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On the Road to Recovery: Rubble Women in Post WWII Germany

Lesson 2:

From Unit Out of the Ashes of WWII

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

9th-12th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Library / Technology and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Analyze/Interpret; Cause/Effect; Compare/Contrast; Cultural/Historical Contexts; Electronic Text; Group Discussions; Personal Response
PHIL:	Culture; Global Community; Helping; Motivation for Giving; Relief; Volunteer
SOC:	Analyze/Interpret; Cause/Effect; Choices/Consequences; Citizenship/Civic Engagement; Common Good; Communities; Compare/Contrast; Disaster: Human-Made; Environment

Purpose:

The learners will review the economic, geographic, political, and social situations in post-WWII United States and Germany and the comparisons they made between these two countries in Lesson One. They will also explore the actions that the German people and the German Government took to improve their post- WWII situation. They will also research the story of the "Rubble Women ("Truemmerfrauen"). Learners discuss and answer questions on Philanthropy and the Common Good.

Duration:

Two Fifty-Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

share their posters from Lesson One

review the definition of the common good, philanthropy, and government philanthropy

review the comparisons between the ways that the American people and the American Government helped to provide for the common good post-WWII and the ways that the German people and the German Government used to help better Germany's conditions post-WWII

identify and explain the philanthropic motivations of the "Rubble Women" and the reason why so many women of post-WWII Germany became "Rubble Women.

construct a poster depicting how the German people and the German Government came together to provide for the common good, post WWII.

Materials:

Completed "In the Aftermath of WWII" worksheet (from Lesson One-Attachment One)
Internet access
"Truemmerfrauen Questions" - Attachment Two
"Truemmerfrauen Lecture" - Attachment One
"Truemmerfrauen Test" - Attachment Three
"Truemmerfrauen Test and Answers" - Attachment Four
"Truemmerfrauen und der Bund" - Attachment Five

Handout 1: Truemmerfrauen Questions
Handout 2: Truemmerfrauen Lecture
Handout 3: Truemmerfrauen Test
Handout 4: Truemmerfrauen Test with Answers
Handout 5: Truemmerfrauen und der Bund

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

As the learners enter the room collect and display their posters. Ask for volunteers to 'explain' their poster and allow some time for discussion. Tell the learners that today the focus will be on Germany post- WWII. Ask the question "What would you do if your homes were destroyed? "Where would you live?" and "What would you do if you could not find contractors to rebuild your homes?"

Give the learners a few minutes to jot down some ideas. Students should choose a partner and take turns sharing their answers. Solicit volunteers to share some of the ways their partner responded to these three questions.

Explain that these three questions had to be addressed by thousands and thousof Germans post-WWII.

Ask the learners to share what comes to mind when they hear the term "The Rubble Women" and record these offerings on the display board. Give each learner a copy of the information included the "Truemmerfrauen Lecture" -Attachment One.

If the learners have classroom access to the Internet or can access the Internet from a media center/computer lab direct the students to the websites listed in the Bibliographical References. Allow time for students to examine a number of different sites. Teacher Note: If the students do not have access to the Internet, download some of the information from these sites and have the learners work in small groups to read and answer the questions based upon what has been distributed to them as well as what they are able to obtain from their texts and other media references.)

Pass out "Truemmerfrauen Questions" - Attachment Two so that the learners can accessthe sites and complete their research before the next class session. Remind students that they will have a discussion and a written assignment based on their answers, due at the end of the lesson.

Class Session Two:

Anticipatory Set:

Prior to the students coming into the class rooms, place the desks in groups of four. Allow the learners to sit wherever they choose. Once seated, begin by having the learners recall their definitions for the term "Rubble Women." Have them also recall the definitions of common good, philanthropy, and government philanthropy.

In their self-selected groups, have the learners discuss how each of these terms relates to the experience of the Truemmerfrauen.

Distribute the Truemmerfrauen Test and allow the learners time in their groups to respond to any one of the seven questions.

Randomly select a group to respond to each of the first six questions, encouraging those groups not called to critique the designed group's response. Try to reach consensus on each of the first six responses.

Have each learner respond to question seven by a "hand-vote" or "oral vote," if it is considered philanthropy if the person or persons involved in performing an act for the common good were "paid" for their actions?

To conclude this session have the learners write two or three paragraphs of personal reflection as to why they chose to vote as they did. If time is available, engage the learners in a class discussion/'formal debate' (See Extension) would generate a more lively involvement.

Assessment:

Oral and/or written responses to Truemmerfrauen Questions- Attachment Two.
Depth of student discussion and research of the "Rubble Women."
Assess discussion/debate or written reflection Re; Question Seven - Attachment Three and Attachment Four.

Extension:

A lively debate could center around Question and Answer--Seven, Attachment Three and Attachment Four:
"Might it still be considered philanthropy if the person or persons involved in performing an act for the common good were 'paid' for what they did? Why? or Why Not? "
Direct students to do an image search of the web under the word "Truemmerfrauen". Students should list any instances which do not relate to Germany in the post-WWII period. Discuss what these other instances relate to, and how it connects to the postwar German experience. If there is time, have students do a second image search using the keyword "rubble women". Discuss what other situations are documented in the websites in which "rubble women" of other countries and time periods exist.
For German teachers, an additional handout "Truemmerfrauen und der Bund" (Attachment Five) is included as a linguistic enhancement to the lesson.

Bibliographical References:

Some sites with photographs of Rubble Women (in German and English):

"Living on Purpose" by Dan Millman , 2000, ISBN 1-57731-132-9

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

George T. Young
Archdiocese of Detroit
Divine Child High School
Dearborn, MI 48128

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Truemmerfrauen Questions

Some sites with photographs of Rubble Women (in German and English):

Directions: Look at no less than three different websites from the list.

