«Women Martyrs» of Spanish Fascism. The Cult of the Fallen in the Sección Femenina of Falange (1936-1942)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14198/PASADO2022.25.11Keywords:
Cult of the fallen, Fascism, Women’s fascism, Political religion, War experience, Sección Femenina of the FalangeAbstract
This paper analyses the most relevant aspects of the cult that the Sección Femenina of the Falange paid to its fallen women during the war and the immediate post-war period. Its objective is twofold: on the one hand, it looks into the process that led the Sección Femenina to establish a personal martyrology that could have a bonding and exemplary effect upon Falangist women; on the other hand, the article explores its implications for a Sección Femenina that, throughout the war, underwent a transformation from a small group of women to a mass organisation. For this purpose, the article uses several historical sources, paying special attention to the records of the fallen women, compiled and studied by the Sección Femenina from 1939 onwards, in order to justify the posthumous recognition of those considered to be heroines of nacionalsocialismo. The article presents three sections: the first briefly discusses some recent historiographical contributions on the relationship between the cult of the fallen and fascism, arguing that those approaches require a gender perspective that helps to understand the role played by women in this event; the second section analyses the documentation with the aim of delving deeper into the layers of meanings that emerged around notions such as sacrifice, abnegation and loyalty. Here, the focus is both on the discourse developed by the Sección Femenina regarding their fallen women, and also on the experience of the Falangists who saw themselves as martyrs; the third part examines how the organisation dealt with the fallen women and develops a related symbolic imagery in the ceremonies held during the post-war years. The conclusion argues that, even though Falangists were not actual combatants during the war, the early culture of female Falangism was completely shaped by the experience of the conflict.References
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