Process Paper and Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

Adams, Dave. “Night Witches: The Fierce, All-Female Soviet Pilots of WWII.” Explore the
Archive, 28 Aug. 2018, explorethearchive.com/night-witches-soviet-union-wwii.

This picture shows some of the many women who were a part of the Night Witches. This picture will go in our 588th Night Bomber Regiment section. The women who are posing in this picture seem to be really happy and love their job. One of the job requirements of being a Night Witch was cutting your hair really short. If a reader didn’t know this, then they might think that the people in the picture were men.

Bresky, Gunilla, director. Night Witches. Night Witches, 2013
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbbVc4mQ7H4&ibss=1.

This video was a great primary source. The whole film was former Night Witches talking about war and their experiences. On some of the women, you could see all of their medals for how brave they were. You can’t find a better source than first-hand experience! 

 Dirkdeklein. “Forgotten History-‘Night Witches’ 588th Night Bomber Regiment.” History of Sorts, 23 Feb. 2018,
dirkdeklein.net/2016/03/12/forgotten-history-night-witches-588th-night-bomber-regiment/.

This picture helps up in our research because of the uniforms and the plane that is in the background. As we can tell by the clothes these women are wearing, they’re too big on them. This help to support the fact that they were given men’s uniforms, but made due with them. The plane in the background helps to show the fact that it was not a good plane to fight in. Its thin structure shows that this type of plane was not meant for fighting - the Night Witches used them anyway to help fight the Nazis. 

Fischer, Louis. Stalin at the Tehran Conference in 1943. (US Signal Corps).

This picture will go in the historical context section. This will give readers an image of what Joseph Stalin looked like if they have never heard of him. Since he had a part in the creation of the three all-female bombing regiments, then it would make sense that we would include him in our project. 

Francke, Linda Bird. “Songs of the 'Night Witches'.” New York Times, 1994.

This article had a firsthand account included from many Night Witch heroes. It helped create an image of a small woman, with three pillows behind her, a determined look on her face, lifting a plane off into the air. It really gave context on what it was really like for these fearless women. This article was also a primary source, so it was really reliable and really interesting.

Hoffman, Bernard. 1943.

This photo gives some background knowledge on what other women were doing during this time of the war. These women worked for the war effort, but didn’t join the military. Having background information about our topic is really important, and this photo supplied that. This way, we can compare our topic to the rest of the world easily.

Kelly. “Night Witches (Nachthexen) of World War II.” Night Witches (Nachthexen) of World War
II, 1 Jan. 1970, americanconservativeinlondon.blogspot.com/2012/06/night-witches-nachthexen-of-world-war.html.

This picture of the plane the Night Witches used shows how hard it was to fly. With the open cockpit, flying during the winter exposed the women to frostbite and harsh winter elements. Even though this plane has probably been restored, the thin frame shows that this plane was not meant for flying, but were able to maneuver better than the Nazi planes. While they weren’t given much, the Night Witches made the most of what they had. 

 Martin, Douglas. “Nadezhda Popova, WWII 'Night Witch,' Dies at 91.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 15 July 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/world/europe/nadezhda-popova-ww-ii-night-witch-dies-at-91.html.

This picture is of the night witches taking a well deserved break. During their breaks they knitted, embroidered, and decorated their planes with flowers. This photo shows us what the buildings looked like, as well as their clothes. This photo highlights the Night Witch’s daily life, when they were not in the sky.

Martin, Douglas. “Nadezhda Popova, WWII 'Night Witch,' Dies at 91.” The New York Times,
The New York Times, 15 July 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/world/europe/nadezhda-popova-ww-ii-night-witch-dies-at-91.html.

This picture of Nadia years later shows how brave she was. Her medals on her jacket clearly display that she sacrificed her life for her “Motherland.” The women that were a part of the Night Witches loved what they did, at that is clearly shown years later. 

Mechanteanemone. “Night Witches: Wrap-up and Mini-Review.” The Reef, 14 Sept. 2016,
mechanteanemone.wordpress.com/2016/09/11/night-witches-wrap-up-and-mini-review/.

This website was a personal blog that gave an overview on a movie that was made on the Night Witches. While the website itself didn’t have any information, the picture that we found shows a lot of the planes and how they were very flimsy. It also shows the three crew members that would have been assigned to the plane for missions.  

Miller, Daniel. “An Image of the Plane the Night Witches Flew in. In This Picture, the Pilots Are
in the Sky Flying. .” Daily Mail, 11 July 2013, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2360652/The-Night-Witch-carried-hundreds-bombing-raids-Russia-s-elite-women-World-War-Two-air-squad.html.

This picture will be the background on our website. It shows the Po-2 plane up in the sky which was a rare find. The picture clearly shows how bare-bone the plane structure was and how it would have posed a problem in the harsh elements.  

