How women helped the war effort in the 1940s…
This series reveals the unknown histories of the daring female pilots, journalists, guerrillas and spies who fought, flew and died in the Second World War, defying expectations, overcoming prejudices, and often outperforming their male counterparts.
The programmes sheds overdue light on the unwritten stories of some of the most perilous and courageous women who led the charge.
The first episode, which airs tomorrow (Aug 3rd), tells the remarkable stories of women who fought the Nazi invaders in occupied Europe, as well as an Austrian spy who successfully infiltrated the United States.
Josephine Baker, a major star in 1930s Paris, joined forces with French Military Intelligence, spying on Axis officials and smuggling vital information across borders – often written in invisible ink on her sheet music. The Special Operations Executive sent hundreds of agents, including women, into occupied Europe to help the Resistance movement, including Noor Inayat Khan, who navigated the dangerous role of a wireless operator.
Across the Atlantic, young Austrian spy Lilly Stein infiltrated military industries, seducing high-profile men into giving away their secrets. She was vilified by the press and the FBI, but as a Jew allegedly blackmailed by the Nazis, her story is more complex than it seems.
Another Jewish woman, Selma Van de Perre, joined the Dutch Resistance, in a dangerous role as a courier. And teenage girls Truus and Freddie Oversteegen used their youth as a disguise, luring German officers into the woods and shooting them dead, as well as committing acts of sabotage like blowing up railway bridges, often dressed as men.
WW2: Women on the Frontline: Behind Enemy Lines, Channel 4, August 3rd at 7 pm
