which was celebrated last March 8. Coincidentally, this week’s assignment requires that I compare and contrast the wartime experiences of three of the eight women “who came to the front” in World War II. I personally feel that there could not be a better time to write about these exceptional women who embody the mission and vision of International Women’s Day which is the “opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality all over the world” (“International Women’s Day,” 2015).

Among the eight ‘superwomen’ featured in the Library of Congress exhibit, I chose to write about Mabel Therese Bonney, Clare Booth Luce, and Elisabeth May Adams Craig. The first is known for her heroic efforts as a photojournalist and the other two for their epic contributions as political columnists. Despite this difference in roles, all three have played a vital part in furthering the rights of women and revealing the cruelties suffered by the people after the Great Depression and during the Second World War. After reading about these women, I cannot help but admire the strength and courage they have shown as they followed various paths to their wartime assignments.

Gender equality was unheard of in the early 1900s and more often than not, women were discriminated against regardless of their many contributions in their respective professions. One of the women who paved the way for this to change is Therese Bonney. She has achieved so much in the field of photojournalism by pushing the limits of gender in a male dominated world. Her biggest contribution was the fact that she bravely faced the dangers of war and captured its horrific effects to the people of Europe. We have to bear in mind that these sights were largely unknown to many but through Bonney’s camera lens, the world was able to see the devastation that was World War II.

Another woman to emulate is Claire Booth Luce. At a young age, she took part in various demonstrations fighting for women’s right to vote. As a playwright, she wrote the anti-Nazi play “Margin for Error” reflecting her dislike of Adolf Hitler the rise of fascism in Europe. Little did she know that in a few years’ time, she will be in the battleground herself as a correspondent for Life magazine; enduring bombing raids in Europe and the Far East. She has seen so much of war that she later chronicled "Until you have heard the