| Popis: |
This chapter focuses attention on the long-overlooked role of female volunteers and minority soldiers. During the Second World War, the Romanian Red Cross recruited tens of thousands of female volunteers, and the Romanian Army drafted tens of thousands of ethnic, religious, and racial minorities. Women and minorities provided the Romanian Army with indispensable womanpower and manpower on the front and at home. The ideologies that motivated men to report for duty as soldiers motivated women to volunteer as nurses or medical assistants. Female voluntarism provides strong evidence of popular support for Romania’s holy war. Although ethnic minorities were not attracted to Romanian nationalism, religious and racial minorities were often staunch patriots. Religion, antisemitism, and anticommunism transcended ethnic, religious, and racial boundaries. Nevertheless, the General Staff distrusted minorities and relegated most of them to military service in labor detachments. |
