Könade krigsminnen under efterkirgstiden i Norden

12.8.2005: 16.30–18.00.

Dr. Claudia Lenz

Kvinners motstand i Norge 1940-1945 - en glemmt eller bærende del av den norske grunnfortelling om okkupasjonstiden?

Den tyske okkupasjonen av Norge værte fra 9. april 1940 til og med 8. mai 1945. Både for historieskrivningen og for det nasjonale selvforståelse i Norge har disse fem år har en enorm betydning. Folkloristen Anne Eriksen påstår at okkupasjonshistorien utgjør en "grunnfortelling" for det moderne Norge som viser trekk av en myte. Etter 1945 baserte mye av selvforståelsen i den norske velferdsstaten på det Odd-Bjørn Fure (1995) kaller for "konsensusfortelling": Fordi det norske folk kjempet sammen mot den tyske okkupasjonsmakt fant Norge frem til nasjonal enighet. Politiske og sosjale skillelinjer hadde mistet sin tidligere betydning. Det norske samfunn hadde blitt sveisset sammen av den enigende holdnings- og motstandskampen.

I farvannet av denne grunnfortellingen har mange motstandsveteraner stått frem som hjelter og de ble ikke bare symboler for en patriotisk holdning under krigen men også for samfunnets verdier i etterkrigstiden. Mange av dem fikk betydelig politisk makt og kulturell innflytelse. Som regel var disse veteraner menn og de hjeltehistorier alle kjennte til handlet også bare om menn. Nesten alle kvinner som hadde "vært med" i noen motstandsaktiviteter ble i de første årene omtalt som navnløse "medhjelpere" og "støttespiller" uten en egen fortelleverdig historie. Gjelder altså den nasjonale grunnfortelling om okkupasjon, motstand og nasjonale verdier bare for menn?

Tvers imot: Kvinner har sin fast posisjon og funksjon i denne fortelling. Selv om de er ofte usynlig og for det meste passiv så finns det et idealbilde av en patriotisk husmor som "holder hjemmet" mens mannen kjemper mot fienden når man ser nærmere på de konkrete fortellinger som handler om krig og okkupasjonstiden. Det finns et "kjønnsmønster" i , en veldig tradisjonellt kjønnsorden som nesten utelukker at kvinner kan stå frem som aktiv motstandsfolk. Dermed fanns det "gutter på "Shetlandgjengen" men ingen kvinnelige eksempler for aktiv kamp i okkupasjonshistorien - og ingen kvinnelige forbilder for aktiv medborgerskap i etterkrigstiden.

Helle Bjerg and Karen Steller Bjerregaard, Denmark

"Traditions of Historical Consciousness" is an ongoing European comparative research project on how memories of The Second World War are passed on through three generations in so called ordinary families. The project is lead by Prof. Dr. Harald Welzer at Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut, Universität Witten Herdecke in Germany.

Since summer 2002 we have been working on the Danish part of this project establishing a Danish analytical framework and conducting interviews with 18 families in three generations: The eyewitness generation, their children, and their grandchildren. The Danish context is not so much characterized by a wider comprehension of World War II, as it is by "The Occupation 1940-45". Both the period of time and the more substantial events normally referred to when dealing with something "during the war" (the occupation on April 9th 1940, the riots in August 1943 etc.) indicates a specific national grasp of war time memories in Denmark. Men and women are equally represented in the material. Because we are dealing with concrete families (and "the family" as a community of remembering), gender is a central analytical focus point, both in connection to "the national optic" and in connection to how memories are told and used through the generations.

Our paper will be based on this interview material. We hope to be able to discuss following three topics:

1) How does gender play a role when men and women of the eyewitness generation tell their war time stories? Not very surprising, men are more likely to tell about the dramatic events, while the women talk about everyday life. It is interesting, though, that even the women who actually experienced or took part in dramatic events seem to "arrange" the stories as everyday life stories, understating their own effort. "I really didn't do anything, but it was very exiting, and I was happy to be back in the kitchen again…"

2) How does gender play a role in the way the children and grandchildren use history? Their knowledge and imaginations of The Occupation stems from both the family stories, film, literature, school and other sources. Some have only heard stories from their grandfather, others only their grandmother, where the first often plays the role as the connection to the "real war events" (political/military/public), and the latter the connection to everyday life and the source to the family history (the home/the private). More over the men of the younger generations seem to use history in their political education. Where the men are much more likely to talk about their political position and the historical reasons for it, the women seem to be quiet silent on this subject. Instead (?) they use history as a moral fundament, both in reference to large scale issues as human rights, and when reflecting on conditions of everyday life, family relations etc.

3) The last topic we would like to discuss is about the so called "German girls" (tyskerpiger) and how this subject affects the family discussions in our material. As we know from Anette Warrings "Tyskerpiger under besættelse og retsopgør" (Gyldendal 1994), both sexuality and nationality are at stake here, and so far our material seems to show that The German girls are not seen in their historical context, but rather provokes timeless reflections on female morality.

All three topics can be seen as investigations of how narratives of World War II produce gendered historical consciousness, and how this specific period is used and consumed in a gendered way. As both consumers and promoters of historical knowledge, we are looking forward to discussing this with you.

Families in the Atomic Age
Cold War, Civil Defence and Gendered Responsibilities

The threat of atomic warfare was a significant element of Cold War culture, at times openly alarming, at times inaudibly looming in the background. The WW III threat was discernible not only to political leaders around the world; it also deeply affected the everyday lives of ordinary people in east and west. An important contributor in making the threat comprehensible was civil defence.

While earlier research has dealt with civil defence extensively from a mere propaganda perspective, this paper addresses the cultural aspects and the sense making of Cold War civil defence with certain emphasis on the construction of gender and family life. In the case of emergency evacuation, the gendered divisions of moral responsibilities in the threat of nuclear war suddenly become apparent. Thus, the key word for this study of "duck and cover" mentality is rhetoric, not propaganda. The task of civil defence rhetoric in Cold War everyday life was as much to draw attention to and explain the unfathomable threat as to encourage hopes of security.

My aim is to investigate the civil defence security metaphors and gender divisions of the Swedish folkhem, but comparisons with civil defence material in other countries such as Denmark and the USA will constitute an important framework within which similarities as well as specific national experiences in the western Cold War milieu will be visible.