International conference: Between Past and Present

Continuities of Right-Wing Extremist Images of Womanhood

Potsdam, January 15, 2026
Organizers: Centre for Promotion of Tolerance and Holocaust Remembrance in Zagreb and Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies  (MMZ) 
The conference language is English.

Please register via e-mail by January 6, 2026: moses@mmz.uni-potsdam.de

Since the 20th century, fascist movements have been formed and (further) developed in various countries – from Italy to India. What they all share includes a pronounced cult of personality, an authoritarian leadership and extreme nationalism. For a long time, the right-wing spectrum was considered a purely male domain. In historiography, women were therefore given a passive role in fascist and nationalist movements. As a result, after the Second World War many female perpetrators could fall back on traditional concepts of womanhood and were usually spared long prison sentences.

In the right-wing populist movements and parties that have formed in the last decades and years across different countries, women today play an increasingly important role in the media and in politics, even when they are active behind the scenes.

At this international one-day conference, experts will discuss their latest research findings about the historical and current role of fascist and nationalistic-oriented women from the interwar period to the present day. In light of the shift to the right in many European countries and elsewhere, it will be shown how antifeminist politics, traditional images of womanhood and right-wing ideologies have shaped society until today.

The conference is part of the international EU project “Teaching about Race and Gender Exclusion Timelines.”

Scientific organization:
Dr. Martina Bitunjac (Potsdam)
mbitunja@uni-potsdam.de

Logistic coordination:
Sandra Prlenda (Zagreb)
sandra.prlenda@centartolerancije.hr