Becoming Bystanders: Carpatho-Ruthenians, Jews, and the Politics of Narcissism in Subcarpathian Rus’

Abstract

This article addresses the deterioration of relations in Subcarpathian Rus’ between Jews and Carpatho-Ruthenians (the majority population in the region) in the interwar period and during the Holocaust. It presents an analysis of a range of archival material and survivors’ accounts through psychological and social psychological theories, mainly the ‘narcissism of minor differences’, in order to understand why and how Carpatho-Ruthenians assumed the role of indifferent bystanders as their Jewish neighbours fell victim to discrimination, persecution, and genocide between 1938 and 1944. The specific nature of collective bystander behaviour is illuminated, highlighting damaged self-image, indifference, envy, and war-related harshness. The analysis recasts terms previously considered self-explanatory such as ‘national awakening’ and ‘antisemitism’, and the specific contexts which shaped the emotions, positions, and relations at the core of group behaviour in Subcarpathian Rus’ are probed.