A study based largely on interviews with Holocaust survivors, mainly from Poland. Focuses on the role of gender in the individual's ability to withstand the vicissitudes of the Holocaust, at various stages and in various situations - during the early period of Nazi occupation, in the ghettos, on the "Aryan side", in concentration camps, and in the resistance, especially among Soviet partisans. At earlier stages, Jewish men who lost their leading status, and were unable to fulfill traditional male roles, were more prone to break down. Women were more capable of rising to the challenge and aiding their families, friends, and communities; they even took over some male roles. Prewar class differences proved to be more significant for men than for women, both in the Nazi camps and among the partisans. In the ghettos and camps, and on the "Aryan side", women clung to their role as mother. During the Holocaust, women evinced the best feminine qualities - cooperation and mutual care.