De–demonization: Women in the Fascist New Order (Part 2)

Christophe Dolbeau is a former professor and historian. This article was first published in the French magazine Tabou (31, Editions Akribeia, 2024) —the original title of the essay in French is “Les femmes et l’Ordre Nouveau” (“Women in the New Order”). The translation into English for TOO was done by the author himself. The editing and some slight adaption of the text below was done by Tom Sunic.

Go to Part 1.

Spain

María del Pilar Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia (1907–1991)

At the beginning of the 1930s some interest in the New Order began to appear in Spain. Tired of negligence, corruption and virulent anticlericalism of the Second Republic, and scandalized by the climate of terror imposed by socialists, communists and anarchists, young Spanish patriots gathered in small nationalist movements which claimed to establish “a great, just, orderly and faithful Spain.” Founded on October 29, 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia (1903–1936), the most important of those movements was the Spanish Phalanx of the Councils of National—Syndicalist Offensive (Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista or FE de las JONS) where some women were also active. In fact, they assembled within the Women’s Section (Sección Femenina or SF), officially launched on July 12, 1934 and headed by María del Pilar Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia (1907–1991). She was also one of the sisters of the Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera (23).

Initially few in number (2,500 before July 1936), Falangist women immediately started to play a vital role in the struggle, notably by visiting the movement’s prisoners and ensuring their connections with the outside world. The boldest, like the teacher Rosario Pereda Cornejo (1912–1944), head of the SF of Valladolid and a good speaker, conducted a political campaign during the elections. There were also several young women in the ranks of the SEU, the Spanish University Union (Sindicato Español Universitario), whose female branch was headed by Justina Rodríguez de Viguri (1914–1989). With the start of the civil war in July 1936, the activities of the women’s section of the Falange increased significantly. From then on, the Women’s Section was entrusted with helping the families of the killed as well as providing moral and material assistance to the population behind the front line (distribution of food and clothing, allocation of ration cards, canteens for children, dispensaries, etc.). Their workforce continued to grow, quickly reaching 60,000 members at the end of 1936, and 400,000 in April 1938, and over 900,000 by April 1939. As soon as the uprising broke out and while fierce Red and antifascist repression raged in Madrid, young members and sympathizers of the SF, numbering 6,000, set up a network to help their persecuted members and sympathizers. Called “Blue Rescue” (Auxilio Azul), this clandestine organization (never dismantled) saved the lives of hundreds of nationalist activists. One of its leaders was María Paz Martínez Unciti (1918–1936). Arrested in October 1936, she was shot by the antifascist Republicans in Vallecas (24).

During the first days of the conflict one of the historic leaders of the Falange was the lawyer Onésimo Redondo, who was killed during a clash with Republican militiamen (July 24, 1936). His widow, Mercedes Sanz Bachiller (1911–2007), was also a member of the SF; she continued his fight in her own way by launching the Winter Aid (Auxilio de Invierno) which would soon become the Social Relief (Auxilio Social), an organization providing assistance to the needy and the victims of the war. Thanks to free canteens, daycare centers and medical centers, this organization strove in particular to fight against scurvy, beriberi and anemia which were wreaking havoc due to the nutritional deficiencies that the civilian population suffered. Alongside the Falangists, other young women also devoted themselves to humanitarian aid in the nationalist-held zones of the country. These women were known as the Carlist “Margaritas” (23,000 members in 1936) who were enthusiastically led by the journalist and a skillful speaker María Rosa Urraca Pastor (1900–1984). Those militants, who stood for “God, the Fatherland and the King,” followed the tercios (battalions) of requetés (25), securing field hospitals, with many of them joining in the military combat, including Agustina Simon Sanz. Captured in Belchite in August 1937, she was shot by the Reds.

