As the need for arms production increased, the Nazi regime needed to find ways to push the war economy further with limited resources. One of the most difficult resources to manage was the labor power necessary to keep Germany’s armies well supplied, especially as young men were called into service. As available male labor dwindled, however, the regime was deeply reluctant to allow women to fill the gap. This reluctance stemmed from the deeply rooted misogyny of National Socialist ideology, which venerated masculine strength, heroism, and martial valor. Permitting women to perform hard labor in factories presented a direct challenge to their very public message of women’s role as mothers, housewives, and above all subordinates to men.

When military needs finally pushed the regime to permit women’s entry into the armaments labor force, Nazi leaders remained cautious about public opinion. In this brief memorandum to publishing firms, state authorities stipulated that any mention of women’s involvement in war work had to appear to be voluntary and motivated by the women’s desire to contribute to the Reich’s war readiness of their own volition. Any hint that the economy was incapable of maintaining arms production without the aid of these women was to be strictly avoided. Likewise, other publications were to downplay the strenuous nature of this type of work, specifically to avoid the impression that the regime was placing women in difficult, dangerous circumstances.