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Were There ‘Bystanders’ in Topol'čany? On Concept Formation and the ‘Ladder of Abstraction’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2018

HANA KUBÁTOVÁ  and
MICHAL KUBÁT
HANA KUBÁTOVÁ
Affiliation:
Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies, U Kříže 8, 158 00 Prague, Czech Republic; hana.kubatova@fsv.cuni.cz
MICHAL KUBÁT
Affiliation:
Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of International Studies, U Kříže 8, 158 00 Prague, Czech Republic; michal.kubat@fsv.cuni.cz
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Abstract

This article adds to an on-going conceptual discussion on the usefulness of the ‘bystander’ term when applied to the Holocaust and its aftermath. This catch-all concept, mostly associated with Raul Hilberg, has been the subject of fierce criticism, leading some to apply it only with adjectives (‘innocent’, ‘active’ or ‘passive’) and others to dismiss the concept altogether. Taking the Jewish–Gentile relations in Topoľčany as a case study, it becomes clear that the concept has many shortcomings when applied to the microcosm of a particular event. On the basis of Giovanni Sartori's writings on concept formation and the ‘ladder of abstraction’, we argue against dismissing the concept altogether in exchange for limiting its degree of applicability. As shown, the ‘bystander’ concept can be useful when approached with discipline and while being aware of the level of its generalisation.

Type
Article
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , November 2018 , pp. 562 - 581
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

We would like to thank Vít Hloušek, Ota Konrád, Raz Segal and the three anonymous reviewers for their critical comments to earlier versions of the manuscript.

Research leading to this article has received funding from the Charles University under the PRIMUS programme (PRIMUS/HUM/12) and has been supported by the Charles University Research Centre No. 9.

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