Gender-Conditioned Reconstruction of Society in Slavonia After World War I in the context of the workers’ press Throughout a long period of time the role of women had been restricted to their traditional family structure. Therefore, they had been deprived of any kind of engagement in social activities, while their identity had been reduced to that of a mother and a housewife. In spite of that, in the 19th century it was not uncommon for women to go beyond the boundaries of their homes. However, almost till the middle of the 20th century they had been sentenced to social positions of minor importance. In this context, World War I and the post-war period present a special area of research. World War I led to enormous social changes. One of the most significant ones is the change in the traditional role of a woman. Due to the military mobilisation process, traditional social and family relations had been destroyed, so women became the basis of social structures, transcending the limits of their homes. Those social changes had a great impact on the transformation of feminine iconography which was manifested in the representation of a woman as the sanctuary, homeland, mother and safety. During the war the woman gradually became the driving force void of its secondary role in society, which she had been ascribed in the previously depicted social framework. It actually resulted in the final deconstruction of the female identity as a housewife, a wife and a mother. After the war there was a shortage in the labour force needed to reconstruct the society. Due to this fact, women took over the role of agents in the reconstruction process and in that way created for themselves a new identity, void of all traditional prejudice. In that way, due to labour force shortage, women were the ones who were the leaders of the post-war era reconstruction. Unfortunately, the new identity was a short-lived development. However, it did leave a permanent mark on the social role of the woman in the second half of the twentieth century. The creation of the new identity is related to the labour movement and it should be definitely pointed out here that women’s movement was associated with the socialist movement from its early beginnings. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse the gender-conditioned reconstruction of the post-war society in the context of the change in the working class structure and the change in the attitudes of workers to women working in industry, based on the analysis of the workers’ press in Slavonia in the period from 1918 to 1920. Within the context of the above mentioned circumstances, there was a greater rate of women participating in the working class, even in jobs which were, according to stereotypes, interpreted as ‘men’s jobs’. Slavonia, as a part of the Tripartite Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, was a component of the Austria-Hungary Monarchy. After the end of World War I the Dual Monarchy ceased to exist, so the Tripartite Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia united with Serbia and Slovenia and formed a new state. Immediately after the end of World War I, several smaller states were formed (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, etc.) on the territory of the former Monarchy, among them the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which was renamed into the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, on December 1, 1918. Articles published in the three most significant workers’ newspapers are analysed in this paper. These newspapers were published in Slavonia during the post-war period: The Workers' Newspapers. Socialist Gazette (from June 20 to April 24, 1919); The Socialist. Socio-democratic Newspaper (March 23, 1919 to September 6, 1919); The Workers’ Word. The newspaper of the Socialist Workers’ Party of Yugoslavia (comunists) of the Local Workers’ Union Council in Osijek (from December 18, 1919 to December 30, 1920). In order to approach the research area related to the gender-conditioned reconstruction of society and to grasp the change in the labour movement in Slavonia regarding the position of women, it is necessary to analyse the broader context of the relations between the labour and women’s movement. Construing the Women's Narrative in the Context of the Socialist/Labour Movement “Similar to the majority of political movements of the 20th century, feminism also has its origin in the great social changes associated with the modern age.” Cole, Diana, „Niti i pletenice, ili nezavršeni projekt? Feminizam u dvadesetom stoljeću“, Političke ideologije, (editor-in-chief: Michael Freeden), Zagreb, 2006, pp. 219-245 In the 1860s Europe was swept by the wave of social unrest and strikes originating from the recognition of the workers’ associations and demands for higher wages. Thus, those women who comprised a significant portion of the labour force and especially those who lived in difficult social circumstances slowly started to join the fight for better working conditions, which later became a fight for improving the social status of women. In international context the term gender-related labour movement is associated with the strike of female workers in textile industry, which resulted in the establishment of March 8 as the International Women’s Day. Unlike the above mentioned event, which has become the mythologem of both the feminist and labour movement, the role of women in the Paris Commune, which was the peak of the labour movement, remained mostly unexplored. The year of 1871 became the turning point in the labour movement around the world. Women were the ones who played a great role in the process. The emancipation of women within the frame of the Paris Commune was encouraged by Nathalie Lemel: “No more weakness! No more uncertainty! All women to arms! All women to duty! Versailles must be wiped out!