Why DID They Resist? A Sociological Analysis of Jewish Resistance in the Ghettos of Warsaw, Vilna, and Lodz

FAIN: FT-54703-06

Rachel Lynn Einwohner
Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040)

Reacting to portrayals of Jews during the Holocaust as individuals who succumbed meekly to their fate, many people ask, "Why didn’t they resist?" Instead, this project asks, "Why DID they resist?" This question is particularly important to social movement scholars, whose theories would predict that Jews lacked the opportunity, resources, and efficacy needed to stage collective resistance. The study focuses on three Jewish ghettos (Warsaw, Vilna, and Lodz) and seeks to understand where and why resistance occurred. Data will come from primary and secondary sources, including diaries and memoirs written by ghetto residents, and the analysis will employ case-based methods of comparative historical research.