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Berlin, 1945. The spring sun shone into the war-torn city, but even the warmth of spring could not dispel the haze of war hanging over the city. After months of fierce fighting, the Soviet army finally stepped into this place, which symbolized the end of the war.
Every soldier carries in his heart the determination to fight for the Motherland, but also more or less with the flame of revenge. But in one corner of the city, an unexpected hiccup has put the brutality of war in the background.
After a long line of front-line missions, a group of Soviet women finally found a place to rest – a public toilet in the heart of the city. Their military uniforms are unpretentious and their short hair is neat, no different from that of male soldiers, which is a camouflage for their survival on the battlefield. But when they pushed open the door to the toilet, they didn't expect it to become the trigger for another war.
The German woman in the toilet was calmly dealing with her daily chores, when she suddenly saw a group of soldiers who looked like men breaking in. Why did they see enemy GIs in such a private setting? Is even the most basic privacy no longer respected?
Demographics and the role of women on the eve of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR
In 1941, with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR, the entire Soviet Union quickly entered a state of war. This sudden war had a profound impact on the demographics of the country. Large numbers of adult males were drafted into the army, and the urgent need at the front led them to leave home in a hurry almost shortly after the war was declared.
The pre-war census showed that the proportion of adult males in the total population was 38 per cent, down about 7 per cent from four years earlier. This significant decline reflects a significant loss of the male population and a major blow to the country's labour force and social fabric.
At the same time, women make up the majority of the population, reaching 62 per cent. As men leave their homes to go to war, these women have had to take on more social and economic responsibilities.
As the war progressed, the labor market in the Soviet Union underwent unprecedented changes. The significant reduction in the male labour force has forced the Government to adjust its labour policy and broadly mobilize women to participate in more productive and supportive industries in order to fill the vacancies left by the recruitment of men into the armed forces.
The implementation of this policy has freed a large number of women from their traditional domestic roles and become machine operators in factories, workers in heavy industry, and the main labor force in the fields. In many heavy industrial factories, women workers began to take over heavy machinery that would otherwise be operated by men. Iron and steel mills, weapons factories and ammunition factories have become their new workplaces.
In these factories, women workers operate steelmaking furnaces and casting machines, producing steel and weapons that are vital to the front line. Despite the extremely difficult and dangerous working conditions, they work day and night to ensure the continuous operation of the production line with the tasks that must be completed.
The agriculture sector has also seen a major shift in the role of women. As a result of the large number of men conscripted into the army, the vast Soviet farmlands welcomed many female agricultural workers. They drive tractors and harvesters to ensure a steady supply of food, from sowing to harvesting.
Even in cold weather, these women work in the fields in the bitter cold, and the farming tools in their hands reflect their determined work attitude. Transportation is another area that bears witness to the power of women. With the absence of male drivers and staff, more and more women are becoming bus and tram drivers.
In the most tense days of the war, they ensured the smooth flow of urban traffic, supported the operation of the city and the dispatch of supplies to the army. In addition, the railway sector has also seen an increase in female staff, who are responsible for the scheduling and management of trains, ensuring the safety and efficiency of rail transport.
Although women show the same ability and resilience as men at work, they still have to face the burden of family responsibilities when they return home. Many women also have to take care of children and the elderly at home and take care of household chores after work. This dual role is a testament to their importance and sacrifice during the war.
The influence of Soviet women at the front
During the Second World War, Soviet women not only played a key role in the industry, agriculture and service industries of the country, but also participated heavily in front-line operations. Thousands of Soviet women joined the military, becoming snipers, pilots, nurses, and other key force in combat and support positions.
This widespread female participation in the war was particularly rare in the global wars of the time, and exemplified the Soviet Union's unique tactics in the war of national mobilization. Female snipers are especially famous on the battlefield, and they are praised for their excellent shooting skills and calm performance on the battlefield.
These female snipers are usually highly trained to use a variety of sniper rifles to carry out covert shooting missions on the front lines. They stealth through forests, ruins, and other complex terrains, taking advantage of terrain and weather conditions to accurately strike enemy dignitaries and soldiers, effectively disrupting enemy combat deployments.
At the same time, Soviet female pilots became a unique force, the most famous of whom was the women's bomber squadron known as the "Night Witches". These female pilots flew old bombers known as "canvas and wood" and carried out bombing missions at night.
