Collègues, égales et camarades. Les volontaires étrangères dans la guerre civile espagnole (1936-1939)

Abstract

Hundreds of women from all over the world came to Spain between 1936 and 1938 to defend the Republic as volunteers. For a long time their commitment was almost forgotten, and historical research focused solely on the "Spanienkämpfer", the male foreigners who fought against Franco's troops in the Spanish Civil War. The female volunteers were mentioned, if at all, only as companions of their husbands or as humanitarian helpers. Their political commitment was not recognized. The present article shows that not only did a large number of the female volunteers come alone, for their own decision and for political reasons, but also how fundamental their role was in the fight against the putschists: they offered resistance as interpreters, reporters, militiawomen, administrators and above all as nurses and doctors, both in the hinterland and at the front and at great personal risk. Although the leadership of the International Brigades cultivated a traditional image of women and the female volunteers did not have the same opportunities as men, for many "Spanienkämpferinnen" the engagement in the civil war became the most important time of their lives.

Keywords

• internationalism
• antifascism
• solidarity
• women
• volunteers
• civil war