Women in WWII
Prior to the 1940’s women's abilities were underestimated. In the article, Women As Military Leaders Promises And Pitfalls, by Patricia Shields, Department Of Political Science, Southwest Texas State University, Shields states, “There were many negative stereotypical images of women found throughout top military decision structure… It was unquestionably maintained that women could not handle the grit and grime of field operations.” The following quote from the New York Times article, "The Escape Artist," shows how Andrée defied those expectations. “It was ingrained in them, of course [the airmen], to think of war as men’s work, to measure success by what could be overpowered, which is why their hearts sank when a wispy young woman strolled into the room. Andrée de Jongh had dark, fluffy hair, a pert mouth and high-arching eyebrows. She wore a flowered dress and white ankle socks. She was twenty-four but looked eighteen, weighing about 100 pounds. She seemed to take up no space at all. She introduced herself only as Dédée, a nickname. ‘Our lives,’ the Australian announced glumly after she’d gone, ‘depend on a schoolgirl.’” Video of Royal Air Force bombers during WWII. BBC News.
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World War II in Belgium
Andrée was twenty-three years old when World War II broke out on September 1, 1939. She worked as a commercial artist near Malmedy, Belgium and volunteered as a Belgian Red Cross worker. The war started when Germany invaded Poland. Germany then seized Denmark and Norway. Belgium, Andrée’s home country, shared the same fate. On the day of May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium. After 18 days of fighting, Belgium surrendered. This battle resulted in over 200,000 casualties in Belgium and Luxembourg. After the Germans advanced into Belgium, Andrée returned to the family home in Brussels and continued to work for the Red Cross, helping wounded Allied soldiers. This video features the surrender of the Belgian army to the Germans. It shows a Belgian officer signing the surrender. National Archives, May 1940. (This is a silent video. It did not come with sound.)
Allied Airmen
Andrée rescued Allied Airmen who had been shot down by enemy fire on bombing missions to and from Germany. The Allies consisted of France, the US, England, and the Soviet Union. Andrée mostly rescued Royal and U.S. Air Force airmen. |