Minorities and the Clandestine Collective Action Dilemma: The Secret Protection of Jews during the Holocaust

Abstract

This article argues that local minority groups are better able to initiate and sustain underground movements because members form isolated hubs of commitment that are able to overcome the clandestine collective action dilemma, that is, the dual challenge of secrecy and mobilization. The author substantiates this claim with a case study of resistance against the Holocaust. He combines a unique and underutilized collection of postwar testimonies gathered in light of an honorary pension program with postwar trials of pro-Nazi collaborators and literature on nonrescuers, to trace both successful and failed rescue attempts. In line with the theory, the analysis reveals that Catholic rescue groups were more successful in Protestant regions and vice versa because their minority position facilitated mobilization while reducing exposure. Statistical analyses of postwar testimonies and arrest records confirm this picture, demonstrating that it is the distinctive local position of groups that enables the production of underground movements.