Their planes, slow and poorly equipped, managed to drop bombs on the enemy's heads by flying at low altitudes, causing great psychological and material stress on the enemy's troops. In the medical field, thousands of women work as nurses and paramedical staff in front-line hospitals and field medical stations, treating the wounded, performing emergency surgeries, and managing the supply of medicines.
These female nurses work around the clock to keep the wounded alive and deal with the trauma of the fighting, despite limited resources, in the face of constant transport of the wounded.
In addition, many women took on the role of correspondents and intelligence officers, who were responsible for the transmission of information and the collection of intelligence on the battlefield. These women have played an important role in keeping communications open and accurate, ensuring that the command is able to keep up to date with battlefield developments and make strategic adjustments accordingly.
The psychological effects of the Berlin Siege in 1945
By the spring of 1945, the Soviet army had massed a huge force and was preparing for a decisive general assault on the German capital, Berlin. This offensive was not only the culmination of the Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union, but also marked a turning point in the entire European theater of operations. Millions of Soviet soldiers, including large numbers of tank and heavy artillery units, advanced towards Berlin, overcoming all kinds of difficulties and stubborn resistance on the way.
Over the course of the long battle, Soviet troops gradually broke through the German lines and finally approached the center of Berlin at the end of April. As the Soviet soldiers gradually moved into the city of Berlin, they had an intuitive impression of the coming urban battlefield.
To their surprise, despite the smell of gunpowder and destruction permeating the battlefields of Europe, some areas of the city of Berlin unexpectedly maintained a state of peace and tranquility. Although the damage on the streets is obvious, the buildings in some neighborhoods are still intact, the parks are full of spring flowers, and citizens are trying to keep their daily lives running.
When Soviet soldiers stepped into such neighborhoods, they saw some Berlin citizens walking in the park and children playing in the streets, a scene that contrasted with their experiences on the battlefield over the past few years. This calm scene contrasted sharply with the smoke and gore they experienced on the front lines.
Still, the brutality of the war has not been diminished by the apparent tranquility of this patch. In other parts of the city, Soviet soldiers met with fierce resistance. The Germans fortified the city, including barricades, anti-tank trenches, and snipers.
Fighting unfolded in the streets, explosions and gunfire continued, destroying many parts of the city. This fierce urban fighting contrasts sharply with the calm of some parts of Berlin.
The Soviet troops had to clear every badly damaged building and every block during the advance to ensure that no possible German resistance remained. Their advance was accompanied by the clearing of buildings, the search of tunnels, and the assault on points of resistance. All this requires precise and systematic military operations to ensure security at every step.
An unexpected encounter
One day, several Soviet female soldiers needed a short break and tidying up due to long battles and marches in between their missions. The women were dressed in standard Soviet military uniforms, and most of their hair was shaved short to facilitate combat and hygiene.
They arrived at a public toilet in Berlin, a common practice during wartime, as there were few places to provide proper privacy and sanitation near the front lines. However, this simple action led to an unexpected misunderstanding.
When the Soviet female soldiers entered the toilet, several German women who were inside clearly did not expect such a scene. These German women were using the toilet when they suddenly saw a group of men in military uniforms breaking in, and they immediately felt extremely panicked and uneasy.
Their first reaction was to scream, believing they were in danger, because in that turbulent time, uniforms were often associated with violence and threats.
One of the German women shouted for help, screaming "The GI is in!" This further strains the situation. Their cries attracted the attention of those around them, including a patrolling police officer. Police quickly arrived at the scene and tried to figure out what had happened.
At first, even the police had difficulty identifying the gender of these Soviet female soldiers in military uniforms, since their appearance was indeed indistinguishable from that of ordinary male soldiers. Under the questioning of the police and the explanations of the Soviet female soldiers, the scene gradually subsided. The police learned that the "male soldiers" were actually women and explained to the German women that it was a misunderstanding.
Although there was a language barrier, through a few simple gestures and some feminine features of the Soviet female soldiers, the police and German women gradually understood the truth of the matter.
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Resources:
SUN Lihong,DONG Xiaochuan. A preliminary study on Soviet female soldiers during the Great Patriotic War[J].Issues in History Teaching,2015(4):74-78