Junta de la Victoria was an Argentinian social movement that mobilized women against fascism, supporting democracy domestically and abroad. Founded on September 13, 1941 by upper-class women, Communists, rural Jewish women, and wives of foreign diplomats, Junta had 45,000 members in 125 different chapters around the country. Junta collected supplies, made goods, and donated money to the Allied war effort. The founders saw rising nationalism and fascism in Argentina as inherently based on Europe, saying that, "Allied and Argentine struggles for liberty and democracy were intertwined".
Outside of its commitment to anti-fascism, Junta de la Victoria advocated for women's rights. The organization's leaders saw freedom and democracy as linked to women's ability to learn and thrive, and saw their conventions as a chance to usher in democracy through diversity, mutual respect, and cooperation. Ultimately, though, egalitarian labor and social reform became secondary to fighting fascism.
Junta de la Victoria's operations were limited and eventually shut down during the dictatorship of Pedro Pablo Ramírez, who saw the group's pro-Allied stance as Communist-aligned. Nevertheless, Junta continued to make an impact throughout the war and remains an important model for women's movements in Argentina and Latin America to this day.
Movement leaders
Cora Ratto de Sadosky
Cora Ratto de Sadosky (1912–1981) founded Junta de la Victoria, and later became the organization's secretary and a key organizer. Most popularly known as a scholar, educator, and mathematician, Ratto de Sadosky's work as a Communist (she was affiliated with the Communist Party of Argentina) and anti-fascist occupied much of her time during the Second World War. She argued that Junta was not just maternalist philanthropy, but "an organization of work and struggle".
Maria Rosa Oliver
Maria Rosa Oliver (1898–1977) founded Junta de la Victoria along with Cora Ratto de Sadosky, and became the vice president. An "upper-class Communist intellectual", Oliver was also an active member in Agrupacion Femenina Antiguerra (AFA) and the vice president of the Unión Argentina de Mujeres (UAM) from 1936 to 1943.
Ana Rosa Schlieper de Martinez Guerrero
Ana Rosa Schlieper de Martinez Guerrero (1898–1964) was an upper-class philanthropist and radical who advocated for the welfare of women and children. She became the president of Junta de la Victoria and was in charge of the group's national mobilization. At the same time, Guerrero was the president of the Inter-American Commission of Women and the UAM, and the secretary general of Acción Antifascista Argentina. As part of her welfare work, she attempted to bring Jewish refugee children to Argentina during World War II, but ultimately failed.
Fanny Edelman
Fanny Edelman (1911–2011) was born in Argentina as the daughter of poor Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. She grew up in a secular socialist household and joined the Communist Party in 1934. She was involved in the Liga Argentina por los Derechos del Hombre, when she was jailed for her involvement in the cause of freeing political prisoners. Edelman became involved in fighting fascism and authoritarianism– in conjunction with her anti-capitalist work– during the Spanish Civil War, where she served as an officer for the Communist-aligned Comité Argentino de Mujeres Pro Huérfanos Españoles (CAMHE) in Argentina and worked for Socorro Roco (International Red Aid) in Spain. This inspired her to organize against fascism during the Second World War, where she joined and "worked without pause, without rest, in the Junta de la Victoria". After the war, she founded the Union de Mujeres de la Argentina (UMA), became the general secretary of the Women's International Democratic Foundation, and ultimately was an honorary head of the Communist Party of Argentina.
Berta Singerman
Berta Singerman (1901–1998) emigrated to Argentina from Minsk, Belarus as a child. She began her artistic career in Yiddish theater in Buenos Aires, and continued to perform as an actress and singer in both Spanish and Yiddish throughout her childhood. Singerman was a prominent and frequent performer at Junta benefit concerts and events, and is best known for her performance of "Marseille" at Plaza Francia after France was liberated.