ABSTRACT
Churches were closed, and religion was forced underground. It was only after the stabilisation of the battle-fronts in mid-1937 that any semblance of normality returned to the rear-guard, although ordinary civilians endured severe material, economic and psychological hardships for the duration of the war. The women of the mixed-gender Falange groups were able to successfully infiltrate the prisons, military barracks, hospitals and the civil and military administration. Women occupied key liaison and leadership roles, primarily within Auxilio Azul, but also within the Clandestine Falange and dozens of autonomous groups. Anti-Republican women saved hundreds of lives. Women’s welfare-aid fell outside the parameters of ‘authentic and active’ resistance in the eyes of the male resistance leaders, and consequently the political and symbolic value attributed to women’s resistance has been routinely overlooked in the histories of this period. Some were the leaders of armed ‘squads,’ and a small number were implicated in acts of terrorism and violence.
