Sisters in Arms - Militant Feminisms in the Federal Republic of Germany Since 1968

Few figures in modern German history are as central to the public memory of radical protest than Ulrike Meinhof, but she was only the most prominent of the countless German women-and militant male feminists-who supported and joined in revolutionary actions from the 1960s onward. Sisters in Arms gives a bracing account of how feminist ideas were enacted by West German leftist organizations from the infamous Red Army Faction to less well-known groups such as the Red Zora. It analyzes their confrontational and violent tactics in challenging the abortion ban, opposing violence against women, and campaigning for solidarity with Third World women workers. Though these groups often diverged ideologically and tactically, they all demonstrated the potency of militant feminism within postwar protest movements.

List of contents

Acknowledgements

Note on Translations

List of Figures

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1. The New Women's Movement in West Germany

Chapter 2. Terrorism, Feminism and the Politics of Representation

Chapter 3. Militant Feminist Protest against the Abortion Ban

Chapter 4. Women Fighting Back: Feminist Responses to Violence against Women

Chapter 5. Sisters in Arms? Militant Feminist Protest and Transnational Solidarity

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Katharina Karcher is Lecturer in German in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham. Her research interests include feminist theory, European women's movements, and the histories of protest, extremism and violence in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Summary

Drawing on a wealth of new source material, Sisters in Arms gives a bracing account of how radical feminism was enacted by key German leftist organizations, such as the infamous Red Army Faction and June 2 Movement.

Additional text

“Karcher offers a refreshing perspective on the history of the New Women’s Movement in West Germany and its relationship to militancy in this long-overdue study. Any future scholarship on feminist activism in Germany will need to consider this provocative and revealing book.” · Patricia Melzer, Temple University

Product details

• Authors: Katharina Karcher, Karcher Katharina
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9781785335341
• ISBN: 978-1-78533-534-1
• No. of pages: 178
• Series: Monographs in German History; Monographs in German History
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas; HISTORY / Europe / Germany, Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, European History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Political activism, Feminism & feminist theory, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Feminism and feminist theory, West Germany, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), Political activism / Political engagement