“ „Women in the Paris Commune“ (http://www.marxist.com/women-in-the-paris-commune.htm; retrieved on April 10, 2014) In spite of that, few people are familiar with the following names: Louise Michel, Elisabeth Dmitrieff, André Léo, Anne Jaclard, Paule Minkor and Nathalie Lemel. We should give a special mention to Louise Michele, an anarchist, a teacher and a member of medical staff, because her activities had contributed greatly to the change in the perception of the woman as the powerless creature in desperate need of someone’s protection. Due to her engagement in the Paris Commune she earned the nickname Red Virgin. The Paris Commune was important for the women’s rights movement for two reasons. The first can be found in the fact that for the first time in history women were equal to men in protests and other similar activities, while the second reason can be seen in legal regulations relating to the improvement of social standards regarding the position of women. In its short life span the Commune had passed numerous social regulations and acts, among which we should point out the financial remuneration for the unwed wives of men who had died fighting in the National Guard. In the regional context of Slavonia, female workers started participating in the socialist/labour movement in the Austria-Hungary Monarchy and their participation was related to the establishment and meetings of workers’ assemblies, strictly monitored by the state. At each assembly, which had to be approved by the city authorities first, a representative of the authorities had to be present as well, in order to prevent any kind of criminal actions, i.e. criticising the authorities and their treatment of the labour movement. According to the archive material found in the Croatian State Archive in Osijek, in 1895 women participated in the celebration of the May 1. According to the report by municipal authorities, 144 people were present, “almost half of whom were women”. HDSO, SGP, 5735a/6 The trend of associating the women’s with labour movement continued in the 20th century. In 1903 seamstresses from Osijek participated in the workers’ assembly and demanded that Sunday be a day off. Croatian State Archive, Osijek, Spisi Gradskog poglavarstva, 5735a/6 Despite the exceptional involvement of women in the labour movement, the relationship between the workers’ and women’s movement, i.e. feminism, was ambivalent. Despite the widely accepted opinion that women’s rights had been included in the workers’ or trade union policies from the very beginning, the reality was in fact different. In the above mentioned context the research area of the period after World War I is extremely important. This was the time when the labour movement changed its attitude towards the active participation of women in the social transformation. In the post-war period the workers’ press made it very clear that women were really welcome workers in all jobs, from hospitals to clerk positions. Women were even encouraged to be active in the reconstruction of the post-war society. However, the situation was somewhat different in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. While on the one hand the socialist parties and the labour movement supported the women’s right to vote, on the other hand they were not so thrilled with increased social activities of women. Therefore, one of the leading anarchist thinkers, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, believed that the woman’s place was in the house or brothel, but not at a workplace. Following this claim, Linda Nochlin stated that Proudhon’s book, La Pornocratieou les femmesdans les tempsmodernes Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph, La Pornocratieou les femmesdans les tempsmodernes, Pariz, 1875 (retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/lapornocratieoul00prouuoft) , was the greatest anti-feminist treatise. Nochlin, Linda, Courbet, London, 2007, p. 220 Although the labour movement stressed the need for enabling women to vote, the traditional family mindset had dominated the leaders of the labour movement. It should be pointed out that the labour movement, on the other hand, stressed the importance of protecting women and mothers, regardless of their marital status. Therefore, until the beginning of World War I women were constrained to the microcosm of their homes, both in the social context and the labour movement. Socio-economic Implications of World War I within the Framework of Social Position of Women One of the basic features of World War I, besides the military aspect, was the general military mobilisation of the civil population. The authorities on both sides promoted the theses on patriotism and duty to the country. That kind of discourse had softened almost all opponents of war, which resulted in the fact that wives, children and mothers sent their husbands, fathers and sons to war with enormous excitement and pride. They believed that in that way they were fulfilling their greatest duty – duty to their country. The general opinion was that the war would last only several months and that after that their husbands and fathers would return to their homes. Numerous posters, as the basic form of propaganda, depicted mothers holding children in their arms and waving with a smile to their husbands, who were leaving to war. In the