Pacifistas italianas cruzando el telón de acero de la RDA entre 1981 y 1989

This article examines the activities of various pacifist and feminist organizations that played a significant part in the Italian anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s, including the March 10th Group, the Lega per l’Ambiente and il Manifesto newspaper. These groups established close transnational ties with the Women for Peace organization in the GDR. Driven by feminist ideals and a commitment to human rights, these groups advocated East-West dialogue at the European Nuclear Disarmament Conventions, establishing informal networks with Women for Peace representatives amid the favourable climate of the 'Helsinki effect'. Ultimately, they became key hubs for the transnational spread of pacifism and its connection with independent pacifism in the East. This research demonstrates that Italian pacifist and feminist groups were integral to the diverse landscape of environmental and ecological associations during a period of growth and expansion for the Greens in Italy. Meanwhile, in West Germany, the feminist wing of the Greens, represented by Petra Kelly — who had close ties to the German dissident movement — became a model for the future formation of the Green Federation and the ecofeminist movement. This study is pioneering in Spanish historiography, examining the trans-bloc relationships of pacifist groups in Eastern Europe. It is based on unpublished German and Italian archival sources, newspapers and oral histories.