Women in the Holocaust

Traditionally, the story of the Third Reich has been a story of men, yet women participated in all aspects of the war and on both sides of the Nazi flag. This dictionary, with entries on more than 100 women, shows the diversity of their roles in this turbulent and disturbing period. It includes entries on resistance fighters, nurses, entertainers, writers, filmmakers, spies, and prisoners with exceptional spirit and courage. The women represented here came from all the countries involved with the Third Reich and from many different occupations before their involvement in the war--housewives, secretaries, singers, film stars, pilots, and athletes. This volume reveals the women's perspective on the history of the Third Reich.

This penetrating study explores some of the critical approaches common to works written by women about an extreme situation--the Holocaust--affecting both sexes. The two novels and four fictionalized memoirs on which Heinemann's analysis is based describe experiences unique to women in the Holocaust. Among Heinemann's chief areas of focus are themes, modes of characterization, peer relations, and authenticating strategies and how they differ significantly from the ways that men have shaped their prose versions of the Holocaust. This first critical treatment of Holocaust literature from a feminist perspective effectively challenges the widespread assumption that the literature of the Holocaust reflects identical experiences for both men and women.

Adolf Hitler declared war on Christianity when he silenced the Catholic Church with a diplomatic treaty and arranged for a Nazi Army chaplain to become supreme bishop over the Protestants of Germany. The "Confessing Church" resisted. Pastors were muzzled, put under house arrest, jailed, and held for years in concentration camps. Thousands were drafted and sent to the war to die, while others were murdered outright. The result was a lack of "man"-power. Women stepped in. Pastors' wives replaced their absent husbands in the pulpits, and Theologinnen--theologically trained women--preached and assumed administration of the orphaned parishes. Women fought to save their civil rights, and freedoms of speech, assembly, press, and religion. Some went to jail. Some died. A social and theological revolution thus erupted when women stood by the side of men in leadership positions in the church.

In 1936, Goebbels stated that 'a government that controls art will remain forever', and the German film industry became inextricably linked with National Socialist propaganda. This book is an historical evaluation of the role and image of women in the feature films of the Third Reich. The author challenges current perceptions of the National Socialist position with regards to women and examines the creation of a female film culture, as well as the 'blurring' of gender distinctions as a result of the war.Goebbels and his wife personally selected young movie actresses at their home to portray mothers, vamps, girls-next-door and exotic love interests. His interest in film opens up an array of important issues central to this book: Were women compliant with Nazism or were they the victims of a regime imposing policies ultimately detrimental to their condition? Is it true that the war helped to emancipate women who were not only romantic and patriotic heroines on screen but employed as drivers, technicians and even managers of government affiliated film departments? Did all films produced under the auspices of the Third Reich serve as propaganda and if so, how successful were they? And finally, what can the study of cinema contribute to the historical debate surrounding National Socialism?This book fills a considerable gap in the research of the Nazi star system and makes a crucial contribution not only to cinema history, but also to our view of the perceived role of women in the Third Reich.'This book will change the way that we look at Nazi Germany.'Richard Taylor, University of Swansea