Jewish women in the Armed Forces

Kathrin Pieren and Susan Gordon from the Jewish Museum London uncover the important contribution of Jewish women in the First and Second World Wars.

Women have always played an important role in armed conflicts. But their contributions have often gone unnoticed, hidden beneath the heroism of men.

Yet women like Muriel Byck - a Jewish secretary from Ealing who went behind enemy lines to work as a wireless operator with the French Resistance - showed just as much courage as their male counterparts.

Many others helped defend their country in more stereotypically ‘female’ roles; as nurses, doctors, waitresses and clerical workers. These jobs may have been regarded as less glamorous, but were equally needed to win the war.

Rarely seen photographs, documents and oral history testimonies from the Jewish Military Museum collection, held at the Jewish Museum London, will reveal fascinating individual stories about what motivated these women to serve, and the different roles they held in a male-dominated environment.

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