Following the unification of the national forces decreed by General Franco (April 19, 1937), the Falange took the new name of Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx and Councils of National–Syndicalist Offensive (FET y de las JONS) while incorporating many Spanish monarchists. From that moment the Women’s Section also became the sole women’s organization. “Margaritas” and Social Relief were soon absorbed into a single body of the struggle. Still led by Pilar Primo de Rivera, the organization then took a different turn. The Social Relief witnessed the increase of assistance centers to 711 in October 1937 and to 1,265 in 1938. By the end of the civil war there were nearly 2,500 centers. The humanitarian organization had its own propaganda office, whose leadership was entrusted to the novelist and poet María Carmen de Icaza y de León (1899–1979) (26). She recalled that in her centers, “there are neither reds nor blues, but only children from Spain.” She also coined the famous slogan, “No home without a fireplace and no Spaniard without bread.”

The charitable work of the SF continued well beyond the civil war given that in 1939, the country had become exhausted. At this point, the Falangist organization had many high-quality leaders and benefactors. Chief among them were the novelist Concha Espina (1869–1955) (27), the lawyer (and feminist) Mercedes Fórmica (1913–2002) (28), the engineer Pilar Careaga Basabe (29), Carmen Werner Bolín (1906–2000), who was also a friend of José Antonio, including the poet, journalist and actress Sara Barranco Soro (1910–1947), aka Sarah Demaris. Even in Catalonia, a region known to be less prone to the Falangist discourse, the SF had several outstanding leaders (30).

The Women’s Section also had its own publications (Medina; Y: Revista para la mujer; Teresa. Revista para todas las mujeres; Revista Escuela de Hogar; Consigna). In addition, it gave birth to several ancillary associations with a specific focus, such as the famous folkdance group “Coros y Danzas de España” and the group “Hermandad de la Ciudad y el Campo” which showed  great solidarity with the rural world of Spain.

After the end of the civil war and during the first phase of the new regime, the new state led by Franco provided massive support to the Women’s Section. In 1939 it entrusted it with the management of the Women’s Social Service (Servicio social de la mujer), a counterpart to male military service (31). As a mark of consideration for the enormous wartime contribution of Falangist women, the new authorities allocated them several prestigious buildings to house their centers and offices. Opened on May 29, 1942, the Castillo de la Mota, a castle near Medina del Campo, became the SF executive school, while the Castillo–Palacio de Magalla, near Avila, was transformed into a dormitory.

The civil war in Spain ended on April 1, 1939. However, six months later the Second World War broke out. In this conflict Spain remained neutral without hiding the fact that it was rather favorable to the Axis powers. Faithful to the alliances and friendships established during the civil war, the Falange and its Women’s Section maintained close links with the forces of the New Order, which was best witnessed during the recruitment of an infantry division, the Blue Division (División Azul) that went to fight on the Russian front alongside the Germans. When this unit departed from Madrid in July 1941 it was accompanied by a detachment of 146 nurses commanded by Mercedes Milá Nolla (1895–1990). Furthermore, the German Reich also hired Spanish labor, prompting the Women’s Section to dispatch official representatives to Berlin. A nurse in German Neukölln–Berlin, Celia Giménez Costeira (who passed away in 1991) also spoke on Radio Berlin during broadcasts intended for the soldiers of the Blue Division (who praised her as their  “godmother.” In Spain itself the strategic position of the head of the Press and Propaganda Office of the SF was entrusted to Clara Sofia Stauffer Loewe (1904–1984), a brilliant recruit of the Falange. Being of partial German ancestry, a distinguished polyglot, and a skiing and swimming champion, this young woman was fully committed to Spanish-German friendship. At the end of the Second World War, she provided invaluable assistance to many European fugitives from the defeated New Order (32).

From this brief picture we can summarize the role of some of the outstanding women in the Spanish Falange. Far from being underestimated or depreciated, their role was highly valued. Moreover, several leaders of the SF received high distinction and even sat in the Cortès (Parliament). As for the Women’s Section, it continued to have nearly 280,000 members in 1973 and was only dissolved on April 1, 1977.

