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Holocaust Voices: An Attitudinal Survey of Survivors

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Alexander Groth's latest book is a provocative combination of survey research and personal voice. Groth's attitudinal survey of Holocaust survivors (including a sub-sample of those who managed to escape from Nazi control during the war) provides a wealth of information about the survivors' assessments of their ordeal and those responsible for it. The survey itself is well constructed with a sample of respondents closely representing the Jewish population in Europe in 1939. Especially interesting are the survey's findings regarding Jewish perception of potential danger before and during the Holocaust, assignment of blame for their experience, and empathy toward victims of similar activities in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Cambodia. The results serve as a springboard for Groth's critique of prominent examples of Holocaust scholarship, e.g., Arendt and Goldhagen, and a pointed reminder of broader responsibility for the events that transpired.

Dr. Groth's work is unique in holocaust studies. It is by a survivor who interviewed survivors to gain statistically valid insights into their experiences, knowledge, and attitudes both before the holocaust and after. Dr. Groth's approach is sympathetic but scholarly and objective. Of particular interest is his own assessment of the scholarship of others in this field. Although he recognizes, of course, the brutality of many Germans, he rejects the Goldhagen conclusion that the German people as a whole were particularly conditioned and prepared to perpetrate the holocaust.

As a Holocaust survivor with of similar background as Dr.Groth, I appreciate the fact that he examines survivors' personal , social, and political attitudes from numerous perspectives, including their prewar lives. His research crosses the boundaries of sociology and psychology, giving clarity to the complex influences on survivors' world view. After reading this book, Survivors and their families will gain a better insight into the forces that shape our attitudes. This book is not just for those interested in Holocaust literature, it can easily serve as a model of analyzing other populations that have lived through traumatic experiences.