Prosocialization: Lessons Learned from the Upbringing of Holocaust Heroes

Abstract

Research on factors associated with heroic rescue during the Holocaust suggest that the parenting and upbringing of the rescuer was significant (Ganz, 1993; Oliner & Oliner, 1988). The research suggests that heroic altruism during the Holocaust was but a natural extension of the rescuers’ integrated moral identities reflecting deep-seated instincts, predispositions, and habitual patterns established in early upbringing according to moral parenting practices, that when acted upon conferred the deepest feelings of meaning, life satisfaction, and sustained well-being across the life-span. This paper explores the implications of these and other findings from the research on heroism during the Holocaust, specifically, how can we apply the lessons learned from the parenting of Holocaust heroes to parenting today? Prosocialization, a novel approach to parenting derived from the research on moral exemplarity, defined as parenting with the conscious intention of raising caring, morally courageous kids, is introduced.