Beyond Rosie ― A Documentary History of Women and World War II

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.