The Perpetrator-Bystander-Victim Constellation: Rethinking Genocidal Relationships

Abstract

The actions, reactions, and motivations of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders are the focus of Holocaust and genocide research. The greatest emphasis has always been on the perpetrators, however, and the examination of the role of bystanders—and even the definition of the term itself—has been relatively neglected. This article explores the complex interrelationships within and among these three groups, with the groups being viewed as covering broad and dynamic spectra of levels of involvement, resistance, agreement, and opposition vis-a-vis the destruction process as opposed to being distinct, static entities. The authors begin by elucidating our understanding of the roles, relationships, and attributes among and within the different groups through the development of a model of the inherent system. Each component of the perpetrator-bystander-victim model developed by the authors is then examined and discussed in generic terms, stressing the scalable nature of the model. The usefulness of this model is ...