Since World War II, social interaction and cohesion in the Holocaust have been topics of great interest to social scientists. Initially, such research remained in the hands of psychologists and sociologists who often portrayed a two-dimemional picture, concentrating upon action and reaction while ignoring the historical circumstances under which the interaction occurred. During the past decade, however, historians have expressed interest in these topics, and their research offers a key to the missing dimension. As historical investigations progressed, social interaction began to be viewed as a source of strength which permitted adaptation and individual survival. In this context, historians categorized socialization as an additional expression of the daily struggle to maintain human dignity within a system based upon dehumanization of the individual. In recent years, researchers have concentrated upon the particular forms of social interaction of specific groups in the Holocaust, such as Communists and the religious-observant. With the growth of women's studies and gender awareness,'researchers began to investigate the behavior patterns of women in ghettos and camps.'Among the topics receiving special attention were women's reaction to sudden separation from family, relationships formed among women in camps and ghettos, female response to Holocaustrelated physical and sexual vulnerability, and the behavioral and psychological mechanisms which developed among women's groups as means of protection and s~ rvival.~

One of the most significant studies of self-help and mutual assistance during the Holocaust was carried out by the late psychiatrist Shamai Davidson, who spent over two decades interviewing Holocaust survivors throughout the world. In a paper presented at Yad Vashem in 1980, Davidson broadly characterized the formation, size, composition, modus operand; and interaction with surroundings of mutual assistance groups in camps.'Most of the groups, he claimed, were formed on a nucleus of previous relationships or a common cultural or national background. Members changed