Petition letters by ordinary Croats in favor of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945): a linguistic analysis

Abstract

Aim: To test the hypothesis that Croats petitioned authorities more frequently on behalf of Jews of higher socioeconomic status in the Axis-aligned Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska) during World War II. The hypothesis is based on studies from other societies under Nazi influence.

Methods: We analyzed the linguistic characteristics of 83 petition letters from the Croatian State Archives and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software and conducted text mining using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool. We also examined the differences in the writing style of the petitions on behalf of Jews of different professions and bias in petitioning for Jews with whom the petitioners shared professional interests.

Results: The most frequent argument was the Jews’ Croatian patriotism, as evidenced in 69% of the petitions. Petition argumentation and language style did not differ significantly with the profession of the Jews for whom they were written. Signatories from various professions petitioned equally for Jews from a wide range of professional backgrounds. For instance, individuals from higher economic sectors (e.g. lawyers, artists) wrote not only for Jews in similar professional fields, but also for those in lower economic sectors (e.g. industry workers). Linguistic analysis showed no significant differences in the psychological and social dimensions measured by LIWC, nor in its four summary measures (Analytic, Clout, Authentic, Tone). The number of signatories was independent of the petition's origin (urban or rural).

Conclusions: Contrary to patterns observed in other societies under Nazi influence, these 83 petition letters suggest that Croats intervened for Jews regardless of their profession, demonstrating acceptance and inclusivity. This is the first quantitative analysis of petition letters on behalf of Jews during the Holocaust and provides a foundation for further research on this topic.