Croatia

Katarina, Matanović-Kulenović (1913–2003)

When the German, Italian and Hungarian armies invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941, Croatia rose up and declared her independence (April 10, 1941). The main actors in this coup were the Ustashas, ​​i.e., Croatian nationalist militants who had been fighting against Yugoslavia since 1929. Their founder and leader (Poglavnik) was the lawyer Dr. Ante Pavelić (1889–1959) who established the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska—NDH). This new state was quickly recognized by the Axis powers, having little choice to contemplate other possible non-Fascist alliances. Therefore, from then on Croatia found herself associated with the New Order, more by necessity and less by popular desire or by ideological affinities. In any case, Croatia had partly adopted the New Order discourse, contours and decorum, which, after World War II cost her a lot in terms of civilian casualties and worldwide media ostracism.

A patriotic movement in the Catholic and agrarian tradition, the Ustasha movement had an extensive women’s branch which had played a major role in the fight for independence. Very early on, prior to independence, the Ustasha Women’s Revolutionary Action (Revolucionarna ustaška ženska akcija—RUŽA or “Rose”) had become involved in clandestine action, under the leadership of Josipa Šaban. These women were often entrusted with missions of the highest importance. In 1934, for instance, it was the young woman Stana Godina who was in charge of transporting to Aix–en–Provence in France the weapons used in the assassination of the King of Yugoslavia, Alexander Karadjordević.  (October 9, 1934).

After the creation of the Independent State of Croatia, the Ustasha movement transformed itself into a single party, with a female section, the Ženska loza ustaškog pokreta led by the schoolteacher Irena Javor (1914–1945). The young girls who were part of the Ustaška Youth (Ustaška mladež), before joining the Women’s Labor Service (Radna služba ženske ustaške mladeži) were commanded by Maća Mimić. For women college students, the University Labor Service (Radna pomoć sveučilistarski) was established, chaired by Ivona Latković–Maixner (1917–2014). On the initiative of several Croat academics, women’s sections were also set up everywhere in the newly established state, primarily in the cities. In the capital Zagreb, the women’s organizations thrived under the authority of Olga Osterman (1885–1955), a former high school principal (and holder of the Pro Ecclesia and Pontifice Cross); she was assisted by the teachers Vlasta Arnold (1896– 1963), Silva Radej and Ela Maroš, as well as Mandica Lučić and Djurdjica Vitković.

Overall, the new regime promoted the social advancement of women: 141 elementary schools and nine high schools were  opened, including five for girls. Young female high school students  were encouraged to apply at local colleges (e.g., their number increased from 120 to 727 between April 1941 and spring 1942 at the Law School in Zagreb). The new state of Croatia also championed several artists including the painter Anka Krizmanić (1896–1987) and the sculptor Ksenija Kanteci (1909–1995) who were also invited to represent Croatian contemporary art at major international exhibitions during World War II (Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava). The organization had its own monthly magazine, Ustaškinja, run by Silva Radej. Several personalities from the literary world, such as the novelist Mara Švel–Gamiršek (1900–1975) and the essayist Zdenka Smrekar (1884–1946) lent their support to this project. Being the subject of incessant miliary attacks by the communist guerrillas (Josip Broz Tito’s supporters) and monarchist militiamen (Draža Mihajlović’s Chetniks), the Croat Armed Forces (HOS) then took center stage. Of course, women were not drafted because that would go against the Catholic and traditionalist ethics of the Ustasha regime, but some of them nevertheless served in the military. The best known woman in the Croat military was undoubtedly the aviatrix and parachutist Katarina Kulenović-Matanović (1913–2003) who was in charge of the personal aircraft of Ustasha Minister Ante Vokić. Also worth mentioning is the first certified paratrooper in the new Croatian state, Zdenka Žibrat. On the other hand, there was an inconspicuous Women’s Auxiliary Service protecting the head of the state Ante Pavelić, or the “Poglavnik Guard” (Pomočna ženska služba Poglavnikovih tjelesnih sdrugova) commanded by Nada Miškulin, a niece of Ministers Ivica and Mate Frković.

