introduction

The connection between much of my work and my Holocaust experience is quite obvious. My work was probably also affected by my post-Holocaust experience of living under a communist system in Hungary, escaping from Hungary without my family, living in Vienna, then coming to the United States alone.

I did some early work on fear, control and lack of control, and the use of information and control to reduce fear. At the time, in no way did I connect this work to my own life experiences. I have spent most of my career studying what leads people to help others, what leads them to remain passive in the face of others' need, what leads them to harm others. The latter included the study of the origins of genocide and other collective violence. Underlying all my work has been an interest in change: How can we develop caring in children? How can people become more helpful? How can we reduce youth violence? How can we eliminate violence by groups against innocent people? A thread through all my work has been the study of the passivity and the potential power of bystanders, of individuals and groups who witness suffering or harm inflicted on others.

While the connection of this work to my Holocaust experience is quite clear, for many years I ignored and disregarded this connection, almost denied it. I survived the Holocaust and I was involved with my work, and I emotionally separated these two domains.