Part 3 - If This Is A Woman by Sarah Helm - Protests
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
We are finally entering part 3 of If This Is A Woman, by Sarah Helm. So far, we've looked at Ravensbrück and how women were treated there, at the beginning of the Nazi reign. Then we looked at Auschwitz Berkenau and the awful conditions that women were living in there, at the beginning of the Final Solution. Part 3 however, is a little bit different because it's talking about 1941-1942, where women were serving at the front in places like Stalingrad, when the Nazis had tried to take over parts of Russia. Many of the women were doctors and nurses and were aiding the injured in battle. However, some were caught by the German army along the way. They were forced to walk for miles and miles across treacherous land. They were hauled into carts and locked in with barbed wire, so they couldn't escape, even though they were starving. The first camp they went to, they were forced to work on munitions for the German front; the Communist enemy. However, a wise woman who had served at the front during the First World War, had advised the younger women around her, to continue wearing their Communist uniform as it signified that they were prisoners of war (POW). They took a stand against the Gestapo commandant, refusing to make munitions as they believed that Stalin had told them to fight for their country, even if it meant death. They were locked in a room for 3 days as punishment but they surprisingly stood their ground. When they were released again, they still refused to do their work and they kept their uniform on. The Gestapo guards did not know what to do so they were powerless against them. For the first time, prisoners in a camp had the power. The protest the Soviet women had held, worked, and the only way in which the Gestapo commandant could control these women was by asking for advice by senior Nazis.
Later, the women were once again, hauled into carts like cattle and locked in with barbed wire. Many women were sick with typhus or TB and the only food people got was bread with water, that was fed through the cracks of the cart. This time, the women didn't know where they were going. They had no idea that they were being transported to Ravensbrück.
On arrival, they were told to jump through the Windows of a building, as the SS Nazis there wanted to hide what they would do to them next. The women were forced to undress, have their heads shaved, and were told to take a sterilised bath. They were then told to wear the striped uniform, which diminished them from their identity, as the Russians were no longer wearing their khaki green uniform anymore. This meant that they were no longer foreign prisoners, but citizens of Germany so other countries couldn't intervene and have them saved, even though they'd signed an agreement in the past with Germany. The truth is, the senior Nazis told the Gestapo commandant to remove the Russian women's foreign identity and in this case, it was their uniform. They also planned a stage entrance, where the women jumped in through the windows, so that they couldn't see that their uniform was being taken away from them.
Despite the failure to keep their identity, their protests were at first, a surprising success. The women had managed to fool a senior Nazi, to the point where he had to ask for help. This success, makes historians wonder why more people didn't rebel against the Nazis. Bishop Galen, preached against the policy of euthanasia in the 30s, and this meant that the policy had to be publicly stopped and pursued again in secret. If these things were possible, why didn't more people speak out. Maybe no one saw an issue from the outside but at least a few people must have known the truth and it makes me wonder too, why more people didn't use their voice.
Tap one of the reaction boxes below to let me know what you thought of this post. It would really help me to make some improvements in the future!
Be sure to follow and subscribe so that you don't miss anymore of my brilliant posts and share this with a friend who might enjoy this article too!
See you next time,
Bye,
XOX,Juliette
My social media handles:
My Instagram
My YouTube channel
My main blog:
Keeping Up With Juliette
We are finally entering part 3 of If This Is A Woman, by Sarah Helm. So far, we've looked at Ravensbrück and how women were treated there, at the beginning of the Nazi reign. Then we looked at Auschwitz Berkenau and the awful conditions that women were living in there, at the beginning of the Final Solution. Part 3 however, is a little bit different because it's talking about 1941-1942, where women were serving at the front in places like Stalingrad, when the Nazis had tried to take over parts of Russia. Many of the women were doctors and nurses and were aiding the injured in battle. However, some were caught by the German army along the way. They were forced to walk for miles and miles across treacherous land. They were hauled into carts and locked in with barbed wire, so they couldn't escape, even though they were starving. The first camp they went to, they were forced to work on munitions for the German front; the Communist enemy. However, a wise woman who had served at the front during the First World War, had advised the younger women around her, to continue wearing their Communist uniform as it signified that they were prisoners of war (POW). They took a stand against the Gestapo commandant, refusing to make munitions as they believed that Stalin had told them to fight for their country, even if it meant death. They were locked in a room for 3 days as punishment but they surprisingly stood their ground. When they were released again, they still refused to do their work and they kept their uniform on. The Gestapo guards did not know what to do so they were powerless against them. For the first time, prisoners in a camp had the power. The protest the Soviet women had held, worked, and the only way in which the Gestapo commandant could control these women was by asking for advice by senior Nazis.
Later, the women were once again, hauled into carts like cattle and locked in with barbed wire. Many women were sick with typhus or TB and the only food people got was bread with water, that was fed through the cracks of the cart. This time, the women didn't know where they were going. They had no idea that they were being transported to Ravensbrück.
On arrival, they were told to jump through the Windows of a building, as the SS Nazis there wanted to hide what they would do to them next. The women were forced to undress, have their heads shaved, and were told to take a sterilised bath. They were then told to wear the striped uniform, which diminished them from their identity, as the Russians were no longer wearing their khaki green uniform anymore. This meant that they were no longer foreign prisoners, but citizens of Germany so other countries couldn't intervene and have them saved, even though they'd signed an agreement in the past with Germany. The truth is, the senior Nazis told the Gestapo commandant to remove the Russian women's foreign identity and in this case, it was their uniform. They also planned a stage entrance, where the women jumped in through the windows, so that they couldn't see that their uniform was being taken away from them.
Despite the failure to keep their identity, their protests were at first, a surprising success. The women had managed to fool a senior Nazi, to the point where he had to ask for help. This success, makes historians wonder why more people didn't rebel against the Nazis. Bishop Galen, preached against the policy of euthanasia in the 30s, and this meant that the policy had to be publicly stopped and pursued again in secret. If these things were possible, why didn't more people speak out. Maybe no one saw an issue from the outside but at least a few people must have known the truth and it makes me wonder too, why more people didn't use their voice.
Why weren't there more protests? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you!
Tap one of the reaction boxes below to let me know what you thought of this post. It would really help me to make some improvements in the future!
Be sure to follow and subscribe so that you don't miss anymore of my brilliant posts and share this with a friend who might enjoy this article too!
See you next time,
Bye,
XOX,Juliette
My social media handles:
My Instagram
My YouTube channel
My main blog:
Keeping Up With Juliette
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