Women During the First World War: CENDARI Archival Research Guide

Abstract

This Archival Research Guide is dedicated to different forms of women’s participation in the war effort and associationism during the First World War: these two strands include active participation of women in battles; war relief associations, peace movements and women’s employment in the war industry. Contemporary historiography has recognized the crucial role that women played in sustaining the war effort by replacing the labour of men who were engaged on the front. On the other hand, the role of women was crucial in those years for a variety of reasons and occupations: in fact, their commitment to organize in soldier’s relief and peace associations represents an important part of the historiography of the WW1. Moreover, the First World War was the first major belligerent event in which women could wear a military uniform: while this didn’t happen in every country, it was probably a first step toward the inclusion of women in sectors which once were exclusively occupied by men.