Trees of Life: The Structure of the Clandestine Jewish Rescue Networks during the Holocaust

Zhixiang Su, University of California Berkeley
Kasia Nalewajko, Collegio Carlo Alberto
Robert Braun, University of California, Berkeley

Existing literature on collective action emphasizes the importance of isolated clusters, dense networks, and overlapping ties for clandestine mobilization against strong oppressors. Instead, this paper argues that clandestine resistance is most successful when they are embedded within sparse, tree-networks that connect different groups across disparate regions. These long-distance networks take the form of a tree as nodes are connected to only two others, with few or no shared contacts. While the interregional nature of these networks allows for anonymity and the transfer of resources, the sparse and decentralized network structures maximize secrecy and resilience against repression. We develop our argument through in-depth case studies and network analysis of the rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. Using computational text analysis, we analyze 15,639 post-war testimonies to reconstruct co-rescuer networks based on individuals who assisted the same groups of Jews, and further triangulate historical census data to assess Jewish survival rates and rescuers' success. Consistent with our argument, network analysis and regression models demonstrate that rescuers embedded in interregional networks with low density and high transitivity (i.e., sparse, tree-like structures) were significantly more effective in rescue successes. At the municipal level, these tree-like interregional networks correspond to a 7.8%–14.6% increase in Jewish survival rates, holding other factors constant. Qualitative comparisons of local networks reveal that tree networks emerged out of an implicit norm to not approach more than one well-trusted rescuer from the same outside community and reduced detection by lowering conflict between different rescue groups. This paper advances the literature on resistance by showing how its success is conditional on a distinct and unintentionally created network configuration.

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 Presented in Session 224. Nazism and the Holocaust