Educators and history teachers are invited to a free webinar exploring how women’s roles changed in the aftermath of the First World War, taking place on Thursday, 26 November 2026 at 17:00 CET. The session will be held in English and is free of charge.
The webinar looks at the post–World War I era from a methodological perspective, presenting facts, sources and questions that teachers can bring into their own classrooms.
When the war took men away, women had to take on new tasks and roles, which changed how society saw them and how they saw themselves. They became employees, voters, activists, single mothers, members of auxiliary forces, volunteers, widows, and much more.
The session will explore questions such as: What changed because of the war, and what was already changing before 1914? For women from which social classes was the change the most profound? Did employers see women’s work as temporary support during the war, or as a lasting change? Did women’s new roles help them gain voting rights, and how did this differ across regions?
The post-war period offers students an opportunity to reflect on broader questions of change and continuity, the long shadow of war, reconciliation, progress and reconstruction.
Registration required – please register here.
What participants will receive
Equipped with knowledge from the webinar and accompanying teaching materials, participants will be able to bring these thought-provoking questions into the classroom and use them to support their students’ learning.
The session will be led by two experts:
• Dr Jane Clarke researches the impact of military service on women’s social, cultural and political identities. She completed her PhD at the University of Manchester and the Imperial War Museum, and previously taught Modern British History at the University of Manchester.
• Dr Bartosz Dziewanowski-Stefańczyk is a Research Fellow at the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Head of the Academic Department of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. His research covers Polish–German relations, Polish cultural diplomacy, memory politics and textbook studies.
Find more information about the webinar here.