抗戰時期，陪都重慶湧入大量難民，社會救助組織及團體應運而生。過去研究戰時社會婦女救助工作，一般多注意國民政府中央成立的各種婦女組織，從而強調許多工作對婦女動員的貢獻，至於半官方或民間的社會團體，如何開闢資源， 如何構建戰時婦女的「經濟防線」，向來較少被挖掘。半官方或民間婦女團體， 在日益艱困的抗戰環境中， 是否有更加靈活，乃至更加便捷的方式來從事婦女福利工作？政府對於民間婦女團體的工作，有無任何指導與約束？這些問題涉及戰爭背景下，政府治理能力的評價。而戰爭中遍地是「苦難受害」的婦女，社會救助以婦女為目標，如何使資源分配給真正需要幫助的苦難者，而不是虛應一場？這是值得關注的問題。「陪都婦女福利社」是本研究關注的對象，這是一個由國民黨指導成立，成立後，力圖獨立運作的政黨外圍婦女組織。經由對「陪都婦女福利社」的研究耙梳，將呈現戰爭中國家面對嚴重崩解的社會，將如何維持措置，而這些措置又透露戰後中國的那些困境。

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the capital of China was relocated from Nanjing to the interior city of Chongqing. As a result, huge numbers of people came streaming into the wartime capital. To provide these dislocated people with the help and support that they needed, numerous relief groups and aid agencies emerged, many of them dedicated to the care of women. But while there have been a number of studies done on female relief groups supported by the government, there has been a lack of research into semi-official or civilian female support groups. This study aims to redress the balance. Among the questions it asks are the following: whether non-government aid groups were able to provide help more quickly and with more flexibility than government relief organizations; whether the government tried in any way to control or limit the activities of nongovernmental female aid agencies; and whether these non-government groups were able to distribute resources effectively to those that needed them most. This study pays particular attention to the Chongqing Women Welfare Society, an organization established by the Kuomintang (KMT), but which sought after its creation to operate independently of the KMT. By paying more attention to the Chongqing Women Welfare Society, we are better able to see how China responded to a society that was on the verge of collapse. As we study this response, we are also able to see more clearly how the nation responded to its enormous problems in the aftermath of the war.