Women's International Democratic Federation Records, 1945-1979
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Carrie Baldwin. 2008-06-06
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records
Creation of Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records
Time of Creation of Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records
Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF)
Biographical History for: Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records
Historical Note Anti-nuclear flier produced by the WIDF, March 8th, 1959 The Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) was founded in Paris in 1945 at the International Congress of Women by Eugenie Cotton and Marie-Claude Vaillant-Courturier. It was organized around four major concerns; anti-fascism, international peace, child welfare, and the status of women. In a 1958 interview Eugenie Cotton stated, "It was Fascism that caused the 1939-1945 war and because of this the founders of WIDF stressed their determination to work for the strengthening of democracy in the world.... When they demand peace, women think first and foremost of safeguarding the lives of their children." [Women of the Whole World, April 1958, "Madame Cotton Tells Us"]. Although the WIDF was not a Communist group, there were Communists active in the organization. As a result the American press labeled it as "Communist dominated." The American affiliate of the WIDF, the Congress of American Women (CAW), was founded in New York City in 1946 to "revive the struggles of the nineteenth century woman's movement and attract women radicalized by their wartime experiences into the larger progressive movement" [Weigand, Kate, Red Feminism: American Communism and the Making of Women's Liberation, page 47]. Shortly thereafter CAW established itself as an American branch of the WIDF. In response to the House Un-American Activities Committee's (HUAC) charge that the WIDF was a tool of the Soviet Union, the CAW disaffiliated from the WIDF in December 1949 and voted to disband in 1950. The WIDF is an ongoing organization. According to its Web site it has affiliates in 160 countries [http://www.fdim-widf.com.br/indexingles.htm]
Zelma Brandt, co-chairman of the Committee of International Affairs, Congress of American Women, donated her records of the WIDF and CAW between 1968 and 1972.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The WIDF records are arranged in three Series: I. AFFILIATES contains two sections: Congress of American Women (American affiliate) and publications from various international affiliates. The former consists of correspondence mostly with Zelma Brandt, co-chairman of the Committee of International Affairs; and clippings, reports, and publications dating from the founding of the organization in 1946 to its investigation by HUAC in 1949. The latter contains publications from affiliates in China, Hungary, and Romania. II. CONGRESSES consists of records of seven congresses sponsored by WIDF between 1945 and 1969. The bulk of this series consists of agenda, financial reports, timetables, reports, speeches and anti-Vietnam War material from the World Congress of Women held in Helsinki in 1969. III. PUBLICATIONS contains publications of WIDF including Eugenie Cotton, a biography of the founder of the WIDF, XIVth Session of the Executive Committee of the WIDF (1954), materials related to International Women's Day, runs of News In Brief and Vietnam, plus miscellaneous pamphlets and printed material. Additional publications of the WIDF, Women of the Whole World, Documents and Information, and Information Bulletin for the Paris and Yugoslavia branches are located in the Periodicals Collection of the Sophia Smith Collection.
Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.
The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.
Owners of the copyright to these records is unknown. Copyright to materials authored by persons or other organizations may be owned by those individuals or organizations or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond fair use must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
There is additional material elsewhere in the Sophia Smith Collection. The Mary van Kleeck Papers contain some records and publications of WIDF. Women of the Whole World, Documents and Information, and the Information Bulletins for the Paris and Yugoslavia branches, are located in the Periodicals Collection.
Processed by Susan Boone, 2008
International Women's Day--History
lcsh
Socialism--History--20th century--Sources
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Sources
Women and peace--History--20th century--Sources
Women--International cooperation--History--20th century--Sources
Women socialists
Women's rights--Congresses--History--Sources
Brandt, Zelma
lcnaf
World Congress of Women (1969: Helinski, Finland)
Congress of American Women--History--Sources
Women's International Democratic Federation--History--Sources
series
SERIES I. AFFILIATES
Congress of American Women
Correspondence 1946-48, n.d.
Clippings, reports, and publications 1946-49, n.d.
National Women's Federation of the People's Republic of China 1965
Hungarian Women's Council 1968
Women's National Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania 1966, n.d.
Miscellaneous listsn.d.
SERIES II. CONGRESSES
Women's International Congress, Paris 1945 (in French)
Women's International Congress (2nd), Budapest 1948
World Congress of Women, Copenhagen 1953
World Congress of Mothers, Lausanne 1955
Fourth Congress of WIDF, Vienna 1958
World Congress of Women, Moscow 1963
World Congress of Women, Helsinki 1969
Agenda, timetable, and financial report
Reports
"Activities of the WIDF"
"La Cause Palesteinne et la Legitimate de la Resistance"
"The Role of Women in the World Today"
"Women at Work"
"Women in Society"
"Women in the Family"
"Women in the Struggle to Win and Defend National Independence, Democracy and Peace"
Speeches
Vietnam War: reports, draft appeal, and declarations
SERIES III. PUBLICATIONS
Eugenie Cotton 1967
Executive Committee, XIVth Session 1954
International Women's Day 1958-75
News In Brief 1953-72
Vietnam 1972-74
Miscellaneous
Pamphlets 1954-79, n.d.
Printed materials 1951-75, n.d.