Monahan, Maureen. “The Lethal Soviet ‘Night Witches’ of the 588th Night Bomber Unit.”
Mental Floss, 26 July 2013, www.mentalfloss.com/article/51823/lethal-soviet-%E2%80%9Cnight-witches%E2%80%9D-588th-night-bomber-unit. 

This picture shows how flimsy the planes were. The women in front of the plane looked like they had just returned from a mission or were preparing to go on one. Even though these planes were meant for crops, the women who used them proved that even though they didn’t have much, they made the best of what they had. 

Mysteriousuniverse. “The Amazing Tale of the Night Witches of WWII.” Disclosure.pw, 1 Apr.
2019, www.disclosure.pw/2019/04/01/the-amazing-tale-of-the-night-witches-of-wwii/.

This picture showed us how baggy their clothes really were, and despite their prejudices, they were truly  happy with their job. The smiles on their faces show their love and friendship for each other. They really had a bond with each other. This photo really shows that.

Noggle, Anne. A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. Library of Congress,
1994.

This book was a great source to take notes on. About 90% of this book was primary because the Night Witches told their individual stories about the war. Marina Raskova and Nadezhda Popova told their stories from when they were little to when they wanted to join the war in their late teens along with other pilots, mechanics, and all of the other women that were a part of the regiments. It’s really cool that a book was made about the Night Witches with their first hand knowledge and what they had to say about their experiences.  

"Non-Stop Flight Moscow - Far East". 1939.

This picture was an unusual find. This is the first picture we found that showed the Soviet women on a postage stamp. In a way, it shows that the community really cared/loved the Night Witches. People will show their support in any way and this postage stamp proves this. 

Rosenwald, Michael. “Fierce, Feared and Female: The WWII Pilots Known as the 'Night Witches'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/01/fierce-feared-female-wwii-pilots-known-night-witches/.

This website from the Washington Post included a documentary that included an interview with a Night Witch. NBC had originally conducted the interview, but the Washinton Post included this video with other information in their post. It was amazing to learn first hand from someone who had fought in the war what the experience was like. Irina Rakobolkaya was the Chief of Staff for the Night Witches and she provided a great quote that gives to light how the pilots actually felt when they were flying. 

Schultz, Jesse, et al. “Night Witches: The Forgotten Aviatrixes.” Heroes: What They Do & Why
We Need Them, 7 Mar. 2013,

This picture of Marina Raskova will go in the section we have written about her. This is our first picture of her. She seems really happy and would prove that women loved the role that they were being assigned. They really did love fighting for their country. 

Secondary Sources

DaileyMotion. The Night Witches: The All-Female World War II Squadron. YouTube, YouTube, 26 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq08w8tJ23Q.

This YouTube video gave an overview on our topic for someone who wouldn't know anything about it. We embeded the video into the 588th Night Bomber Section because it seemed relevent. Most of the information that was included in the video we already had in our website.  

Dell, Pamela. The Soviet Night Witches: Brave Women Bomber Pilots of World War II. Capstone
Press, a Capstone Imprint, 2018.

This book had a lot of good information about the bombing regiments and how many missions they flew. There were some good quotes from important people in the war. There were a lot of statistics that helped to support our project and dates that told us when and where events happened. Some of the information we had already had, but overall, this book by Pamela Dell gave us information to make our project stronger in the long run.  

Denny, Robert. Night Run. Donald I. Fine, 1992.

This was a good source to use because the foreword section helps identify other famous women in history and recognizes the Night Witches. Even though this is a historical fiction novel, the author identifies sources he used to help write the book. This was helpful in us finding other resources. The author points out that very few people knew that Russia had women combat fliers during WWII. Some of this information can be used in the introduction.  

Garber, Megan. “Night Witches: The Female Fighter Pilots of World War II.” The Atlantic,
Atlantic Media Company, 8 Mar. 2018,
www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/night-witches-the-female-fighter-pilots-of-world-war-ii/277779/.

This article by “The Atlantic” gives some information about how the Night Witches were treated, but how they didn’t let those remarks bring them down. The author of this article also included that one of the Night Witches had died a week before this article was written back in 2013. Some of this information in this article shows how scared the Nazi’s were of these women because they were given an award if they killed/downed one of the planes they used. This would never happen in any other war - the Night Witches showed the Nazi’s who’s boss. 

Grundhauser, Eric. “The Little-Known Story of the Night Witches, an All-Female Force in
WWII.” Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2015, www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/06/night-witches-wwii-female-pilots.

This source had information on the Night Witches overall time in the war. It helped us learn more about the gist of our topic, but not the details. This was a reliable source because it had the same information as other sources when we cross-referenced them. This source brought to light the Night Witch’s situation, and how hard it was for them, physically, and emotionally.

