European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Women defence groups

We set up Women support groups.

These groups were the first important women organizations.

It was the women themselves who spontaneously set them up.

These groups had specific purposes.

Something drew us together, even those women who had believed in fascism in the ‘20s.

We had all understood that fascism led to nothing positive.

There were women whose sons had died in war,

as well as women who had not been as lucky as I was to be raised in an antifascist family.

However we were all convinced that something had to be done to change the situation.

What was the goal that moved us all?

Peace. Fighting for peace, to end the war as soon as possible.

It was an organized activity.

We were born to support the partisans.

Women support groups primarily supported the partisan struggle.

The struggle began after September 8th, as soon as men took off for the mountains.

The Partisans were an army with no uniforms and no supplies.

They had nothing.

That’s why we started to get hold of small things for them.

gloves, a shirt or a pair of shoes to send off to the partisans, we risked our lives.