GER 150 Podcast - Frauism - Ep 8 - Trümmerfrauen

The episode explores the Trümmerfrauen, women who played a key role in rebuilding post-World War II Germany. The myth suggests that all women volunteered to rebuild the city, but in reality, only a small percentage actually helped. They were paid very little and worked long hours. The significance of this collective memory is debated, as it can be seen as both empowering and limiting for women. The image of the Trümmerfrau symbolized women's strength, but it also reinforced traditional gender roles. The discussion also touches on the challenges faced by women and the impact of class on the rebuilding process. Hello and welcome to episode 8 of Frauerism. Today we will be talking about the Trümmerfrauen or Germany's rebel women from post-World War II. These women play a key role in Germany's history as well as in the collective memory of the people. We will be discussing these women based on the myths of the Trümmerfrauen versus the actual history. So the myth is that all women rebuilt the city voluntarily. It was said that women ages 15 through 50 volunteered in the masses to work and rebuild and they joined enthusiastically. The media spread images to boost the idea of these women contributing so much. Germans saw women as a symbol of power because of their efforts but that only existed in memory and not in reality. So the fact is that realistically only a small percentage of women actually helped rebuild. They were only paid about $0.72 per hour which is roughly equating to $0.32 per hour. Women interviewed from a news station around the late 90s and early 2000s described how they would work 9 hours a day and get food and other goods from forces within Berlin. So like the people that occupied during this time. In the Soviet sector women were required to help clean the city along with men because of the socialist ideals that everyone is equal. But in the allied sectors women took more traditional roles and a small percentage helped clean the rubble. In general they were marketed to help rebuild as was stated in the myth section. So the question is what, you know, well now. What significance does this collective memory serve? So Adam, what significance does this collective memory serve? Well how about you go first. Well it was obviously meant to show that women were the strength of the country and that anybody can be strong. Right? Or like something along those lines I think. However I think it's kind of backhanded. I agree. But I think it's just because if we categorize some women as all women, isn't that kind of detrimental if we categorize thousands of women under 50 women and then we market on the 50 women instead of all of them? Like does that make sense? Yeah. But I think even though it was only small, like 5% of women, I think that the idea of it was important. I'm trying not to say um because that happens a lot. You can even tell the difference between the sectors too because in the East Berlin side there's a statue commemorating the Krummer Frau and it was like very upright, shoulders back. Even masculine. More masculine. Wearing trousers. Very much more like shown as a worker rather than in the Western side. It was more laid back. Traditional. Traditional. She was wearing like a dress, a skirt, had the overcoat on. They had flowers even on it so it's like she was accepting something. It was all over religion. Feminized. Feminized. Yeah. The image of it though, of the Krummer Frau, it was kind of like a boost to women's power at the time. Even though it wasn't like historically accurate, I think that in German memory, or just in all memory, it's important to have the changing power dynamic. It is true that the majority of citizens were women after the war over men and I think the idea that these women had more, not leverage, but more input, power into the way Germany worked was an important idea at the time. Yeah. The like of men led to a feminized society. Yeah. And this term also did not exist for men either. The concept did not exist. So this was exclusive to women. Yeah. Yeah. I guess like the reason that I think that it can be kind of, again, like kind of detrimental, or like not detrimental, but kind of harmful to like womanist movements is just because it was, even like these pictures, like they're very traditional women. Like we talked about like the statue and how they were wearing like trousers and things like that, but like in the photos, like they're all wearing dresses and they're all like have a smile on their face and it's like a very like media movement almost. I agree. I think it was the government trying to get people to actually get going and rebuilding the city. In the film, they were wearing dresses, they were wearing, had their gloves on. Some of them had no gloves, but I mean some of the Muslim women, they were in like chain lines, passing the buckets each, they had to do this hours a day. Yeah. So I think like the symbol of, like the symbol is like super important, but I also don't think that, like if I didn't do like research into like the actual numbers, like I would have just been like, hell yeah, like women are cool, I guess. Yeah. You know, and like I don't think I would, like if I hadn't have known that, then like I would have been like, well, because like women are still breaking patriarchal rules, so it's like I would have thought that like these rebel women were actually, they went forward, but then they were pushed backwards and like, I don't know. Men still dominated society, even though like these women were coming forward and working, the ones that did. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah, but it is good that they, that there was more women participation. Yeah. At least. I feel like they almost had to, and that's where we're willing to believe, oh, they volunteered to do it. Yeah. But like not that many did. Yeah. I think they also like, a lot of German women, I read this in like the article, they felt like it was a punishment for the war. They just stayed home, they weren't the ones fighting, so it's like we're just cleaning up the men's problems. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know, I think post-World War II, it's really hard to think about just because a lot went, a lot happened. Yeah, like a lot happened and like we are, we live like such like, I don't want to say like privilege, but privilege lives, so that we're like, it's kind of like incomprehensible what like these women did. Exactly. Like, I've never like walked through the street and seen all of these like destroyed buildings and like, seen like all of these people without houses and yeah. I believe it was like 75% of like the comm board was just destroyed, and 25% was like livable. Yeah. Meaning like, well 25% of the 50% that was just completely destroyed, it was somewhat livable. Yeah. And then another 25% that was not destroyed. Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of people were homeless. Yeah, and then there's also like the matter of class, like if you had the money to rebuild or not, that's also, becomes like a really important part of the discussion. Post-World War II? Mm-hmm. However, I do not have anything else to say about. I haven't really spoken to me neither, that's why I've been silent for a while. Okay. Well on that note. They're iconic though. They are iconic. They are iconic. Three, oh wait. And on that note. Cheers!