The Cake Take on History: Women in World War II

Follow the cakes on Instagram: @the.cake.take.on.history A Digital Humanities and Technology capstone project by Carol April 2018, Brigham Young University Allred Inspiration for this concept came at a piano recital I attended last summer, alone in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. The music was moving and filling and exactly fitting for the tall, echoey kirk. I felt as if I was both settling into myself and being pushed out, and I felt a strange jealousy of the pianist’s power to make people feel so intensely. I love European history: stories of despots, artists, farmers, Welshmen who start housefires, fleeing kings. Their stories are a transferrable heritage, creating bonds with those in the past who feel far away until, in their stories, we catch glimpses of ourselves. They matter to us, even if only for the duration of the tale. And I love cake. It is superior to all other food. This all came together in St. Giles’. Like the pianist, I wanted to make people feel something just unfamiliar enough that they had to think about it; to connect people today with people of the past. This exhibit focuses on Women and World War II, sharing a handful of stories of brave, passionate, resilient women and a few snapshots of life during the war— sugar, spice, and a few things in between. Bon appetit. WHat is This Exhibit? The Cake Take on History is a project combining my two great passions. I make cakes whose flavors represent different aspects of a historical person, event, or story. The cake, familiar and sweet, is meant to be delicious, but the unusual flavors encourage us to think about what it was like to be there, to be them. women in the armed forces American Womens Airorce Service Pilots and their instructor. Source: U.S. Aur Force As well as the home front effort, women could—and many did—volunteer for auxiliary military organizations. In many countries they often worked as clerks, typists, nurses, couriers, spotlight operators, and drivers. While women were limited in what kinds of positions they could hold, in some countries they also served as spies, pilots, snipers, mechanics, and anti-aircraft operators. What the flavors mean Lotta Svard: Walnut Cake with Lavender Mascarpone Frosting The walnut symbolizes the resilient women, dedicated to their cause, whose femininity—the lavender mascarpone frosting— doesn’t belie their work and sacrifice. Finnish Lottas preparing food for Finnish volunteer forces, 1941. Source: Uusi Suomi Lotta Svard Lotta Svard was a volunteer organization in Finland, created in 1921 but active during World War II. Its purpose was to keep up morale and support national defense of the country; its female members were meant to be exemplars of patriotism, sacrifice, and duty. The rules were strict, and initially only Christian Finnish women recommended by two other upstanding members could join, but the organization was later opened to Jews and foreigners. The Lottas filled positions left empty by the men who went to war. They worked most commonly in hospitals, but also in fundraising, communications, surveillance, and maintenance. Lotta Svard inspired similar organizations in Romania, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Because of pressure from the Soviet Union the organization was repressed after the war, but has since been revived. evacuation of dunkirk Troops reovered from Dunkirk on a destroyer about to berth at Dover, 31 May 1940. Source: Imperial War Museums Within weeks of invading Belgium, German forces had advanced across France and cornered the British and French armies on the beaches of the small coastal town of Dunkirk. Within days the majority of the British and French military force would perish or be captured. Operation Dynamo was the plan for the evacuation of the troops. The British navy enlisted small civilian vessels like fishing boats or pleasure cruisers, as well as commercial ferries. With the help of over 800 smaller boats, the troops were carried across the channel to Dover. Only expected to rescue 30,000 soldiers, the evacuation ultimately saved over 300,000 men, including French and Dutch troops, from capture or death. What the flavors mean Molasses Cake with Raspberries, German Buttercream and Sea Salt The dark molasses is the heaviness of surrender and the fear of defeat and death; the raspberries refer to Great Britain’s role in the evacuation, and their tartness expresses the ambiguity of the situation. The sea salt is a nod to the beach setting, and the custard frosting is reminiscent of the relief of survival and hope for a future victory. Civilians queing outside a bakery in Paris, 1945. Souce: Imperial War Museums What the flavors mean Squash Cake with Blackberry Frosting and Bleu Cheese The hardy sweet potatoes represent the food rationing and difficult food shortages that occured in France during the German occupation, and the berries represent any luxury that could be bought off the black market. Bleu cheese is traditionally French, but the mold reminds us of the bitterness of German occupation— that France didn’t feel like home to its citizens. the home front in france France fell to Germany early in the war and was not liberated until 1944. The German army directly controlled northern and western France, and indirectly controlled the Vichy government of unoccupied southern France. Civilians in both zones had to decide whether to collaborate, resist, or find a middle ground that would help them survive the war. Two million men were sent to Germany as prisoners-of-war, forced to work in factories or labor camps, and their absence took a toll on their wives in France. While rationing was implemented, food shortages were severe. Transportation lines were disrupted, censorship was high, and a curfew was set in place. All these factors, in addition to the presence of the the occupying army, had a significant effect on the psyche of the French as their country felt less and less like home. rossenstrasse protest German women washing clothes at a cold water hydrant, Berlin On February 27, 1943, almost 2,000 Mischlinge (Jewish men married to non-Jewish women) were rounded up by the SS and held prisoner at Rosenstrasse (Rose Street) 2–4, a welfare office for the Jewish community in Berlin. In the days following, hundreds of German women—the wives and relatives of these Jewish men—gathered at the front of the building and demanded their husbands back. The crowd continued to grow, despite threats of being shot at by the German police, until the men were released on March 6. Hitler and his Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels feared a public