The issue of gender in Holocaust research has received attention for several decades: especially in literary and film studies, the category of female eyewitnesses or female autobiographies has been explored. However instead of deconstructing traditional role models or moralizing views of female fates, there has been a tendency to confirm traditional patterns or contributions focusing on binary aspects of identity. The supposedly „female“ approach often remained in the sphere of the private1 or the household as „a category of analysis that ignores intersectional approaches that take other differences into account“ (Andrea Pető, p. IX). It was not until the 21st century that feminist theories were productively introduced into this field of research by pointing to the impact experiencing violence has on pre-existing power imbalances.

To a large extent, the 13 articles deal with Central European countries: Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Ukraine and Lithuania – additionally, we also learn about case studies of Nazi Germany, France or the Netherlands. The book is the result of a conference held at Comenius University in Bratislava in 2019, downplayed by male colleagues as an alleged „women's meeting“ (Nešťáková et al., p. XI). In 2018, Hungary banned gender studies at universities on the grounds that it was not a science. Against this background, it is even more important to understand this book as a political statement, too: „Attacks on gender studies [...] are always linked to attacks on women's (and minorities') rights and must be fought.“ (p. XVI)

The first part offers theoretical reflections on the category of gender and Holocaust. Dalia Ofer concludes with regard to female life stories that they „democratize the narrative“ (p. 18): In her case studies, contemporary witnesses envision a future in which Jewish women play a strong role. Natalia Aleksiun raises the question of whether the „family turn“ can be a fertile lens through which to look in future research. She warns against reducing Jewish women's experiences to „their roles as mothers, wives, and daughters“ (p. 39) and suggests looking at family histories and female testimonies as evidence of female agency and the family as a space of resistance.

The second part, which has less to do with the Holocaust and more with war experiences in general, becomes unexpectedly urgent in light of the current war in Ukraine, where we are confronted with systematic war rapes and torn families: Agnes Laba reflects on the long-term consequences of life under German occupation in various European countries. Widowhood, fatherlessness, and „re-masculinization processes“ (p. 46) have strongly influenced thinking about gender relations in the postwar period. In her essay on the „feminine ideal“, Eva Škorvanková shows the interdependencies of National Socialism and Christian conservative understanding of women in Slovakia 1939–1945. She proves that the status of women in times of war is subject to change – politically induced by male ideas.

The next chapter is dedicated to the internment camps run by the Slovak state. Denisa Nešťáková bases her article on the particular genre of children's testimonies from Sered', while Marína Zavacká focuses on the published memoirs of the Ilava camp. Both articles critically examine the stereotypical representations of gender roles inherent in the testimonies. The next two chapters focus on forms of female agency: Anna Nedlin-Lehrer describes the construction of the heroine image of Zivia Lubetkin, the only female Jewish resistance leader in Warsaw who „effectively transcended gender“ (p. 139) by overcoming internalized stereotypes and making use of the egalitarian culture in Zionist Dror movement. In her case studies of women in the Dutch and French „Jewish Councils“, Laurien Vastenhout, on the other hand, concludes that they were „pushed into their traditional roles“ (p. 159). Nevertheless, they contributed to the survival of the Jews through their role as caregivers.

The various forms of female resistance are focused in the following chapter. Joanna Sliwa describes cases of betrayal by Polish women who hid Jewish children. She shows the psychosocial mechanisms that led people to turn against even their closest relatives in order to ensure their own survival. Hannah Wilson analyzes female postwar testimonies of Sobibór Uprising survivors, raising the important question as to the extent to which researchers and readers want these testimonies to fulfill a preexisting narrative of survival, that is, of women in their roles as providers and nurturers. Modiane Zerdoun-Daniel's article highlights the difficult situation of Jewish partisan women in Lithuania. It shows that women had a significant influence in partisan groups, but were also victims of misogynistic behavior and even sexual assault or rape. „A woman was a servant.... she had to satisfy a man's sexual needs“ (p. 215) reads one witness statement.

This leads to the final chapter on sexuality and sexual violence. In four case studies, Marta Havryshko highlights court cases against Ukrainians accused of collaboration. Although these cases did not involve rape alone, the crime was often part of the charge. A quote from the text seems shockingly topical: „The public element of rape was an additional humiliation for the victims and their families [...] It also undermined the masculinity of fathers, brothers, and husbands.“ (p. 229) Florian Zabransky sheds light on same-sex relationships among Jewish men in Nazi Germany. He argues that „survivors already know what they will talk about or what they will leave out before an interview or written testimony“ (p. 250), which helps reflecting the picture of the strong manliness painted by the witnesses. He regards this mode as a reaction in the time of de-individualization when „Jewish masculinity was under attack“ (p. 258).

The publication If This is A Woman, edited by an international early career stage researchers’ group, is not only an insightful contribution to history and memory studies, it also makes a necessary political statement in times where gender studies and the social position of women are experiencing backlashes across the world. The high level of self-reflection is a very characteristic feature of this volume and may be a symptom of the new generation of researchers reflecting on their own work2 and how they even are influenced by power imbalances in academia: „structural factors such as male power or the silence surrounding sexuality, for instance, determine what themes can or cannot be openly discussed in scholarship“ (p. 247).

All contributions have been thoroughly researched and edited. Relevant keywords could have been added to the index for more user-friendliness. In some cases, literary and memory theories could have generated even more output from the testimonies’ analyses since they already discussed topics like child witnesses, family turn, heroism, sexuality in concentration and forced labor camps widely. Also, the constructedness of the term „narrative“ is not considered strongly enough at some points. The strength of this book, however, is that it provides new research on sources that are not available in English. The volume also demonstrates that historical research on gender and war is addressing very pressing issues.

Notes:
1 Agnieszka Mrozik, Akuszerki transformacji. Kobiety, literatura i władza w Polsce po 1989 roku, Warszawa 2012, p. 321.
2 Personal accounts of researchers working on the intersection of feminist theories and Holocaust studies also offers the publication by Judith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz and Dalia Ofer, Her story, my story? Writing about Women and The Holocaust, Berlin 2020.