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Social Networks and Surviving the Holocaust

Author

Listed:
  • Matej Belin
  • Tomas Jelinek
  • Stepan Jurajda
Abstract
Survivor testimonies link survival in deadly POW camps, Gulags, and Nazi concentration camps to the formation of close friendships with other prisoners. We provide statistical evidence consistent with these fundamentally selective testimonies. We study the survival of the 140 thousand Jews who entered the Theresienstadt ghetto, where 33 thousand died and from where over 80 thousand were sent to extermination camps. We ask whether an individual’s social status prior to deportation, and the availability of potential friends among fellow prisoners influenced the risk of death in Theresienstadt, the ability to avoid transports to the camps, and the chances of surviving Auschwitz. Pre-deportation social status protected prisoners in the self-administered society of the Theresienstadt ghetto, but it was no longer helpful in the extreme conditions of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Relying on multiple proxies of pre-existing social networks, we uncover a significant survival advantage to entering Auschwitz with a group of potential friends.

Suggested Citation

  • Matej Belin & Tomas Jelinek & Stepan Jurajda, 2022. "Social Networks and Surviving the Holocaust," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp720, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    • Handle: RePEc:cer:papers:wp720
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social status; social networks; Holocaust survival; Nazi concentration camp; ghetto; Theresienstadt/Terezín; Auschwitz-Birkenau;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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