A whopping 20 percent, almost, of all Millennials and Generation Z members In New York think that the Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves. This according to the results of a new survey just released by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The survey was conducted in all 50 states and was taken of all the people who make up the groups known as millennials and Gen Z. These two groups include Americans born since 1990.
The nationwide results were not much better. 63 percent of all national survey respondents did not know that six million Jews were murdered and 36 percent thought that “two million or fewer Jews” were killed during the Holocaust. Additionally, although there were more than 40,000 camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust, 48 percent of national survey respondents cannot name a single one.
New York was joined by Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas among the ten states with the lowest Holocaust Knowledge Scores.
Is anyone surprised by this? It has been 75 years since the end of World War II and people tend to have short memories. Few people are left in the world who were old enough to understand what was going on when the truth about the Holocaust was first revealed. And every year we lose more of the remaining survivors and people who grew up in the immediate aftermath of the war.
Holocaust denial is rampant in America. Nazis march in the streets of American cities carrying Tiki torches just like they did in Germany while shouting, “Jews will not replace us.” And the President responds by saying that there were “good people” on both sides of the demonstrations. Anti-Semitic incidents have been on the rise in America in the last few years.
The study used three criteria to determine knowledge of the Holocaust: 1) Percentage of people who have “Definitively heard about the Holocaust,” 2) Percentage who can name at least one concentration camp, death camp, or ghetto, 3) Knowing that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
For the full report go to Claimscon.org.
“Disturbing Findings Reveal Significant Number Of Millennials And Gen Z Can’t Name A Single Concentration Camp Or Ghetto, Believe That Two Million Or Fewer Jews Were Killed And A Concerning Percentage Believe That Jews Caused The Holocaust,” say the report’s authors.
“The results are both shocking and saddening and they underscore why we must act now while Holocaust survivors are still with us to voice their stories,” said Gideon Taylor. “We need to understand why we aren’t doing better in educating a younger generation about the Holocaust and the lessons of the past. This needs to serve as a wake-up call to us all, and as a road map of where government officials need to act.”
“We came to realize that, although a number of states already mandate Holocaust education which is an excellent first step, for the mandates to have a significant effect in classrooms there must be state funding to support the mandates,” said Claims Conference Holocaust task force leader Matthew Bronfman. “The Holocaust is a broad topic. Specialized teacher training and a thoughtfully developed curriculum is needed for students to benefit.”
“Quality Holocaust educations helps students think critically about how and why the Holocaust happened,” said Gretchen Skidmore, task force member and Director, Education Initiatives, Levine Institute for Holocaust Education, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The study of the Holocaust engages students in understanding the fragility of societies, the dangers of antisemitism and hatred, and the importance of promoting human dignity. This history can inform our understanding of our own roles and responsibilities in the decisions we face today.”
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Tel Aviv and Frankfurt secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individuals and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $80 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. In 2020, the Claims Conference will distribute approximately $350 million in direct compensation to over 60,000 survivors in 83 countries and allocate approximately $610 million in grants to over 200 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as homecare, food and medicine.
