Language:
English
Year of publication:
1997
Titel der Quelle:
Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Angaben zur Quelle:
20 (1997) 223-253
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Rescue
Abstract:
Sociological rational choice theory (RCT), i.e. cost and benefits scheme, taken in its simplest form, cannot explain rescue behavior during the Holocaust. As a high-cost and low-benefit situation, the rescue of Jews would be improbable. Therefore, the "identity theory" was proposed by Kristen R. Monroe as a tool to explain this behavior. Monroe holds that the sense or definition of self of the rescuers of Jews is the strongest factor determining their rescue behavior; the rescuer neglects the risk involved and other constraints. Criticizes Monroe's theory; argues that the more sophisticated version of RCT, namely that which assumes that rescuers do not have full and objective knowledge of the cost of their acts, and that the benefits need not necessarily be material, can be applied to the rescue situation. Empirical data, collected by Klingemann and Falter in 1993 in Germany, as well as those collected by Monroe herself in 1991, seem to confirm the broader version of RCT rather than identity theory.
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