War

Activities

Before Viewing

1. Glossary
Find out the meaning of the following words and phrases.
Use them to build up your own glossary of vocabulary on:
HISTORY OF WOMEN IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. You will be able to add to your glossary when you watch Programmes 2 (FAMILY) & 3 (WORK).

Try to write the meanings in your own words rather than copying them out of a dictionary. Imagine you are trying to explain the word to a younger person. What would you say? How could you use examples to help explain the meaning to them?

Suffrage
Franchise
Suffragettes
Patriotic
Patriotism
Propaganda
Gender
Women
First World War
Second World War
Documentaries
Feature Films
Government
Employment
Domestic
Motherhood
Mothering
Housewife
Industry
Munitions
Social
Political
Economic
Stereotype
Prejudice
Eugenics
Ideal
Attitude
"; display = window.open("","","scrollbars=0,menubar=0,status=0,resizeable=0,width=500,height=200,location=0,directories=0"); display.document.write(text); display.document.close(); }

NOTE TO TEACHERS

2. Women in Victorian times

Use your learning from Key Stage 3 History Study unit 'Britain 1750 - circa 1900' to remind yourself about the following areas:

• What attitudes were held towards women during the Victorian period? Describe the 'ideal' Victorian woman.
• Who had been enfranchised (got the vote) by 1884? Who had not?
• Which individual women have you learnt about? Why did they become important? What did they achieve? Do they fit the 'ideal' Victorian woman that you have described above ?
• Find out about the Married Women's Property Act of 1882. Why was this an important step for women's rights?

After Viewing

3. The Suffragette Debate

The programme starts by showing the suffragette campaign.

In 1918 the Representation of the Peoples Act gave the vote to all men over the age of 21 and to women over the age of 30 who could already vote in local government elections or were married to men who could. In 1928 women over 21 were given the vote.

Historians have disagreed about why women got the vote. Some think it was because of the war effort. Some think it was because of the suffragette campaign.

Look at the statements below. Each one could be used to support one side of the debate: Why did women get the vote in 1928? Do you think it was because of the War Effort or the Suffragette Campaign?

Women in France also contributed to the First World War effort but did not get the vote until the 1940s.

Women were able to prove that they could do 'men's jobs'.

Widespread publicity was won for women's rights.

Violence and hunger strikes showed the government how determined women were.

Many women who contributed to the war effort were 21 to 30 but this group did not get the vote until 1928.

Draw a table like the one below and sort out the statements. Use your viewing of the programme and your reading to add some more.

Women got the vote because of the war effort.	Women got the vote because of the Suffragette Campaign.

Political rights (the vote) were seen as crucial if women were to get other rights such as economic (equal pay) and social (equality within the family) rights.

Explain the above statement in your own words and using historical terms, concepts and evidence.

E.g. 'parliament', 'law', 'employers', 'prejudice'.

NOTE TO TEACHERS

4. Investigating the Role of Individual Women

Below is a list of significant women from the twentieth century. All of them were involved in the suffragette campaign and/or the First or Second World War.

Choose one or more of these women and find out what contribution she made to the history of women. You can structure your enquiry around the questions listed below. The links section will be particularly helpful.

• Clementina Black
• Cicely Corbett Fisher
• Charlotte Despard
• Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan
• Octavia Wilberforce
• Louisa Martindale
• Hilda Martindale

What can we learn from the life of --------- about the achievements of women in the twentieth century?

What contribution did ---------- make to women's rights?

What difficulties did she have to overcome?

(Think about education, training, money, social attitudes etc)

Write a letter to a publisher asking for 'your woman' to be included in their textbooks and give reasons why you think she should be.

5. Using Film as Propaganda

Look at:
Extract 2: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MUNITIONS WORKER (1916)

Which parts of the film were intended to persuade women to work in the munitions industry?

In answering this question, pay attention to how the women look, behave, the work being done, the commentary.

6. WHERE was a Woman's Place?!

Look at:
Extract 3: MRS JOHN BULL PREPARED (1918)

Mr Smith's daughter believes: 'A Woman's Place is in the War' while Mr Smith believes 'A Woman's Place in the War is at Home'. Which side do you think the film maker was on? Use descriptions of the action and dialogue to explain your answer.

In what ways is this film 'patriotic'?

