Blitzmädchen - Young women at war

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This might not be the correct place to post this, so moderators please move or delete.

In Nazi ideology, women had to stay at home to give birth to the future of the Reich and to take care of the family. But as more and more men went to the fronts and occupied countries, women had to replace them.

In August 1944, 662.000 German soldiers and 448.700 assisting personnel (Flakhelfer, Russian prisoners of war and others) served in the Flakartillerie. Of these, 128.710 were Flakhelferinnen (female flak helpers/assistants) from Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD).

In November 1944, Luftwaffe started to train female flighttechnical personnel. At the end of the war 15.000 served as flighttechnical helpers/assistants (fliegertechnische Helferinnen) and 7.000 repair assistants (Werfthilferinnen). As aircrew, women were used only for the transfer of aircrafts.

The Werfthelferinnen who were drafted in late 1944, received 200 hours of training at the flighttechnical schools, and had a weekly working time of 52 hours. The training of female auxiliary aircraft interior mechanics (Hilfsflugzeugmechanikerinnen ) took place at the flying schools. It lasted three months. By the end of the war up to a third of the aircraft maintenance personnel were replaced by women. In one Luftgau alone there were 3000 women who began training on 15.12.1944 to replace a part of the 4100 Handwerker-Soldaten in the 47 Vollwerften, 10 Behelfswerften, 2 Instandsetzungswerkstätten for ground equipment and 39 Bergetrupps.

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Source: Franz W. Seidler
Photos: Bundesarchiv Koblenz

...

I don't quite know how to translate the German word "Werf" into English. A "Schiffswerft" is a "Ship yard" in English, but can you one use the word "yard" in general to translate "Werft"?
 

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