Communist women’s resistance in occupied Paris: engagement, activism and continuities from the 1930s to 1945
Date
2018
Authors
Morrison, Amy Victoria
Editors
Advisors
Drapac, Vesna Maria
Pritchard, Gareth
Pritchard, Gareth
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Theses
Citation
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Abstract
The French communist resistance movement has been recognised as one of the most
active networks of the French Resistance during World War II. This thesis addresses a gap
in the scholarly literature concerning both the structure of the movement and the
contribution of women to the communist resistance. While women are now included in
the majority of general histories, the historiography has tended to understate the
participation of female resisters. Women, however, were extensively involved as
members of the communist resistance movement. This thesis allows us to gain an
understanding of women as key contributors to the functioning of resistance networks.
This study argues that women were integral to the success of the communist
resistance movement. Detailed investigation of female communist resisters enables us to
develop a deeper understanding of the emergence of resistance and how it was
sustained. A resistance network was dependent upon the contribution of all its members.
This thesis illustrates how the complementary roles adopted by women shaped resistance
in France. The goal of the communist movement was popular resistance. Women were
essential for this objective to succeed. Gender played a key role in determining how
women resisted, particularly as members of the communist resistance. Women were able
to develop their own initiatives and organise all-female parallel, but connected, subnetworks
as part of the communist resistance movement. Women performed a range of
roles as communist resisters. Over the course of the war they adapted their resistance
activities to suit the changing circumstances in which they found themselves.
In addition, this study explains how the attitude of the communists towards
women’s informal participation in politics affected women’s involvement in resistance
activities. Through an examination of the activities of the Parti Communiste Français and
the inclusion of women in communist groups during the 1930s, this thesis demonstrates
how the pre-war political engagement of communist women prepared them to perceive
opportunities to resist. The anti-fascist struggle of the 1930s informed women’s choices
to commit to resistance. The fact that communist women were politically active affected
their choices as resisters, made them aware of the consequences of resistance, and
enabled them to understand the importance of their contribution to resistance.
School/Discipline
School of Humanities : History
Dissertation Note
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2018
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