This paper investigates how proximity to Nazi concentration camps shapes long-term political intolerance in Germany.
📍 Direct Exposure
The study finds that current levels of outgroup intolerance and support for radical right-wing parties are higher among citizens living near former camp sites, despite controlling for contemporary factors.
🔍 Methodological Rigor Using advanced statistical controls, the research rules out alternative explanations based on present-day attitudes, camp visibility, economic conditions, or modern usage as reasons for these patterns. The analysis demonstrates that a direct spatial relationship exists between Nazi camps and subsequent political intolerance.
🧠 Cognitive Mechanism We argue this persistence stems from cognitive dissonance affecting those directly exposed to Nazi institutions during their formative years—a psychological discomfort that leads individuals to align with the regime's ideology.
➡️ Intergenerational Transmission This indoctrinated perspective then gets passed down through generations, creating a lasting impact long after WWII ended. The findings highlight how historical trauma can be transmitted across time and demographics.
| Legacies of the Third Reich: Concentration Camps and Outgroup Intolerance was authored by Jonathan Homola, Miguel M. Pereira and Margit Tavits. It was published by Cambridge in APSR in 2020. |
