One-Third
of Americans Don't Believe 6 Million Jews Were Murdered During the Holocaust
One-third
of Americans think “substantially less” than 6 million Jews were murdered in
the Holocaust, according to a new survey that highlights a worrying lack of
basic knowledge about the World War II-era genocide.
The
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims
Conference, released the findings of its survey to coincide with
Holocaust Remembrance Day.
They show a notable lack of understanding among Americans, especially
millennials, the group said.
The
Claims Conference said there are “critical gaps both in awareness of basic
facts as well as detailed knowledge of the Holocaust” in American society, stressing that
U.S. schools must provide more comprehensive education on the crimes.
The
survey shows that 70 percent of Americans believe people care less about the
Holocaust than they used to. A majority, 58 percent, said they believe
something like the Holocaust could happen again.
A
uniform of an Auschwitz survivor is displayed on December 9, 2004, at the
Jewish Museum in London. A recent survey found that 66 percent of millennials
do not know what Auschwitz was. Ian Waldie/Getty Images
Just
under a third (31 percent) of those surveyed do not believe that 6 million Jews
were killed during the Holocaust and think the real death toll is at least
2 million lower. This was true for 41 percent of millennials.
Adolf
Hitler's fascist Nazi regime killed approximately 6 million Jews before and
during World War II. The Nazis also murdered millions of Eastern European
civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, disabled people, homosexuals and political
prisoners. Estimates of the total death toll reach as high at 15 million to 20 million people.
Almost
half (45 percent) of Americans were unable to name a single concentration camp,
and the number was even worse for millennials (49 percent). Two-thirds (66
percent) of millennials were unable to explain what Auschwitz was. The death
camp is one of the most infamous ones that existed in Nazi-ruled Europe,
and its name has become synonymous with the genocide.
Fifteen
percent thought people should be allowed to display Nazi slogans or symbols
today, while 11 percent said it is acceptable to hold neo-Nazi views.
These
figures are especially concerning given the reported rise in hate group numbers,
activity and confidence in recent years. A February report from the Southern
Poverty Law Center claimed that the number of hate groups in the U.S. has
increased by 20 percent over the past three years. The number of neo-Nazi
groups increased from 99 in 2016 to 121 in 2017, the center said.
Around two-thirds (68 percent) of Americans believe there is
anti-Semitism in the U.S. today, and a majority
(51 percent) think there is either a great deal of (17 percent) or many (34
percent) neo-Nazis in the country today.
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