Come pecore al macello? Ebrei nella Shoah e reazioni alla persecuzione

Abstract

Like Sheep to the Slaughter? Jews in the Shoah and Reactions to Persecution – While most psychosocial analyses of the Shoah focus on psychological issues relating to the behavior of the perpetrators, this study examines similar issues in relation to the victims. Eschewing from a homogeneous representation of Jews as going to their death like sheep to the slaughter, the aim here is to characterize the psychology of the victims and their daily actions in the face of persecution. The content analysis performed on a pertinent body of contributions from the historical, philosophical, sociological, psychological and memory literatures – has identified the contribution of numerous factors. These factors do not so much relate to particular characteristics of the victims themselves as to relationships between members of the minority and majority over the course of time. Moreover, they related to strategies employed by the victims to cope with ongoing persecution and specific actions of diversion by their executioners. Mostly neglected by post war historiography, this evidence for a marked reliance on “unarmed reactions”, further contributes to articulating the representation of the victims.

Keywords

• Shoah
• Jews
• Reaction to Persecution
• Psychosocial Analysis
• Content Analysis