If soldiers and weapons are important in any war, history has shown that espionage, propaganda or sabotage, which are normally carried out behind enemy lines, are no less important. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the US and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the United Kingdom they were the services in charge of these tasks during the Second World War. The OSS was divided into several sections:YES (Secret Intelligence), SO (Special Operations), OG (Operational Groups)… and the MO (Morale Operations), which we will focus on.
The tasks of the MO were aimed at undermining the morale of the Axis forces... a psychological warfare . One of its main assets was the dissemination of pamphlets with subversive messages among the enemy ranks, either through «bombing «, pasted on the walls by members of the resistance or infiltrated agents, sent by mail… anything to make enemy soldiers question that war and even desert. Within the MO, a woman stood out for her ingenuity and the originality of her proposals, Barbara Lauwers Podoski . Božena Hauserová (that was her name) was born in 1914 in Brno (today the Czech Republic), studied at the University of Paris and graduated from the Faculty of Law in Brno. In 1938, after marrying the American Charles Lauwers and before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, decided to leave Europe and moved to the Belgian Congo. Three years later, and already in New York, Charles was called up and Božena, now Barbara, moved to Washington DC to work at the Czechoslovak embassy. On June 1, 1943, she joined the Women's Army Corps (WAC) and thanks to her facility with languages-she spoke English, German, French, Czech…-she was selected to be part of the MO. After the corresponding training, she was sent to Italy at the beginning of 1944 to work as a field agent behind enemy lines.
Barbara Lauwers Podoski
In Italy he created a network of agents, members of the resistance and even German prisoners opposed to the Führer to spread false news, distribute propaganda against Hitler... anything was worth to undermine the morale of German soldiers, even the League of Lonely War Women (League of Lonely Women of War ), Verein Einsamer Kriegerfrauen in German. Barbara decided to create this League, which never existed, to directly attack the crotch of the Germans . She wrote this letter in German and they left thousands of copies forgotten in places frequented by enemies:
Summer 1944
Dear frontline soldier! […]
When will you be able to forget for a while your duties as a soldier to have a few days of joy, happiness and love? At home we know about your heroic fight. We understand that even the bravest get tired sometimes and need a break, a soft pillow and a little tenderness.
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU:
For you who have to spend your permits in a foreign city; for whom the war has deprived them of their home; for you who are alone without a wife, a girlfriend or a friend.
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU:
Cut out our symbol from this card [the hearts on the bottom left]. In every cafe, in every bar near a railway station, you put it on the glass so that you can see it clearly. A member of the VEK will contact you. The dreams and fantasies you have in your lonely nights will come true... We want you, not your money. Therefore, you should always show your membership card (to anyone who might come near you). There are members everywhere, because we women understand it as a duty to the country and its defenders.
Not only do we do it as a duty - we have been separated from our men for many years - with so many foreigners around us , we would like once again to feel the youth of the German soldiers in our bosom. Do not be shy. Your wife, your sister or your lover is one of us too.
We think of you and the future of Germany.Association of Solitary Women of the War.
With this letter, Barbara intended for those who are married or with daughters to desert to return home and stop the madness, and for lone soldiers to use their leave to return to Germany in search of a little consolation. She was so successful that even the Washington Post swallowed the existence of such an organization and published a notice on October 10, 1944 «German soldiers on leave from the Italian front need only wear an intertwined heart on their lapel during their leave to find a girlfriend «. But Barbara's masterpiece, which also earned her the Bronze Star , happened in 1945. When a German sergeant was being interrogated, he realized where he came from and bragged that the Wehrmacht they were using their compatriots for dirty work and the most dangerous missions. So Barbara decided to use that information for her next target:Czechoslovakian soldiers fighting alongside the Germans in northern Italy. They printed hundreds of leaflets in Czech and Slovak and sent them to their compatriots. Of all the Czechoslovaks who left the front lines and crossed the lines to lay down their weapons, about 600 carried the leaflet written by Barbara in their pockets.
She and her first husband divorced during the war. When she finished the war, she returned to the United States and remarried in 1954 with Joseph Junosza Podoski. She worked at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington and at the Library of Congress as a research analyst. She passed away on August 16, 2009 at the age of 95.