Description:

The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program

Presents

A Montgomery Lecture

With

Rachel L. Einwohner, PhD
Professor of Sociology and (by courtesy) Political Science
Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN

Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust: 
Lessons from the Past and Guidance for the Future

Most popular accounts of the Holocaust depict Jewish people as passive victims who went to their deaths “like sheep.” A common question is, “Why didn’t they resist?” In this talk, I ask the opposite question: Why did Jewish people resist? I pose the question this way because from the perspective of theory and research on social movements, collective Jewish resistance should not have happened. By comparing resistance efforts in the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Vilna, and Łódź, I argue that decisions about resistance rested on ghetto residents’ assessments of the threats facing them; armed resistance took place only once activists reached the critical conclusion that they had no hope for survival. An examination of Jewish resistance carries lessons for contemporary action in a variety of settings, including resistance by health care professionals against state restrictions in medical procedures.

In-person attendance is open to the Northwestern Community: Searle Seminar Room in the Lurie Research Building (303 East Superior Street, Chicago Campus). Zoom attendance is open to all. Registration required.

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