Wendy Lower, Mrs. Hitler's Furies: German Women

Lower, Wendy. Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
Thesis: After the mass atrocities of the Holocaust came to light, many began to question how the ideology of the Third Reich could ingrain itself so deeply it could condone mass murder of neighbors and human beings. As research on the Holocaust began to take off, an ignored niche of research on perpetrators of genocide became more prevalent, such as female perpetrators of genocide. Hitler’s Furies by Wendy Lower examines conditions and indoctrination of 12 women as it may lend itself in understanding how a crime such as genocide can be perpetrated by regular people or citizens. As she states in the her final words in Hitler’s Furies

Further categorizing each ofthe women by specific roles and jobs that were occupied by women: Teachers, nurses, secretaries, and wives. By categorizing them, Lower was able to explain the effects these positions had on excavating and actively participating in the genocide and later the motivations for women pursuing that job. Finally, explaining the justice process and escape punishment by a gendered approach before lastly hypothesizing why they did

Most of her opinions and her stance in the book is incredibly clear and informative, however, the absence of information and perspective than excerpts of her subjects statements only reinforces one dimension of the subject as only her opinion and her linear narrative, as opposed to presentive conflicting narratives. Also not all women were given the same amount of focus. Compare Erna Petri’s since her first mention at the very beginning to explaining her actions and the influence of the Nazi Party and fascism had on her committing genocide to Annette Schuecking as an educated young woman who served as an accomplice in the Holocaust as a nurse.
Contribution: The significance of Lower’s book comes from her ability to accurately unpack the perpetuating ignorance of women as perpetrators of genocide which may helps understanding the socioeconomic factors that created an environment that condones mass killing. Hitler’s Furies is useful in regards to creating a picture of the prerequisites of committing genocide and addressing the other gender’s culpability in perpetuating genocide.