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Originally Posted by Wustenfuchs
Not sure who or what they are, Luftschutz? Yarn police?? Hatchets and high heels!
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Great photo Bill!
I think this is the story behind it. These women are part of the Luftschultz, late war, which explains why they are wearing the military helmet and not the usual Luftschultz design.
I would think this photo was taken during their induction while they were being given their uniforms and equipment, thus the mix of helmets and heels.
They are part of special teams set up to search bomb damaged buildings following Allied air raids. I'm not sure what they were called, or if the even had an official designation, but they had to have had guts.
After a raid these women, small in stature, would wriggle deep within ruined buildings to search for survivors. The small hatchets (along with folding service spades) were used to hack through debris and the ball of heavy twine you see was used as a lead for them to either find their way back out, or be tired to any victims found as a trail for rescue teams to follow.
Many of these women were actually girls, mere teens, who crawled into unstable buildings in the face of fires, unexploded bombs and no doubt some horrific scenes.
Just another part of the "total war" the nazis saw fit to inflict upon most of the world as well as their own people.