Given the tense multiethnic situation inherited from monarchist Yugoslavia—and particularly the difficult multifront context of World War II in which the Independent State of Croatia was born, it impossible to review in a completely thorough and objective manner the condition of the local female populations during the four years of Ustasha rule (1941–1945). Similar to Germany, Italy or Spain and despite the war, the new state endeavored to take measures promoting housing, hygiene, health, families and the well-being of children (33). Efforts were also made to promote education and career advancement of women. As for the militant women who explicitly committed themselves to the regime, they generally devoted themselves to tasks of medical aid, maternal assistance, pediatrics and provisioning, which cannot be regarded as dishonorable activities (34). As a price for their actions and services in the new WWII Croatian regime, many women faced extremely cruel repression following  the Yugoslav communist takeover in May 1945 (35). Contemporary historians and critics of the post-World War II New Order hardly want to discuss  those tragic and bloody events, including the gigantic  antifa-communist mass killing fields in communist Yugoslavia.

France

Lucienne Delforge (1909–1987)

Regarding France, it is not easy to draw up an objective assessment because only a few opposition parties and movements had really joined the New Order. Rather conservative, counter–revolutionary and traditionalist, the French Vichy state of Marshal Pétain (1940–1944) does not quite fit into this picture. Neither does the patriotic organization of the Croix de Feu (36). If one considers various groups (apart from the Vichy state) which followed a political line close to that of Italy and Germany, it doesn’t appear that the question of the status of women in France was their main concern. However, this did not prevent those groups from attracting a significant female audience. Some claim for example, that 25 percent of the members of Marcel Déat’s Rassemblement national–populaire (National Popular Rally—RNP) were women. In any case, this party had a youth organization, the Jeunesse nationale–populaire (National Popular Youth—NP), with a female branch whose leader was Christiane de Clerck. An appendage to the party, the Front social du travail (Social Front of Labor), of corporatist inspiration, also had a women’s union led by Odette Ballossier. As to the movement of Jacques Doriot, i.e., Le Parti populaire français (French People’s Party—PPF), women members were welcomed enthusiastically. Under the leadership of Yolande Cencetti and Paulette Tourton, young women were encouraged to join the Jeunes filles françaises (Young French Girls—JFF), i.e., a female section of the Jeunesses populaire françaises (JPF) (37). Several other movements of more modest size, such as the Équipes nationales (National Teams), the Guides francistes (Francist Guides) and the Jeunes de l’Europe nouvelle (Young People of New Europe) also had a few hundred young girls in their ranks. However, on the scale of a country as large as France, one must admit that the enlistment of women remained quite modest.

It must be pointed out that at the time when the New Order movements and parties managed to play a small role in political life—namely during the German occupation of France, most people had other things in mind than the emancipation and promotion of women. Most people were much more concerned about the presence on national soil of foreign troops, the partitioning of the country into two halves, food rationing, air raids, terrorist attacks, the condition of prisoners, etc. It is therefore difficult to fully evaluate the mindset of these groups regarding the feminine question, or to judge their real appeal based solely on the number of their female members.

If for many French women the New Order had a bitter flavor of something imposed by the enemy, a number of them tolerated the new system quite well. One cannot go into every detail regarding many individuals who enlisted in the ranks of the Milice française (French Militia) (38) or ignore the superficial and opportunistic rallying of a handful of cinema and artistic celebrities (39). But a few women in fact did more than simply tolerate the new situation. Some wholeheartedly adhered to the New Order. Thus the famous opera singer Claire Croiza (1882–1946) sat on the honorary committee of the Groupe Collaboration (Collaboration Group), while the great pianist (40) Lucienne Delforge (1909–1987) displayed in all circumstances a commitment which will lead her to Sigmaringen (a place in Germany where the French collaborationist government retreated following the Anglo–American Allied liberation of Paris, in August 1944). The brilliant soprano Germaine Lubin (1890–1979) joined Doriot’s PPF and socialized with the military elites in the Ger,am general headquarters in Paris (41). The very popular Léo Marjane (1912–2016) occasionally sang for the Légion des volontaires français (Legion of French Volunteers—LVF) and made charitable contributions to the PPF. The lawyer (and former communist) Juliette Goublet (1904–1979) even volunteered  to work in a factory in Germany (42), while the sculptor and aviation record holder Madeleine Charnaux (1902–1943) made no secret of her sympathy for the European New Order. All this, admittedly,  may seem quite  anecdotal, but it certainly does not convey the modern media image of a society where women were allegedly despised and relegated to subordinate tasks.

