History remembers the women who fought for progress. But what about the women who chose the wrong side of history?
In the Service of Evil brings eleven women out of the footnotes of history – women who did not merely support totalitarian regimes and radical movements, but helped shape them.
From Gertrud Scholtz-Klink in Nazi Germany and Jiang Qing during China’s Cultural Revolution to Ulrike Meinhof of the Red Army Faction, these women organised, indoctrinated and exercised real power. They were not simply wives, followers or victims, but political actors driven by ideology, ambition and a will to power.
Structured as a journey through a century of totalitarianism, the book explores how radical ideologies emerge, evolve and collide – and challenges the persistent idea that fanaticism, brutality and political violence belong primarily to men. At a time when extremism is once again on the rise, In the Service of Evil offers a timely reminder: radicalisation has no gender.
The book is driven by a feminist ambition: to insist that women, too, must be held accountable when they wield violence and hatred as political weapons. Yet In the Service of Evil offers far more than a political argument. The authors give these women names, histories, context, and responsibility. Their story is told in prose that is measured, unsparing, and at times strikingly powerful.
Alltinget
An important book that recognises women’s role in politics – for better and for worse.
Dag og Tid
An engaging and accessible book about women in totalitarian movements.
Minerva
“Sober, relentless and at times strikingly powerful.”
Altinget
…often driven by feminist intentions, and frequently in spite of the explicitly anti-feminist regimes they served, it is valuable that such paradoxical figures are brought out of the shadows.
Dagbladet
