Die Angst kam erst danach. Judische Frauen im Widerstand 1939-1945

Abstract

Strobl, Ingrid. Die Angst kam erst danach. Judische Frauen im Widerstand 19391945. Frankfurt: Fischer, 1998. 479 pp. DM 28.00 paperback. Ingrid Strobl's new book, complete with illustrations and an extensive bibliography, is much more than an expansion of her impressive study Das Feld des Vergessens. Judischer Widerstand und deutsche Vergangenheitsbewaltigung (1996), which also examines women's anti-fascist resistance, including armed resistance. Traditionally historians have avoided the latter topic. Even the women who took up arms were often not inclined to publicize their resistance activities for fear of appearing unfeminine. Moreover, Strobl points out, the specific tasks women were engaged in, saving lives by caring for the infirm and children, including rescuing children from deportation, tend to be considered mere rather than a vital part of the resistance. Yet, their underground social work was no less important and effective in opposing the Nazis than armed resistance and guerilla activities. Rarely cited, decorated, or rewarded, female members of the many different resistance movements and networks were reduced to a position of inferiority or insignificance, and their skills and their were underrated, if not belittled, by their male fellow fighters and male historians. Die Angst kam erst danach is a comprehensive study organized according to geography, culture, and nationality. The countries under examination are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Poland. In each case, Strobl evaluates female resistance in the context of cultural trends and the history of the country's occupation. Strobl establishes the history of women in various resistance movements by tracing the experiences of individual women. Extremely well informed about the mission and politics of different groups and organizations that, like the Communist resistance, had Jewish women as their members, including Jewish organizations, religious and Zionist, Strobl moves from the unique individual case to larger trends. She provides insight into an intricate network of resistance activities, at the same time revealing the mobility of certain women activists who pursued their dangerous missions under different guises and identities as best they could. In the second part of Die Angst kam erst danach, Strobl examines the background of Jewish women resistance fighters and the conditions under which they performed their dangerous tasks. She reveals that most of the women joined the resistance at a young age. While they came from all walks of life, many of them had a traditional family background. Many were members of the lower middle class. It seems no coincidence that a large number of them were women with international experience; they or their families had lived in more than one country. The fact that many of them had experienced the loss of a parent or gone through a divorce seems to have contributed to their sense of independence and love of freedom. …