More so than any war in history, World War II was a woman’s war. Women, motivated by patriotism, the opportunity for new experiences, and the desire to serve, participated widely in the global conflict. Within the Allied countries, women of all ages proved to be invaluable in the fight for victory. Rosie the Riveter became the most enduring image of women’s involvement in World War II. What Rosie represented, however, is only a small portion of a complex story. As wartime production workers, enlistees in auxiliary military units, members of voluntary organizations or resistance groups, wives and mothers on the home front, journalists, and USO performers, American women found ways to challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes.
Beyond Rosie offers readers an opportunity to see the numerous contributions they made to the fight against the Axis powers and how American women’s roles changed during the war. The primary documents (newspapers, propaganda posters, cartoons, excerpts from oral histories and memoirs, speeches, photographs, and editorials) collected here represent cultural, political, economic, and social perspectives on the diverse roles women played during World War II.
The editors of this volume are faculty and staff members in the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books and/or the Department of History at Kennesaw State University. Julia Brock is the director of interpretation for the Museum of History and Holocaust Education. Jennifer Dickey is the coordinator of public history and assistant professor of history. Richard Harker is the outreach and education manager at the Museum of History and Holocaust Education, and Catherine Lewis is assistant vice president of Museums, Archives and Rare Books.
Julia Brock’s website.
“May well become a standard reference work on the subject of women in World War II…. a worthy addition to any library concentrating on that conflict or on women in war.”
—The Journal of America’s Military Past, Spring/Summer 2016
“Beyond Rosie is an essential resource for historians of modern America and, in particular, women’s history. In addition to noting some of the oft-overlooked contributions women made to the war, the collection is an accessible way for teachers to introduce upper-level high school and undergraduate students to the practice of working with primary source documents.”
—H-Net
“This documentary collection is the companion volume to Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II, a traveling exhibition curated by the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University. Each chapter focuses on a different role that women played in the war effort, as factory workers, “government girls,” military auxiliaries, homemakers, and spies. Primary-source documents—organized in an enumerative scheme—include oral history transcriptions, photographs, posters, lithographs, and other materials. Each document entry includes the title, source, and background history so readers know the origins of each item. The collection is unique in that it focuses on the roles of women in war, especially the diversity of their contributions. In addition to the documents and illustrations, the book includes a detailed introduction to the collection with endnotes, a time line, and an annotated bibliography. A section with classroom and research activities was included for educators. The editors indicate that their intent in assembling this collection was to interest high-school history students and readers of wartime history, as well as students in universities supporting research in women’s studies, history, and social-science disciplines.”
—T. S. Hefner-Babb, Lamar University–Beaumont in Choice, Sept. 2015
Summing Up: Recommended. All academic audiences; general readers.
