Witnessing Women: Pina Bauzon 

Bauzon was a young, single, well-off woman
who lived in Italy during the Great War 1914 – 1918.

Her diary — a mix of personal and war news —
describes her interactions with soldiers. It is clear Pina

enjoyed Italian occupation. Propaganda goes
only part way toward helping us understand women’s

wartime experiences. Diaries and memoirs
of women living at the front overturn many generic

images of women. Not all could read and write —
about two-thirds of Italian women were literate then.

Questions of why some wrote and others stayed
silent remains unanswered. War is a unique moment.

Many who recorded their experiences never
wrote about their lives before the war — and never

wrote about them again. But acts of writing
reveal significance some individuals attached to war

–many had compelling desires to bear witness.
Some wrote to explain what they endured, hoping acts

of writing might normalize extraordinary events.
Writing was often forbidden. Pina recorded conversation

about how “severely prohibited” it was to keep any
notes during occupation. Diaries during wars do differ

from memoirs written after the fact. “When will I
return to the kitchen, to needlework — and even more –

to the studies of our children?” Caught in the zone,
Pina Bauzon realized her life would now change forever.

German officers demanded all the food and drink.
Pina lamented, “Oh, sacked houses and lost memories!

Oh, the horror!” Towns became “seas of soldiers”
as “rivers of refugees” left. Daily life interrupted: the military

became the majority. Women were more active
as providers, defenders, but still had roles as home caretakers.

Being a woman at the war front was a liability –
but could be an asset. Many women exerted influence

on their own terms. Flirting with the enemy
was common, despite negative moralizing by many.

Bauzon provided the most direct evidence:
she discussed romances and courting in her diary –

brief entries were often chatty and buoyant.
After the battles Pina did marry one of the soldiers –

though gender relations had changed during war.

. . . . .

Poet: Susan Powers Bourne
Source: Women and the Great War: Femininity Under Fire in Italy
Process: Excerpted and remixed