Which one do you think is the best and why?
Pick one of the pictures and write a brief description of what is happening. Give a description of the people and what they are doing. What does the picture show about daily life in Germany at this time?
Choose 3 different pictures. Why do you think they are similar or different?

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Truemmerfrauen Lecture

Allied air raids on German cities left most of Germany in ruins by the end of World War II. Most adult men were absent at the time, either not yet returned from the fighting abroad, or dead (estimates run as high as 15 million German men killed).

Allied bombings (begun in 1942), left most of Germany's major cities in rubble. The hardest hit cities were Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.
Some survivors worked to clear the rubble on their own, mostly to find usable materials to repair their own homes. Though this was widespread, it came nowhere near to the demand----the streets were still jammed with rubble.
Women were called upon by the Allied Control Council to clear the streets of the rubble which in some places reached as high as the first floor. These women, who were called "Truemmerfrauen" (literally "Rubble Women"), worked to clear the rubble from the streets, using bare hands and buckets. They sorted the bricks recovered into two piles: that which could be re-used, and that which could not. The incentive for doing this work was that food ration coupons were upgraded for those who volunteered to the category of hard physical labor. Higher caloric portions were given to women who did this hard task, much more so than the amount allotted to housewives.
In Berlin alone, over 60,000 women worked to clear the rubble.
In many present-day German cities where Truemmerfrauen worked for years (some well into the 1950s), there are now statues built to honor these womens' self-sacrifice and hard work.

Handout 3Print Handout 3

Truemmerfrauen Test

What was a Truemmerfrau?
Why was there a need for Truemmerfrauen in the first place (ie, why was it women and not men who did this task)?
What were two of the four cities discussed in class you'd be most likely to find Truemmerfrauen working in?
What was the purpose for the work the Truemmerfrauen did?
How were Truemmerfrauen "paid" for their work?
How does the story of the Truemmerfrauen relate to what you know about the terms Common Good and Philanthropy?
Might it still be considered philanthropy if the person or persons involved in performing an act for the common good were "paid" for what they did ? Why? or Why Not?

Handout 4Print Handout 4

Truemmerfrauen Test with Answers

What was a Truemmerfrau?
(Truemmerfrauen were adult women in Germany who, after the end of World War II, were called upon to clear the rubble from the streets of the ruined cities.)
Why was there a need for Truemmerfrauen in the first place (ie, why was it women and not men who did this task)?
(A large portion of Germany's adult male population was dead or missing in the war.)
What were two of the four cities discussed in class you'd be most likely to find Truemmerfrauen working in?
(Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.)
What was the physical purpose for the work the Truemmerfrauen did?
(To clear the streets of rubble.)
How were Truemmerfrauen "paid" for their work?
(Their food ration coupons were upgraded to "hard physical labor", which meant they received more calories daily.)
How does the story of the Truemmerfrauen relate to what you know about the terms Common Good and Philanthropy?
(Answers will vary. Possible answers include: Truemmerfrauen worked for the Common Good by doing what was needed for society as a whole. Truemmerfrauen showed Philanthropy when they gave of themselves, their time, and their talents to help out when they were needed.)
Might it still be considered philanthropy if the person or persons involved in performing an act for the common good were "paid" for what they did ? Why? or Why Not?
(Answers will vary and this could lead to a very exciting and interesting debate. One example of contemporary thought is expressed by Dan Millman in his book entitled "Living on Purpose" when he states. "Actions matter more than motives.... charity still benefits."

Handout 5Print Handout 5

Truemmerfrauen und der Bund

Gemeinnutz nach dem Krieg

"Gemeinnutz ist ein Nutzen für alle - fast immer in der Gegeneinandersetzung zum "Eigennutz", dem (selbstsüchtig gesuchten) Nutzen nur für sich selbst: "Gemeinutz geht vor Eigennutz". Problematisch ist, dass dieser Satz auch im Parteiprogramm der NSDAP stand und die Aufopferung des Einzelnen für Volk und Vaterland oder die Unterscheidung von gutem, schaffendem, und schlechtem, raffenden Kapital meinte." (from Wikipedia http://lexikon.freenet.de/Gemeinnutz)

German language teachers can find a wealth of cultural and linguistic topics included in this lesson.

Basic vocabulary items: Haeuser, Strassen, Ruinen, Bombenangriff, Arbeit, Steine, Truemmer, zerstoeren, Schwerarbeit
Thematic vocabulary items: Gemeinnutz, Gemeinwohl, Gemeinde, Bund, Buendnis, Zusammenarbeit, Freiwilliger, Zugehoerigkeit
Eigennutz and Gemeinnutz can be compared and contrasted, and the word Gemeinnutz as a Nazi propaganda term may be discussed. The core notion of Gemeinnutz can be discussed in class as an aspect of German culture which has traditionally been used with society's best interests in mind, but when used falsely, can lead to social collapse as it did during the Nazi era.
"Kinder, Kueche, Kirche?" A discussion of the development of gender roles for women in pre- and post-war Germany would be particularly valuable. A considerable amount of backlash occurred with the return of German men from the war, who soon realized that the women they had left behind had become more assertive and independent in their absence. (The divorce rate nationwide rose significantly after the end of the war.)

Academic Standards:

State/Country:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:Out of the Ashes of WWII Summary

Lessons:

1.: Consequences of WWII
2.: On the Road to Recovery: Rubble Women in Post WWII Germany
3.: The Marshall Plan: Data Analysis
4.: A Local Marshall Plan: Bringing 'Renewal' to Our Community