Serving the fatherland: the mobilization of Brazilian nurses during World War II

Abstract

In 1944, 73 women nurses were sent to Italy to serve in World War II as part of the Forca Expedicionaria Brasileira (FEB) and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). This event is studied in the context of the Vargas policies to mobilize the civilian population and to construct an internal front. The Estado Novo and the war constituted an important period in the affirmation of 'modern' nursing, as it was likewise vital in affirming nursing as a professional model for middle-class women. Nursing allowed the State to shape one of its most persuasive images: that of motherland. This image brought maternal care right to the battle front, helping make the war a collective experience that should bring together all men and women--all Brazilians--regardless of social stratum. The drive to forge a domestic front combined war mobilization efforts with efforts to win the middle classes over to the Estado Novo.