backlash if the women were harmed. They intended to re-imprison the men at a later date, but never did. This women’s demonstration was the only German public protest against the deportation of the Jews. What the flavors mean Spice Cake with Cherry German Buttercream with Orange Zest The cherry and tart orange zest tastes like the bright love these women felt for their husbands, underlain by the spice cake—their strong and stubborn determination to have their husbands returned to them. Several members of the Night Witches, most of whom became Heroes of the Soviet Union, 1943. On the eastern front, the Soviet Union was battling the advancing German army. Although women could serve as nurses, cooks, clerks, and other support roles, they were usually barred from combat. But in 1941, Marina Raskova, “the Soviet Amelia Earhart,” convinced Stalin to create an all-female fighter pilot unit. The 588th Regiment was made up of women mechanics, support crew, and pilots. They performed bombing raids on the German army, often doing eight to twelve missions a night because their planes, wood-and-canvas Polikarpow Po-2’s, only carried six bombs. When approaching, they would turn off the engine and glide down to drop the bombs, the planes making a whooshing noise at is passed. The Germans thought the noise sounded like witches flying by on broomsticks and named these Soviet female pilots the “Night Witches.” Chocolate Cake with Paprika and Cinnamon Ganache Chocolate for the black background of the women’s night missions, and paprika and cinnamon for their fearlessness and bold creativity. night witches What the flavors mean polish underground state Polish Jews captured by German soliders during the Warsaw Ghetto, 1943 In the days following the German and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, the Polish government organized various underground resistance organizations collectively called the Polish Underground State. It included a parliament, courts, schools, an underground press and cultural activities, an army, and, importantly, Zegota. Zegota was a codename for the Council to Aid Jews, and was set up to rescue Jews in German-occupied Poland. The Polish Home Army sabotaged German activities, gathered intelligence, communicated with government leaders who had fled to London, and led the failed 69-day Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The Polish Underground State was discredited by the communist leadership in Poland after the war, and until the 1990s records and information about it were suppressed. It has been called the largest resistance movement in Europe during the War. What the flavors mean Irena Sendler: Rose and Rhubarb Cake and Caramel Buttercream Irena is the rose: beautiful and, like the flower’s thorns, determined and protective her own. The sour rhubarb is her time imprisoned and captured by the Gestapo, and the caramel is the sweet hope of a future for the children she saved. Irena Sendler, 1944 Irena Sendler Irena grew up around a Jewish community outside of Warsaw and was a 29-year-old social worker when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. By 1940 the Warsaw Ghetto had been sealed off, an area of the city where thousands of Jews were forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions without adequate food or medical supplies. Traffic in and out of the ghetto was highly guarded, but as a social worker, Irene was permitted into the ghetto to treat typhus, a disease the Germans were afraid would spread. She used her position to help Jewish children escape, smuggling them out in trams, baskets, hidden in carts or potato bags, or under ambulance stretchers. She placed them with Polish families or in Catholic orphanages or convents. The children were given new names and taught Christian prayers, but she kept track—on lists buried in glass jars— of their names and families to ensure that they did not lose their Jewish identity and could be reunited with their families at the end of the war. In 1943, Irena was imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo. She was sentenced to death but escaped through bribery, and returned to Warsaw to continue her efforts. Working in Zegota, Irena smuggled out over 2,500 children and saved more Jews than any other single individual during the Holocaust. mothers of the fallen A grief-stricken infantryman whose buddy had been killed in action is comforted by another soldier. Military service was a matter of duty and honor, but also of necessity. Many men volunteered, but as the war continued, many were conscripted. The Soviet Union, United States, United Kingdom, the British Commonwealth, Germany, and China all had laws requiring able men to serve in the armed forces. More people died in World War II than in any other war. The Soviet Union suffered the most casualties, followed by China and Germany, but all across the globe communities and families were irrevocably affected by the loss of their neighbors, sons, fathers, and brothers. American mother Evelyn Smith’s son and his crew were reported as missing in action in September 1944. The mothers and sisters of the crew members corresponded with each other for months corroborating information, trading photos, and offering consolation. Their letters show the fear, uncertainty, strength, and hope felt across the world by the countless families of deployed soldiers. What the flavors mean Dark Chocolate Cake with HoneyGinger Buttercream Against the background of sorrow’s dark chocolate, the ginger is the sharp pain of loss, while honey is any peace or relief their family found in a soldier’s sacrifice and honorable death. Celebrations on V-E Day. Source: Paul Townsend via Creative Commons Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945, signaled the end of the war that had shaken Europe for the past six years and, in England, an end to the the fear and austerity that had gripped the country. They celebrated with parades, street parties, listening to the speeches of Churchill and King George VI, and thanksgiving services. It wasn’t all jubilant, however: those who had lost a loved one found it hard to celebrate, Japan had yet to surrender, food and clothing rationing would continue, and the political and economic situation was still strained. For everyone, the momentous day marked the beginning of a new era. What the flavors mean The sweet peach and fresh mint is the hope and expectation of a new and brighter post-war era, while the hale carrot (grown in Victory Gardens during the war) is the acknowledgement that vestiges of war—like rationing—will still have to be carried into the future. v-e day Carrot Cake with Peach Buttercream and Mint