context of the above mentioned, an especially interesting research area is the one encompassing the history of the labour movement. Despite the fact that one portion of the labour movement was against the war, another, significant part voted within their national frame for war credits and paved the way for the war. Thus, since the majority of workers had gone to war, there were huge changes in the structure of the working class. The mass mobilisation resulted in an enormous social transformation of society and gender structure of the working class. The new working class which emerged in the war was no longer composed of men, but women and children instead. Since the majority of factories were situated in the cities, there were mass migrations from the village into the city. Most women encountered for the first time the machines used in the process of work and production, so at first they did not meet the demands of the specialized work with machines. Povijest, 16, Prvi svjetski rat i poslijeratna Europa (1914-1936), Jutarnji list, Zagreb, 2008, p. 123 Work in factories, and especially work outside the home, was something women had encountered for the first time. Thus, according to research conducted in Great Britain, 22% of women had never been employed before that time. The emergence of the female labour force was one of the most significant socio-economic implications of World War I. In Germany, women’s labour force participation rate increased from 22% (in 1913) to almost 35% in 1918. Ibid, p. 124 In this context the structure of work performed by women is extremely important. Before the war women had mostly been involved in professions such as nurses, teachers or servants. However, after the war had broken out, women took over all kinds of jobs, including the physically demanding ones, performed in factories. Thus, the greatest increase in the women’s labour force participation was recorded in the metallurgy sector – from the initial 18,000 female workers to 400,000. Ibid. Women also made up the most significant part of the labour force in factories producing firearms and ammunition. The social engagement of women led to the disintegration of the traditional family structure. The increase in women’s social responsibility was actually the wind beneath their wings, which resulted in women becoming self-conscious. They aspired to putting an end to their subordination, both in the broader and family context. Therefore, although women had been the pillars of society, the propaganda still insisted on iconography (via posters, postcards, etc.) which portrayed women exclusively as mothers, returning them to their traditional roles. In the context of the above mentioned antagonistic attitude of the labour movement towards women, there was a resistance to the introduction of women’s labour force. Both labour movement leaders and employers shared the same traditional worldview regarding women – women were incapable of producing economically. Therefore, despite the fact that women had proved themselves as labour force at the time of great need, a significant portion of the labour movement was suspicious of female labour force. The exchanged gender roles at the end of the war were uncertain. However, it was precisely these women who were the predecessors of all women’s movements, due to their actions during and after the war, despite the numerous social restrictions. Social changes generated by World War I deconstructed the traditional family and social relations and paved the way for a greater engagement of women in the post-war society. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived change, also determined by numerous restrictive regulations. This may be supported by the fact that in Great Britain women gained the right to vote in 1918, but only if they were older than 30 and if they had completed higher education. The Role of Women in the Framework of the Post-war Policy The new state, firstly named the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, and later the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, in its very beginnings exhibited political and ideological differences regarding the political and cultural aspects. Immediately after the union, there were debates on nationalism and “yugoslavianism”. Women participated in these debates, regardless of them being feminists, revolutionaries or conservatives. To a certain extent they even “took over the responsibility for these debates”. Feldman, Andrea,”Proričući gladnu godinu: žene i ideologija jugoslavenstva (1918-1939)“, Žene u Hrvatskoj. Ženska i kulturna povijest, (editor-in-chief: Andrea Feldman), Zagreb, 2004, pp. 235-246) Therefore, in the post-war period women became more and more intensely involved in the labour movement, as well as in the broader area of political and intellectual activities. The political context of activities of women mainly included the fight for equality and the right to vote. However, the new social order believed, as did the Monarchy, that the important political issues should not be entrusted with “female subjectivity”. The Workers’ Word, in its March issue of 1920, just before the local elections were held, had mentioned numerous difficulties. Among these difficulties was the fact that workers’ wives were forbidden to vote, due to “numerous faults of the election act.” “Komunalni izbori i buržoaska stranka“, Radnička riječ. Glasilo Socijalističke radničke partije Jugoslavije (komunista) mjesnog Radničkog sindikalnog vijeća za Osijek, 4th March, 1920, II Although women’s movement in the Kingdom was quite diverse, they were united in