Overview
It was Samuel Oliner's own childhood and his experience of the Holocaust that led this distinguished sociologist into his programme of research. Born of Jewish Polish parents, he was rescued from death and eventually brought by charitable institutions first to England, then to the USA, where he became a US citizen and later a Professor of Sociology. He taught courses on the Holocaust and the immediate stimulant for revealing and studying rescues arose after a lecture when a student in tears asked "Didn't anything decent happen? Is that all there was?" . Oliner was sharply reminded of his own childhood rescue, and of others well known to him. He reflected that the saviours "deserved their place in history" to help create a balanced account and an honouring of humanitarianism. Thus the Altruistic Personality Project was born. With Professor Pearl M. Oliner a detailed questionnaire was devised whereby comparisons might be made of rescuers with those of similar backgrounds but who took no part in rescue
Synopsis
It was Samuel Oliner's own childhood and his experience of the Holocaust that led this distinguished sociologist into his programme of research. Born of Jewish Polish parents, he was rescued from death and eventually brought by charitable institutions first to England, then to the USA, where he became a US citizen and later a Professor of Sociology. He taught courses on the Holocaust and the immediate stimulant for revealing and studying rescues arose after a lecture when a student in tears asked "Didn't anything decent happen? Is that all there was?" . Oliner was sharply reminded of his own childhood rescue, and of others well known to him. He reflected that the saviours "deserved their place in history" to help create a balanced account and an honouring of humanitarianism. Thus the Altruistic Personality Project was born. With Professor Pearl M. Oliner a detailed questionnaire was devised whereby comparisons might be made of rescuers with those of similar backgrounds but who took no part in rescue