Women Reenactors of WWII: German Civilians . . . Sarah

Next up in our interview series I am so excited to present to you Sarah. First off, thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series. Sarah has been an inspiration to me personally when it comes to reenacting and I hope that she will inspire you as well.  Sarah has done incredible research into women's uniformed impressions for WWII Germany but she has also done civilian as well (very well too I might add!). Sarah shares some of her best advice for those just getting into the hobby and some of her favorite resources as well. In her over seven years as a reenactor, Sarah has seen an increase in women participating in the hobby and has seen many all women units form as well. Without further ado, here is Sarah! 

 1) Tell me about yourself! How did you get into doing a WWII German civilian impression and how long have you been doing this impression?

When I first started WW2 I put together a Luftwaffe Nachrichten Helferin impression, while I was really passionate about this impression I also realized having a German civilian impression to compliment the helferin would be useful and also more appropriate for certain events.  I debuted my German civilian impression about 6 months after attending my first event.  

2) what are some benefits of doing WWII German civilian? 

Just like an allied civilian impression, a German civilian impression has so many options you can explore depending on your goals as a reenactor.  If you want to be a more glamorous high class woman you can pursue that or if you want to be a middle or lower class woman you can also represent them.  There were thousands of German women who experienced the war in Europe both in the country and urban settings and all of them unique.  

3) what are some challenges of doing German civilian and just portraying the " bad guys" side in general? Do you think playing the " bad guys" comes with an added responsibility or pressure?

There are so many challenges that women face when they decide to portray someone on the German side.  Many events in the USA require participants to be a part of a registered unit to attend and on the German side those units are all military units.  This sometimes results in an awkward juxtaposition of a Germans civilian impression next to front line military encampment. Several years ago, a handful of fellow German reenactors formed a new unit with me, Nachr.Rgt 598,  specifically for German helferin and civilian impression to allow us to attend events independently and create our own displays to differentiate our impressions from male military units.  Additionally when portraying the "bad guys" you have an added burden for historical accuracy and education to the public, not all women within Germany followed certain beliefs and trying to educate the public that many of these women were wives, sisters, and mothers of men who were fighting in a war and were in grave danger or may not survive and the worry and stress to continue to survive each day just like their American counterparts.

4) Do you have a static display at events? If so, what are your favorite show and tell items? If you don't do a display, what is your favorite item to still bring and show off at events? 

Yes I do have a static display I'll bring to certain events depending on the overall focus of the event and whether it is a public or private event.  I actually have 2 favorite items I like to display.  One is a set of German fashion magazines from the early years of the war including before the USA entered the war, they show how several Hollywood actors and actresses were quite popular.  They include features on Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn.  The second item is a book published in 1941 titled "Frauen helfen siegen" and translates to "Women help win."  This book documents all the homefront roles German women stepped up into to support their country and the war effort on their homefront.  It has original photos and descriptions of women in factory jobs, working farms. servicing cars as mechanics, delivering mail for the Reichspost, working on trains as part of the Reichbahn, and even performing in the German version of USO shows to entertain the troops and keep morale up.  

5) do you have any advice to new reenactors? What is something you would have liked to have known when you were getting started?

My advice to new reenactors is to don't give up, if you have chosen an impression you are passionate about go for it!  As women it's common for us to doubt ourselves or struggle with imposter syndrome but if you're passionate about something don't let the perceptions or opinions of anyone else hold you back.  There is also a wonderful community of smart, confident, and strong female reenactors out there who will be happy to be your cheerleader or help you excel in the hobby.  When I started I'd have loved to know there was this community of other female reenactors to network with but when I did find them we have created amazing bonds together and all worked towards elevated our hobby even further than it was almost 7 years ago when I started.   

6) what is something you have always wanted to do at an event? What is something you would love to see at an event that you have yet to see? 

I have a daughter now who has started coming out to some events with me each year.  I would love to eventually do an end of war, German refugee impression.  These women along with their families had to carry anything they own on their backs, wear any clothes they want, and pile their belongings on carts or even prams to flee their homes in German cities as the Allies were invading and taking over the cities or bombing out the cities.  So many events focus on the victory of the Americans or British as they liberated a city but you don't see what happened to be people who lived in those houses or buildings that the military is now occupying or had to fight from to win.  

7) In your reenacting adventures do you have a fun or interesting story that you would like to share? 

When I first started reenacting there weren't many women who portrayed impressions on the German side, most women who were at events were there with a significant other who had a German military impression.  For my first several events I would often get approached and asked "what unit is your boyfriend in?" and enjoyed throwing people off when I said he's not in any unit and I was doing this on my own this got a lot of respect among other reenactors.  Eventually when I started my own unit, me and the other women in our unit liked to tease our significant others and ask them "what unit is your girlfriend in?" 

8) knowledge is power! Can you share some of your favorite resources in building up this impression?

Any and all original documentation or first person memoirs.  The fashion and movie magazines I mentioned above are fantastic resources because they have documentation on home life, fashion trends, and entertainment that were popular during the war and also how things evolved from the beginning to the end of the war.  I also have been fortunate to talk to and learn from some German women at events who lived through the war.  My favorite was the wife of a Luftwaffe veteran who met her husband when she went out to their barn to feed their barn cats and discovered him sleeping in the barn.  I spent hours talking to her about her childhood and her experiences during the war that have helped me refine my impressions.  

Otherwise in terms books Nazi Chic by Irene Guenther and Life and Times in Nazi Germany edited by Lisa Pine are good resources focused specifically on civilian culture.  Also any Lutterloh pattern books are stellar reference if they were published during the war year to help see what typically German dress styles were whether you sew your own clothes, purchase original vintage or buy modern reproductions.  

9) How or what was reenacting WWII German civilian like when you started and what do you think is the future of reenacting WWII German civilian? 

German civilian reenacting was very scarce when I first started, most of it consisted of women wearing modern costume-type dirndls after hours at events and virtually no network to connect with other females in the hobby who had similar goals as I did.  Since then, in addition to the unit I helped found, I've seen several other all female German units become established and flourish and a tremendous growth in the number of women who pursue this impression and other German impressions with a high standard for accuracy and support of others to join the hobby and be successful.  There are so many wonderful things going on that are taking these impressions to the next level and I can't wait to see where it goes in the years to come.   

Thank you so much Sarah for participating! If you or someone you know would like to be featured, please get in touch with me at theuglydame@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!