Habilitation project: International participation of women in the Spanish Civil War: Concepts and practices of female participation in the interwar period

The involvement of volunteers from other countries during wars is not a new phenomenon in history: in the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries, women from abroad took on various roles alongside men, of which the traditional ones – such as supply work or nursing – are most commonly remembered. Beyond these traditional roles, however, the voluntary participation of women in armed conflicts has, to date, received surprisingly little attention. The project uses the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) as an example: amidst the ideological conflicts between communism and anti-communism, and fascism and anti-fascism, women were able to reposition themselves in previously unknown ways, thereby opening up new spheres of action and roles for themselves within the context of the war. This makes it possible to understand the rapid transformation of gender relations and roles during the interwar period against the backdrop of radical ideological, military and pacifist conflicts. The Spanish Civil War is thus understood in the project as a space in which both the involvement of women (and men) on the ground and the reception or evaluation of this involvement by the participants themselves and their home regions are negotiated.

The project thus not only contributes to gender history, but also opens up a new perspective on war as a site of negotiation for processes of participation