Hagen, Claudia. "Tonight We Fly": The Soviet Night Witches of WWII. 2017.

This book by Claudia Hagen provided keen information regarding the equality of women in the Soviet Union. Her book also had important quotes that can be included in our website. This book included some information on the German’s point of view on the Night Witches and how they would attack them in the dead of night. Overall, this book had great information on this topic and I would suggest this resource to anyone thinking about conducting research about the Night Witches in the future. 

Holland, Brynn. “Meet the Night Witches, the Daring Female Pilots Who Bombed Nazis By
Night.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 July 2017, www.history.com/news/meet-the-night-witches-the-daring-female-pilots-who-bombed-nazis-by-night.

This source from the History website was most helpful in finding information. These women took their job/task very seriously and gave it everything they had. A lot of the sources that we have researched for background information had some of the same stuff that this website had, but this one got into detail about what the women went through and how they didn’t let a little discrimination stop them. Even though these brave women were bomber pilots, they were still women as they danced, and did various activities in their free time.

Krylova, Anna. Soviet Women in Combat: A History of Violence on the Eastern Front.
Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014.

This book gave us information on Rodina, and Marina Raskova especially. It taught us a lot about their male comrade’s thoughts on them, and the descrimination they faced. Before I read this book, I had no idea that Marina Raskova was not only a pilot, but an activist as well. This connected to one of our barriers.

Mason, Fergus. Night Witches: a History of the All Female 588th Night Bomber Regiment.
BookCaps, 2014.

This book helped us to gather information about what the Germans thought of the Night Witches. The bold writing shows the legacy that the Night Witches left behind since others used their same technique in future wars. While this was more of a story than an informational book, there was still some good information that can be included in our website. I had no idea that the planes that were originally used in the Soviet Union were gliders and that pilots were poorly trained and that Stalin didn’t care about the ability of flying the pilots had.  

McDermott, Annette. “How World War II Empowered Women.” History.com, A&E Television
Networks, 2 July 2018, www.history.com/news/how-world-war-ii-empowered-women.

This source gave us background knowledge on women in the U.S., and how they were helping during the war. This much needed background info gave more on how what the Night Witches and other women did influenced females after the war. For our project, background info is important because this time was full of female empowerment. Our topic is of females that broke barriers and showed the world that women can do what a man can do.

Myles, Bruce. Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat. Mainstream
  Publishing Company, 1981.

This book had a lot of information on the Night Witches and the Soviet Union. Bruce Myles included a lot of quotes from women in the regiments to what the Germans thought about them. This information can help us to add information to our website that we didn’t have before. This book included details about what life was like for these women that put their lives on the line for their country.  

Pennington, Reina. “Not Just Night Witches.” AIR FORCE Magazine, Oct. 2014, pp. 58–62.

The article helped us have a different perspective on the Soviet women and gave us some great historical background. The information that the author included was a little bit different than the rest that we have, but that will help us to decide what will help our project to be stronger. This article that we found off of ResearchItCT was not on our radar. This was an unexpected and important find to our notes that we have. 

Reese, Roger. “SOVIET WOMEN AT WAR.” SOVIET WOMEN AT WAR, vol. 28, no. 1, May
2011, pp. 44–53.

This article had some good information on how the women were equal to men in the Soviet Union, but still had to prove themselves to their male comrades. There was a good quote as to why the Soviet Union was looking for female volunteers. There was information on how the women in the Soviet Union broke the label that women were weak and incapable of fighting in combat. There was also a part in the article that describe why the Soviet Union wanted not just male volunteers, but female volunteers as well when the Germans started to invade.                                                

Sabaton. Night Witches. 2014.

This source was a song that highlighted what the Night Witches did during the war. It gave us inspiration to research Rodina, and what it was. This information can help us a lot with how the Night Witches broke barriers. It also helps us realize that this topic is important to many people, and really made an impact during WWII.

Strebe, Amy Goodpaster. “Marina Raskova and the Soviet Women Aviators of World War II.”
Russian Life, 2003, pp. 42–47.

This newspaper article focused a lot on the things the Marina Raskova accomplished. I had no idea that she set this many records and went on these trips with other female pilots. It was also cool to learn about how recognized Marina and other pilots were by Joseph Stalin and the community. Marina became an inspiration to so many people when she wasn’t trying to be.  

Wilson, George Tipton. “The Red Air Force Night Witches: Flight of the Rodina.” Warfare
History Network, 31 Aug. 2016, warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/08/31/the-red-air-force-night-witches-flight-of-the-rodina/.

This source gave information on how the night witches began, and how Marina Raskova became the leader. It also gave info on how the government cared about all their flyers, and how the Soviet Union was the first to have women air force pilots, navigators, and mechanics. This source showed how even before the Night Witches, Marina made history. It was no surprise that she joined the Night Witches after her big flight.