Frauen für die Front: Gespräche mit Wehrmachtshelferinnen

This book consists of fourteen interviews conducted with former women auxiliaries of the German Wehrmacht. The interviewees are just a few of the half a million young, single, and mainly middle-class German women who were recruited for non-combatant military service during World War II. The interviews provide insight into life as a (female) member of an occupying army. France and Norway are described in nostalgic terms, with wonderful hosts and frequent excursions into the countryside, whereas the East is portrayed as very dangerous territory in which partisans were around every corner. Italy likewise appears as chaotic and menacing in the final months of the occupation, with anti-German sentiment proliferating amongst locals. In general, though, the kind of duties performed by Wehrmachtshelferinnen were boring and routine. Secrecy was paramount, giving the women an added sense of responsibility, although they were seldom provided with information on the actual course of particular operations.