the demand for being granted the right to vote. Intellectual debates mainly included the issues related to the state, the kingdom and issues related to the increasingly stronger socialist, i.e. communist movement. Therefore, as the communist movement had recognized the importance of the women’s issues and the position of women in society, there was a stronger organization of socialist-oriented women who took part in strikes, protests and various movements. The Change in the Labour Movement Discourse Regarding the Role of Women in the Post-war Reconstruction of Society As it has already been mentioned, the labour movement was ambivalent to the social role of women. The change in this attitude can be analysed in articles published in the Osijek workers’ press. Before the war the workers had believed that women should be granted the political right to vote, but their social role reached its peak in being mothers and wives. However, after the war there were frictions in the labour movement believing that women should retain the social position they had earned during the war. The reason accounting for this change probably lies in the lack of labour force in the post-war period. Most of workers were still prisoners of war and the complete demobilisation had not ended yet. So, The Workers’ Newspaper (of January 1, 1919) published the article “Labour Force Shortage”, in which it stated that the majority of workers had not yet come back from the battlefield, which resulted in the shortage of labour force. In the post-war period, which was the time when the workers attempted to initiate revolutions (in Germany and Hungary) by taking over the factories (in Italy) and organizing numerous strikes, the female workers played a significant part in strengthening the workers’ fighting spirit. It was precisely the female labour force that was the main foothold of resistance to employers, who continued exploiting the new labour force as well. The feature of the new strikes was the complete social transformation. That is how one of the numerous strikes in Slavonia was organized by the women workers of the Osijek cloth factory. The strike lasted for almost eight weeks and 85 workers participated in it. The strikes are the best example of the changed social position of women. An increase in the number of women in social unrest was portrayed as a consequence of the new proletariat structure caused by the militarization of society. Povijest 16, Prvi svjetski rat i poslijeratna Europa (1914-1936), Jutarnji list, Zagreb, 2008, 129 The workers’ press devoted special attention to the voting right. The Workers’ Newspaper, in its issue of January 16, 1919, stated that the workers were demanding, among other things, “the general, immediate, proportional and secret right to vote for all males and females aged at least 20.” The Socialist wrote about the same demand and claimed that the labour movement needed to “do whatever it can to enable the general, equal and permanent right to vote with system of proportion to all citizens aged at least 20, regardless of their gender, for all judicial and governing bodies…” The demands expressed by the labour movement for the equal right to vote were inherited from the pre-war period. However, the new discourse of the labour movement regarding women was pronounced in their acknowledgement of the productive element of the female labour force. While the workers had fiercely objected to women joining the labour force in factories before the war, the experience gained in World War I changed their perception of women. The Workers’ Newspaper (the January 1919 issue) stated that the woman’s social role had never been more needed. It said: “She is seen as a clerk in all offices, post-offices, telegraphs, railway stations, trams, in all factories, even in the mines…” This can lead us to the conclusion that the labour movement acknowledged the achievements of women during the war. The workers stated that it should not be forgotten that “the woman has played the strongest role in this war than she has played ever before – that of a worker.” “Oskudica u radnoj snazi“, Radničke novine, no. 1, January 1, 1919, I Although there were no national counterparts of Rosa Luxemburg or Clara Zetkin in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (later the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs), women in Slavonia played an extremely important role, which, unfortunately, has not been researched enough yet. A step back or… “The phenomena related to change in the structure of the labour movement had a certain temporary character.” Despite a certain change in the workers’ policy regarding the newly acquired role of women in society, these rights were not kept by women after World War I. This fact should be viewed against the broader social and historical context. Although in the final stage of the war there was a rebellion of the working class, as well as the formation of the communist countries (The Hungarian Soviet Republic, The Bavarian Soviet Republic), the labour movement did not succeed in keeping its position achieved immediately after the war. Thus, its changed attitude towards the position of women was not significant in the broader social and political context. Despite the expectations, the winners of World War I, who had met at the Paris Peace Conference, continued their pre-war period policy of pushing women to the margins of society. Balfour, a British politician, generally supported the women’s right to vote, but he believed that great politicians should not be occupied with such matters. A Japanese representative at the