Soviet Women on the Frontline in the Second World War - by R Markwick & E Charon Cardona (Hardcover)

About the Book

"More than 800,000 Soviet women fought against Hitler's onslaught during the 'Great Patriotic War,' 1941-45. Female participation in military conflict on such a scale is historically unique. This is the first comprehensive study of the hitherto largely hidden history of the crucial role women played in the defeat of fascism on the Eastern Front"

Book Synopsis

This is the first comprehensive study in English of Soviet women who fought against the genocidal, misogynist, Nazi enemy on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. Drawing on a vast array of original archival, memoir, and published sources, this book captures the everyday experiences of Soviet women fighting, living and dying on the front.

Review Quotes

"The title under review, while being the latest contribution to the field, deserves to be recognized as the starting place for all readers interested in the topic. This book offers both breadth and depth to the study of what Soviet women did as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and partisans, and why they did it. ... The authors used a variety of archives, memoir material, interviews, and secondary materials to make a solid evidentiary case for their observations and conclusions." (Roger R. Reese, The Russian Review, Vol. 47 (3), July, 2015)

"This truly impressive book is an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of women and war and of Soviet social history in wartime...the closest thing yet to a single-volume overview of Soviet military women during World War II. The research conducted...is outstanding...deftly combin[ing] published and archival materials...[A] model of readable and fascinating scholarship." - Reine Pennington, Slavic Review

"The strengths of this worklie not only in the comprehensive approach but also in the detailed descriptions of women who participated...This is the most thorough examination of women on the frontlines during the Great Patriotic War, and thus is a valuable contribution to scholarship on the topic." - Laurie Stoff, American Historical Review

"The book offers a nuanced analysis of the state efforts to provide for the younger generations. This book is recommended to anyone who wishes to understand the impact of war on Soviet society and to make sense of the relationship that developed between the regime and its female citizens." - Olga Kucherenko, Australian Journal of Politics and History

"This excellent book tells the story of the participation of these women in a genocidal and misogynist war of unprecedented scale and violence. [T]he book makes important contributions to the understanding of Soviet women's participation in modern industrialized warfare, the nature of the Stalinist state, and women's place within wider society. It is a well written and painstakingly researched study." - Robert Dale, Comparativ

Shortlisted for the General History Prize of the 2013 NSW Premier's History Awards (Australia)

About the Author

ROGER MARKWICK Associate Professor of Modern European History, the University of Newcastle, Australia. His Rewriting History in Soviet Russia: The Politics of Revisionist Historiography in the Soviet Union, 1956-1974 won the Alexander Nove Prize in Russian, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Studies for 2001. His latest research is on Soviet women on the home front during the Second World War. EURIDICE CHARON CARDONA Senior Research Associate in the School of Humanities and Social Science, the University of Newcastle, Australia. She has a particular research interest in Soviet medicine and nursing during the Second World War. She holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Newcastle, Australia (2008), and an MA in history from the University of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.