WWII

How Women Won WWII

Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the incredibly varied and complex roles women stepped into during World War II. No, they weren’t GIs. They didn’t land at the beach on Normandy on D-Day, or face military combat, but without a doubt, the roles they performed shaped the way the war was both fought and won.

How Women Won WWII: A New Era Unfolds

Let's talk about what happened next. It was the question on everyone’s mind in the summer of 1945. The Axis Powers had been defeated, soldiers were on their way home, and the destruction from the war had devastated countless cities across Europe. In America, citizens wondered, “What happens now?”

How Women Won WWII: With a Flash and a Rumble

For 3 years, scientists in secret cities around the U.S. had been in a race against time to complete the world’s first atomic weapon. And in July of 1945, the very first plutonium bomb was ready.

How Women Won WWII: Caught By the Enemy

Learn about WWII's most decorated spy: a woman whose spirit and determination in the face of danger is unparalleled. Born in France, Odette Sansom joined Britain's SOE and used her unassuming, motherly demeanor to successfully grow the resistance network throughout the French countryside.

How Women Won WWII: The Confidante, Anna Rosenberg

Hear from author Christopher Gorham, whose new book, The Confidante, is the first-ever biography written about one of the United State's most powerful women: Anna Rosenberg. Join us as Christopher and Sharon share about Anna's life and contributions to the modern shaping of our American Government.

How Women Won WWII: AABBA and the Art of Codebreaking

Let's break some secret wartime codes. Shakespeare and Al Capone. What could possibly be a link between these two men who were born centuries apart? A master codebreaker named Elizebeth Smith Friedman.

How Women Won WWII: Sabotage and a Jewish Spymaster

During World War II, Churchill understood that boots on the ground were only one piece of the puzzle. In order to sabotage German operations across Europe, he knew Britain needed an army of secret agents. And one of its most successful leaders was a Romanian-born Jewish woman named Vera Atkins.

How Women Won WWII: The Booming Work of Women Scientists

Previously we had a conversation about the combined efforts of the Allied science community to beat Germany in the race to understand and build atomic weapons. It was a team effort, we barely scratched the surface. Peek into the minds of some of the greatest women scientists during World War II.

How Women Won WWII: British Wrens at War

Let’s head to Great Britain and learn about a military organization that recruited women into the war effort all across the country. Women volunteered in great numbers and, throughout the war, thousands of women participated. You might even call them…a flock.

How Women Won WWII: By the Glow of Radium

Let's talk about how the United States successfully produced and detonated the first atomic bomb. That success happened through a combination of random events and intricately planned schemes that fed into the speeding train that was atomic technology.

How Women Won WWII: A Starlette Spies for France with Josephine Baker

Let’s talk about a person–a larger than life woman–who utilized her fame and charm to secretly gather intel for the Allies during World War II. She put herself in danger, fought for freedom, saved countless lives… and she did it all while she shimmied her way across Europe in tiny sequined costumes.

How Women Won WWII: The Women of the Secret Cities

Learn about The Manhattan Project. The top-secret program ran for three war-filled years and employed over 120 thousand people. Most of those people had no idea that they were working on one of the most powerful projects of all time: creating nuclear weapons.

How Women Won WWII: Rosie the Riveter Was Just the Beginning

Explore the incredibly varied and complex roles women stepped into during World War II. No, they weren’t GIs. They didn’t land at the beach on Normandy on D-Day, or face military combat, but without a doubt, the roles they performed shaped the way the war was both fought and won.