Paris Peace Conference stated that in Japan the women’s movement for the right to vote was irrelevant and not worth mentioning. MacMillan Margaret, Mirotvorci. Šest mjeseci koji su promijenili svijet, Zagreb, 2008, 92 However, their perception of the labour movement changed greatly. In the political parties formed on the basis of various labour movements (especially leftist), women played a significant role. Thus, within the communist and socialist parties women established special women’s organizations. In 1919 The Secretariat of Women Socialists was formed within The Socialist Workers’ Party (of communists). Some basic information about Women's Movement in Yugoslavia betwenn the two wars (http://www.womenngo.org.rs/zenski-pokret/istorija-zenskog-pokreta/219-nekoliko-osnovnih-podataka-o-zenskom-pokretu-u-jugoslaviji-izmedu-dva-rata; retrieved: May 3, 2014) Women in Slavonia also formed organizations within the leftist organizations since the authorities had not recognized them as equal. “The communist movement recognized the potential of the women’s movement, as well as their demands.” Feldman, Andrea, “Proričući gladnu godinu: žene i ideologija jugoslavenstva (1918-1939)“, Žene u Hrvatskoj. Ženska i kulturna povijest, (editor-in-chief: Andrea Feldman), Zagreb, 2004, pp. 235-246) When discussing the above mentioned organizations, it is important to point out that they actually presented the socialist feminism. The issue of liberation of the suppressed class was more important than the issue of liberation of women. It was believed that after the liberation from capitalism there would be immediate liberation of women as the suppressed class. In spite of that, this marked the beginning of women’s organizations and the continuation of their post-war social engagement. Conclusion Within the context of the labour movement it has been frequently pointed out that the leaders of the labour movements were always inclined to the female labour force. However, the situation was complex and its interpretation went beyond that. There were two streams in the labour movement. One was composed of the workers who were declarative in supporting women, believing that they should have the right to vote, but that it should be the end of their rights. The other stream was composed of the people like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, whose historical importance lies in the fact that they were the leftist leaders or progressive writers. They placed the issue of women’s rights and their social responsibility within the walls of a house or a brothel. Bearing the above mentioned in mind, the post-war period is extremely important, because it was then that reconstruction of society took place. In this reconstruction women played a crucial role and due to that the labour movement took a turn regarding the position of women in society, both on the discourse and practical level. In this context international events can be viewed within the microcosm of Slavonia, or its workers’ press, in which the issue of the position of women was a constituent part of the renewed labour movement. In the workers’ press Slavonian workers promoted the development of the new attitude towards women in society, based on complete equality. In the post-war period women succeeded in overcoming the traditional barriers, although the victory lasted only for a short time. In that way they became not only the active agents of change, but its leaders, especially in the workers’ rebellions which broke out immediately after the war. Unfortunately, the breach through the traditional borders was only a short-term development. Although in historiography the end of World War I is often interpreted as the beginning of a new era, few things changed for women after the short post-war period. Thus, women in Yugoslavia gained the right to vote only after the end of the Second World War. Despite that, women later managed to pave the way for women’s and feminist movements in Yugoslavia and they also created the narrative which has a special role in the research on the position of women in the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Ana Rajković Bibliography Coole, Diana, “Niti i pletenice, ili nezavršeni projekt? Feminizam u dvadesetom stoljeću“, Političke ideologije, (editor-in-chief: Michael Freeden), Zagreb, 2006 Feldman, Andrea, “Proričući gladnu godinu: žene i ideologija jugoslavenstva (1918-1939)“, Žene u Hrvatskoj. Ženska i kulturna povijest, (editor-in-chief: Andrea Feldman), Zagreb, 2004, pp. 235-246) MacMILLAN, Margaret, Mirotvorci. Šest mjeseci koji su promijenili svijet, Zagreb, 2008 Nochlin, Linda, Courbet, London, 2007 Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph, La Pornocratieou les femmesdans les tempsmodernes, Pariz, 1875 Povijest, 16, Prvi svjetski rat i poslijeratna Europa (1914-1936), Jutarnji list, Zagreb, 2008, p. 123 Web pages “Women in the Paris Commune“ (http://www.marxist.com/women-in-the-paris-commune.htm; retrieved April 10, 2014) “Nekoliko osnovnih podataka o Ženskom pokretu u Jugoslaviji između dva rata“ (http://www.womenngo.org.rs/zenski-pokret/istorija-zenskog-pokreta/219-nekoliko-osnovnih-podataka-o-zenskom-pokretu-u-jugoslaviji-izmedu-dva-rata; retrieved May 3, 2014) Archive material Croatian State Archive, Osijek, Spisi Gradskog poglavarstva (dalje SGP), 5735a/6 Radnička riječ. Glasilo Socijalističke radničke partije Jugoslavije (komunista) mjesnog Radničkog sindikalnog vijeća za Osijek Radničke novine. Socijalističko glasilo; Socijalista. Socijalno-demokratsko glasilo; Socijalista. 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