Women of the CPN

Not much was known about the experiences of female members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) during the German occupation. To be seen and heard are twelve mostly ordinary and not so much prominent female party members, who were at least fourteen years old at the outbreak of World War II. Central to the interviews is the daily life of the women just before, during and after the occupation years.

The interviews reveal that communist women were aware early on of the threat posed by Nazi Germany. As early as 1933, German refugees were often taken in by relatives or acquaintances of the interviewees. Many women later became involved in actions against General Franco at the time of the Spanish Civil War.

When World War II broke out, many women were often already politically active. The women talk about their activities as couriers or distributors of the illegal communist magazine De Waarheid. In addition, the women discuss their role in the (armed) resistance and talk about their internment or period in hiding.

For almost all women, their experiences during the German occupation were guiding for their postwar (political) lives. In detail, they discuss the period of the Cold War, when in the polarized political climate the CPN became increasingly isolated.

The interview project was conducted by Aletta, Institute for Women’s History (now: Atria) and completed in 2009.