Germany Beyond the Classroom 2019: The War on the “Heimatfront”

The War on the “Heimatfront”

During this week’s discussion, many topics relating to the WWI were examined. Important experiences such as the life in the trenches or the alliances and decisions between the main countries fighting in the war were discussed in detail during class. For this reason, this blog has the goal to expand on what was experienced in the country, especially what women went through. The blog talks about the “Heimatfront”, which also relates to the previous discussions about the complexity of the word “Heimat” and this is a very interesting example on how Germans used this term in the World I Period.

German propaganda poster, encouraging women to work in the Home Army during the First World War

The Heimatfront was a term used shortly after the outbreak of WWI for the close connection between home and front with the total mobilization and ideologization of the German nation. Not only men were mobilized during the war, but women also had to work in fabrics, heal the wounded and look after the family and home.

Propaganda displayed the role of the woman back then. A couple is saying goodbye on this German propaganda poster from the first world war. The man is wearing the German battle uniform and soon he will have to fight at the front. His wife is putting her arm on his shoulder as a sign of support. Yet, with the other hand, she is giving him an additional hand grenade. Next to them it says: “German women work in the home front/army”.

Women Replaced Men

Women in "men's jobs": here at welding

Karlsruhe women cleaning cabbages in 1916. Source: Stadtarchiv

The message of the propaganda poster is clear. Women had to work in munitions and weapon fabrics so that the German soldiers had enough arms to fight with. But women had not only to replace men in the armaments industry they also started driving trucks and trams, sowed in the fields and brought in the harvest. The input of women was necessary for politics and military; only this way the Heimatfront was able to ensure the supply of food and military equipment. Suddenly, women were able to participate in professions that were previously only reserved for men in society.

Women’s duty as procreators and nurses

In addition to the work in fabrics, women were nurses in different hospitals and again, women were often shown in propaganda pictures as gentle nurses, who sacrificed themselves for the people in need. Finally, politicians and the military worried about the declining birth rates since the beginning of the war and at the same time the catastrophic losses at the front. Women, seen as “procreators”, were called to replace the losses with as many births as possible and also to be loyal to their husbands.

The struggle to survive

Unknown photographer. Waiting for bread during First World War. (1914)

Men did not like having women in the workplace and for this reason, women had to frequently experience apathy or hostility when entering the workforce. They were continuously reminded that what they were doing was temporary, that they were too weak to do a good job and did not have the opportunity to have technical training. Work environments were dangerous and difficult. The long shifts and hunger were a cause for constant accidents. The hunger women felt in 1914 only worsened in the following years. Due to early frosts, the potato harvest was spoiled, and turnips were used to replace them. These do not have a high nutritive value and the temperatures during that winter break dropped below -25 degrees Fahrenheit. Numerous women survived on diets a little bit above starvation level. It was also difficult to made lines for food due to increased work and long shifts. This had a consequence that the last years of WWI were extremely miserable for women in Germany.

Here is a very interesting video about the role of women in WWI: