Gender and War in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe

Download or read book Gender and War in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe written by Nancy M. Wingfield and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-09 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the role of gender on both the home and fighting fronts in eastern Europe during World Wars I and II. By using gender as a category of analysis, the authors seek to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the subjective nature of wartime experience and its representations. While historians have long equated the fighting front with the masculine and the home front with the feminine, the contributors challenge these dichotomies, demonstrating that they are based on culturally embedded assumptions about heroism and sacrifice. Major themes include the ways in which wartime experiences challenge traditional gender roles; postwar restoration of gender order; collaboration and resistance; the body; and memory and commemoration.