BIO

Hi! I am currently a Senior here at Florida State University. I transferred in Spring of 2022 after obtaining my Associates of Arts from Seminole State College. My area of focus is history with World War II and the Holocaust studies being my main concentration. The reason I chose to study history was due to an elementary school project that sparked my interest which continues till today. While I do not have a set plan for my future education I am interested in continuing through graduate school.

Ungentlemanly Warfare: Historical Research on Women Spies of the Special Operations Executive

Abstract

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II was an organization rooted in espionage and sabotage that worked against the Axis powers. This organization played a large role in the defeat of the Axis powers during the war, and many of the agents in the SOE were recognized for their brave efforts. There were many female agents who worked for the SOE, and in this project we specifically look at those involved in the F Section (French section). Many of them have gone without recognition for their valiant work during the war due to their sex. The project focuses on bringing light to these women’s duties during the war and the role they played in aiding the Allies. We are focused on doing research to prove the hypothesis that these women did play a part in the war and should be recognized as successful agents just as their male counterparts were. Furthermore, some of these women should not only be recognized for their war efforts, but for the human rights atrocities that were committed against them in concentration camps because of their agent status. These women were tortured and sometimes even killed for being loyal to the Allied Forces and deserve recognition for all that they did for the war effort, which is the driving purpose of this research project.

Keywords: Espionage, Gender, SOE