Propaganda and Education on Gender Equality and its Influence in the Participation of Women in the Red Army of the Soviet Union during WWII

Abstract

Soviet women, in the Red Army, were the only ones to fight on equal terms with men during World War II. This paper seeks to examine whether the propaganda for gender equality, which these women received as girls, influenced their decision to participate on the front lines in this war. To achieve this goal, three Soviet children's publications from the 1920s will be studied, analyzing how often the value of gender equality was implicitly or explicitly mentioned. Secondly, to probe the persistence of this value among women who fought in this war, several of their letters, memoirs and diaries will be examined.