This paper seeks to explore the developments within the Greek inter-war feminist movement associated as they were with contemporary socio-political circumstances and the consolidation of fascism in Europe with an emphasis on the 1930s. Increasing dismay about an imminent World War II alarmed bourgeois Greek feminists who coalesced in a pacifist and anti-fascist outcry which was based on their avowed belief in the necessity of liberal democracy as the sine qua non condition for the very existence of feminism. The paper reviews the feminist literature of that time and reports on the rather amorphous amalgam of ideas expressed regarding a purportedly ‘pacifist female nature’, ancient Greek heritage and its symbols of alleged pacifism and unity that were deemed necessary in order to sanction the role of Greek women as supporters of peace. Furthermore, the ideal of an all-female, world-wide sisterhood with a special focus on the Balkans was promoted. Greece, as Balkan country, was thought to play a pivotal role in averting a new war in the troubled peninsula and the rest of the world. Thus, Balkan women were urged to embark on endeavours to form a large Balkan ‘family’ based on contemporary perceptions on women’s roles as mothers, views that harmed rather than supported the feminist case in Greece.

Keywords: Greek feminism, Inter-war period, Pacificm.