Gender based experiences of Jewish women in the Holocaust : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

The cataclysm of the Holocaust has been documented and analyzed. What has not been fully explored, however, is the special character of women's experiences in the tragedy. This thesis explores the importance of gender through distinctive women: those who worked in the resistance, women who went into hiding and those who lived in the concentration camps. Personal testimonies show what set women apart from their male counterparts in the Holocaust. The thesis concludes that gender served as an important determinant of life, the quality of life and the manner of death.