Pacifism, Feminism and Fascism in Inter-War France

Excerpt in lieu of an abstract: For many French women, the message of the First World War required that international peace be intimately connected to, and the result of, domestic social justice. Whereas a large number of peace groups with anti- militarist agendas were tied to either socialist or Communist movements and parties, the feminist groups were generally less concerned with long- term international revolution and class struggle than they were with immediate educational and social benefits - from revising school curricula to building playgrounds in poor neighbourhoods. Finally, while many women did support male-run peace initiatives such as the Amsterdam- Pleyel congress and the RUP, many continued to believe that their own networks were really where they were comfortable and where they belonged