Communist women’s resistance in occupied Paris: engagement, activism and continuities from the 1930s to 1945

Abstract

The French communist resistance movement has been recognised as one of the most active networks of the French Resistance during World War II. This thesis addresses a gap in the scholarly literature concerning both the structure of the movement and the contribution of women to the communist resistance. While women are now included in the majority of general histories, the historiography has tended to understate the participation of female resisters. Women, however, were extensively involved as members of the communist resistance movement. This thesis allows us to gain an understanding of women as key contributors to the functioning of resistance networks. This study argues that women were integral to the success of the communist resistance movement. Detailed investigation of female communist resisters enables us to develop a deeper understanding of the emergence of resistance and how it was sustained. A resistance network was dependent upon the contribution of all its members. This thesis illustrates how the complementary roles adopted by women shaped resistance in France. The goal of the communist movement was popular resistance. Women were essential for this objective to succeed. Gender played a key role in determining how women resisted, particularly as members of the communist resistance. Women were able to develop their own initiatives and organise all-female parallel, but connected, subnetworks as part of the communist resistance movement. Women performed a range of roles as communist resisters. Over the course of the war they adapted their resistance activities to suit the changing circumstances in which they found themselves. In addition, this study explains how the attitude of the communists towards women’s informal participation in politics affected women’s involvement in resistance activities. Through an examination of the activities of the Parti Communiste Français and the inclusion of women in communist groups during the 1930s, this thesis demonstrates how the pre-war political engagement of communist women prepared them to perceive opportunities to resist. The anti-fascist struggle of the 1930s informed women’s choices to commit to resistance. The fact that communist women were politically active affected their choices as resisters, made them aware of the consequences of resistance, and enabled them to understand the importance of their contribution to resistance.