Male Holocaust Victims at Auschwitz

This paper examines male experiences as men rather than as universal experiences. Gender is about the social construction of particular identities and behavioural expectations. This paper explores how this related to men during the Holocaust, particularly at the dual labour and death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Revisiting male survivor memoirs through a gendered lens, allows a reevaluation and reinterpretation of these crucial primary sources.

This paper sheds light on the gendered particularities of male victimisation. It interrogates men’s words, deeds and behaviour under extreme conditions, as well as the choices they made. It considers male behaviours that reflected expected gender norms (egotism, strength and identity through work) and male behaviour that deviated from these expectations (social bonding to enhance chances of survival). It shows the significance men placed on work as a means of dealing with their situation, trying to gain control of it (similar to how women used home making skills) and surviving.

The paper examines how men portrayed in their narratives the qualities of strength, courage, autonomy and independence as expected gender norms. On the other hand, once separated from wives and children and beset by the extreme circumstances in Auschwitz, men became bereft and bewildered. An analysis of gender-based distinctions in Holocaust experiences and the ways they have been narrated by men adds an important angle to our knowledge and understanding of life and death at Auschwitz.