r/Judaism • u/justjust000 • Jan 20 '26

We're what's left 😄

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Link to original Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQJ3AkViofr

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140

u/Remarkable-Pea4889 Jan 20 '26

I wouldn't wear a shirt like this, but it's actually somewhat true. Research has shown that to survive the Holocaust people needed to be selfish rather than selfless.

86

u/njtalp46 Jan 20 '26

I know hard data is the best proof, but this rings true on an intuitive level. 

One anecdote: my grandfather survived because he was rebellious and hated shtetl life. I heard the story of him eating ham and getting punched in the face by his father. But that spirit also made him willing to hang out with Russian soldiers when they moved into town. The same Russian soldiers who liked him and offered him a lift (alone, no family) when they pulled out ahead of the German invasion. 8 immediate family died, he lived. 

I'd say that was pretty selfish of him. 

17

u/Klexington47 Reconstructionist Jan 21 '26

My Saba survived selling soap from the Germans to the Russians because he was mischievous, bold, and a rebellious trouble maker. Never made the correlation until now.

3

u/njtalp46 Jan 21 '26

That's incredible. Also now paranoid my grandfather had a secret second family lol