War has been looked on as men’s work. Espionage, however, is anyone’s game. A game in which women often excelled. This course will explore government agencies created in WWII (OSS and SOE) specifically to perform undercover operations with an emphasis on their most notable female spies and the missions they led. We will explore training, tactics, successes, and the price paid for their success. We will also discuss the Resistance movement and their often perilous assignments.

JoAnn Panza grew up in a community of Hungarian Jews who survived the horrors of concentration camps. As an adult, in her healthcare profession she had the privilege of treating many WWII veterans. The accounts of their experiences inspired many years of independent research focusing recently on the incredible history of female spies. It is JoAnn’s desire to share the story of the women who helped defeat Hitler and make their names known.