Go to Part 3.

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Notes

(23) In fact, the Women’s Section was founded by Pilar and Carmen Primo de Rivera, the chief’s sisters, Inés and Dolores, his cousins, and Luisa María Aramburu, a family friend.

(24) See. “María Paz Unciti, un Lucero de 18 años.” https://fnff.es/historia/maria–paz–unciti–un–lucero–de–1–anos/

(25) Spanish Carlist (monarchist) militiamen. More than 60,000 or 41 tercios (battalions) fought in the nationalist camp.

(26) She was ennobled and made Baroness of Claret and Countess of Areny in 1951, in recognition of her charitable work. In 1945, she was considered the most widely read author in the country.

(27) … who missed the Nobel Prize of Literature by one vote in 1926.

(28) who reformed the Spanish Civil Code. See. María Pilar Queralt del Hierro, “Mercedes Formica, la falangista que luchaba por las mujeres en la España de Franco.”  https://www.lavanguardia.com/historiayvida/historia–contemporanea/20230308/8804200/mercedes–formica–falangista –luchaba–mujeres–espana–franco.html

(29) who became the mayor of Bilbao between 1969 and 1975. See. “Pilar Careaga Basabe, primera mujer ingeniero de España, falangista y alcadesa de Bilbao.” https://fnff.es/historia/pilar–careaga–basabe–primera–mujer–ingeniero–de–espana–falangista–y–alcaldesa –from–bilbao/

(30) Notably María Josefa Viñamata Castanyer (1914–1982), Mercedes de Despujol Magarola, Montserrat de Romaña Pujó (1906–2005) and Núria Pla y Montseny (1915–2011).

(31) In 1941, 282,000 recruits were serving in the SSM.

(32) See. Javier Martín García, “Clarita Stauffer, la dama que escondía Nazis en España.” https://www.clarin.com/mundo/clarita–stauffer–dama–escondia–nazis–espana_0_n1anVkAiX.html

(33) For example, the wife of the head of state, Mara Pavelić, and her daughters sponsored an institution, the Ustaški dječački zavod, intended to take care of war orphans. Entrusted to the Sisters of Saint–Vincent de Paul, the establishment opened on April 11, 1942.

(34) As in the case of Germany, we are of course, not discussing here female camp guards and jailers –– who were only a handful.

(35) During the war, several female Ustasha militants were tortured and executed by the communist partisans (one of the best-known victims at the time was Andjelka Sarić, whose torturers carved a large “U,” the Ustasha emblem, on her breast before murdering her). Furthermore, several thousand other women were killed during the Bleiburg massacre and during the death marches that followed. See. Christophe Dolbeau, “Bleiburg, démocide yougoslave” (Bleiburg, Yugoslav democide), in Tabou no. 17, 2010: 7–26. Véridique histoire des oustachis (True history of the Ustashis) (Akribeia, Saint–Genis–Laval, 2015, 207–216.

(36) From 1934, the Croix–de–Feu had a women’s section; directed by Antoinette de Preval (1892–1977), this section brought together nearly 60,000 women.

(37) First entitled Union populaire de la jeunesse française (Popular Union of French Youth —UPJF).

(38) See: Fabienne Frayssinet, Quatre saisons dans les geôles de la IV^e République (Four seasons in the jails of the Fourth Republic) (Regain, Monte–Carlo, 1953).

(39) For example Corinne Luchaire, Charlotte Lysès, Yvette Lebon, Suzy Delair, Danielle Darrieux, Viviane Romance or Édith Piaf (photographed in August 1943 in front of the Brandenburg Gate).

(40) Also a fencer, a basketball player, a mountaineer and …  former mistress of the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline.

(41) See Karine Le Bail, La musique au pas (Paris: CNRS Édition, 2016), 224–226.

(42) This hiring cost her five years of forced labor and suffering national degradation, which did not prevent her from subsequently having an honorable literary career and receiving a prize from the French Academy in 1959.