The topic of a recent conference held by the American 'National Women's History Project' was: 'A woman's place is in the... curriculum'.

What does this tell us about the attitude of the project towards women's history?

7. Looking after Baby: Using Posters and Slogans

National Baby Week slogan was : 'It is more dangerous to be a baby in Britain than it is to be a soldier'.

What do you think was the purpose of this slogan?

How effective do you think it might have been?

In answering this question you need to think about the reality of many women's lives during the war. If a family did not have enough money for food, what could they do?

Mary in 'Motherhood' film is shown drinking gin until she passes out. Imagine that you have been appointed to run a campaign against alcohol abuse between 1914-18. What slogan would you use?

Look at the ‘Motherhood’ poster in the video.

• How can we use the poster to find out about attitudes to mothers in 1917?

8. Learning to Interpret Film in Critical Ways

Look at:
Extract 6: MOTHERHOOD (1917)

Pause the programme at the following points:

10:04:38:20	Mary washing, lifts arm to sweep brow.
10:04:50:14	Is this a pudding? Its more like a cannon ball!
10:05:00:05	Mary takes glass of gin from neighbour.
10:05:14:00	Health visitor walks in. Jack takes hat off.
10:05:39:03	Women making puddings.
10:05:58:22	Jack arrives & kisses her - Best Mother Award.

How are pose, expression and dialogue used in these clips to send messages about:

1. working class women;
2. working class men;
3. how working class mothers could be helped.

The film MOTHERHOOD is one representation about working class mothers. It was made as propaganda - that is, its purpose was to send particular messages. What use might this be to a historian who wants to find out about the history of women?

9. Using Film to Find Out about Daily Life, Propaganda and Patriotism

Look at:
Extract 8: THEY ALSO SERVE (1940)

(i) Using film as a source about daily life

• What different tasks does the housewife carry out and how does she do them?
• Describe the house, furnishings, props.

(ii) Using film as a source about propaganda and patriotism

• Describe the housewife. How does she feel about her life? What are her expressions? What does she say?
• What do you think other housewives were supposed to feel when they saw the film?
• What do you think was the purpose of the film?

(iii) Why do you think the film was called 'They also serve?'.

10. Using Film to Find Out about Factory Work, Propaganda and Patriotism

Look at:
Extract 14: NIGHT SHIFT (1942)

Read your answers to Activity 9 and then answer the question below:

Like 'They Also Serve', ‘Night Shift ‘can be used to find out about factory work and propaganda, patriotism. Explain how this can be done by referring to detail from the film.

11. Millions Like Us : Case Study in Interpreting Film Critically

Look at:
Extract 15: MILLIONS LIKE US (1943)

NOTE TO TEACHERS

Individually, in pairs or in groups write your own scripts for war time propaganda films at the Home Front.

Think about:
PURPOSE - What are the messages you are trying to send your audience? What do you want them to feel and / do as and after they watch the film?
CHARACTERS - Who will your heroine be? Who else will be in the film? Describe them.
NARRATIVE - What is the story? What will happen at the start, in the middle, at the end?
DIALOGUE - What will your characters say? How will they speak?

12. Interpreting Film within the Historical Context: USA, USSR, Nazi Germany

Look at:
Extract 10: WOMEN OF STEEL (1943)
Extract 11: FEAT OF MOSCOW (1943)
Extract 12: Sequence of shots of women in Nazi Germany

List the differences (think about action, dialogue, commentary, expressions, nature of work) between the three extracts.

Use your knowledge about each of these countries to explain those differences.

13. Change and Continuity between World War One and Two.

Look at the programme again and all your responses to the activities. Use your viewing and reading to fill in the table below.

SIMILARITIES between WW1& 2	DIFFERENCES between WW1& 2
Women worked within the munitions industry - 'traditional male' work.	The Blitz meant that there was more interference in lives in WW2 compared to WW1.

Use the table to:

Write about CHANGE between World War One and Two.
Write about CONTINUITY between World War One and Two.

14. What happened to working women after the Second World War?

Use Internet sites, history books, members of your family / other oral histories to find out about what happened to women after the war.

For example:
Did the war nurseries stay open?
How many married women continued to work?
How many women continued to work in industry (factories)?
Your research will support your understanding of PROGRAMME 3: WORK.