Abstract: Dagmar Wernitznig „Between Frontlines: The Militant Pacifist Rosika Schwimmer (1877–1948) and Her Total Peace Effort“

Dagmar Wernitznig attempts to contextualise Rosika Schwimmer’s (1877–1948) transnational activism and campaigns, relating to the nexus and occasionally problematic interplay of pacifism and first-wave feminism before and during the First World War. As one of the few agitators to decipher the catastrophic potential of a militarist chain reaction at the earliest moment, Schwimmer was pertinent in initiating war resistance and peace rallies on both sides of the Atlantic by mostly appropriating very unorthodox strategies and alternative ideologies for contemporary observers. Overwhelmingly eclipsed from historiography and academic discourse, Schwimmer, despite her eccentricities and solipsism, practiced a decidedly postmodern and professional interpretation of and approach to peace. Hence, this quite atypical conduct and uncompromising realisation of pacifism did not simply juxtapose Schwimmer to militarists and patriots but also marginalised her amongst most feminist, suffragist, and pacifist peers.

Colloque international “Les défenseurs de la paix 1899-1917. Approches actuelles, nouveaux regards”, 15-17 janvier 2014