Empowered Yet Constrained: Women’s Role and Agency in the Greek Resistance Movement (1941-1944)

Authors

  • Tasoula Vervenioti Independent Historian, ASKI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ty5hw653

Keywords:

women, WW II, Occupation, Resistance, Greece

Abstract

During World War II (1941-1944) and the triple occupation of Greece, Greek women entered the public sphere on an unprecedented scale despite their lack of political rights. Most joined or supported the National Liberation Front (EAM), which combined the struggle for national liberation with a vision of greater equality. Initially, women expanded their traditional roles into public advocacy, leading mass demonstrations and providing crucial support to the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS). In rural areas, their work was vital to the Free Greece, where they gained voting rights and held local leadership positions. Organizations such as National Solidarity and the Free Young Women mobilized them to play supporting roles. However, the harsh conditions of the occupation, together with patriarchal ideologies, limited their role in resistance organizations, whereas collaborators treated them with extreme cruelty. After the country's liberation in 1944, the defeat of the EAM/ELAS in Athens unleashed the White Terror, which targeted women who had led or fought in the resistance. Those who refused to renounce their activism faced torture, exile or execution. Social recovery was further interrupted by the dictatorship period (1967-1974). Only after 1974, in the Third Greek Republic, could partisan women share their stories and preserve their legacy for future generations.

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Author Biography

  • Tasoula Vervenioti, Independent Historian, ASKI

    Tasoula Vervenioti is an independent historian based in Athens. Her research focuses on social history, with an emphasis on women, gender, and children during the 1940s and 1950s. Her work is grounded in primary written sources as well as oral testimonies. She has authored five books in Greek, two of which received the State Award (2004 and 2022). Vervenioti has participated in numerous conferences and has both edited and contributed to academic volumes. Her papers have been published in Greek, English, French, and German. Since 2011, she has been organizing training seminars to establish grassroots oral history groups, which have been growing significantly in number.

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Published

2024-12-17

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 27 (2024): Redefining Resistance: Women in National Liberation Movements during the Second World War

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2024 Tasoula Vervenioti

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How to Cite

Empowered Yet Constrained: Women’s Role and Agency in the Greek Resistance Movement (1941-1944). (2024). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 13(27), 95-123. https://doi.org/10.53351/ty5hw653

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