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A third of young adults in the UK can’t name Auschwitz or any other Nazi death camps

Admin, The UK Times
27 Jan 2025 • 08:41 am
A third of young adults in the UK can’t name Auschwitz or any other Nazi death camps

A third of young adults in the UK can’t name Auschwitz or any other Nazi death camps

A study has found that many young adults in the UK lack knowledge about the Holocaust, with one-third unable to name Auschwitz or other concentration camps where the crimes took place. This lack of knowledge, especially among 18 to 29-year-olds, was also seen in other countries like the US and UK.

The findings were released just before the International Day of Commemoration for Holocaust victims and the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation. Concerns about rising far-right movements and increasing antisemitism are growing.

The survey showed that over a quarter of people in the UK couldn’t name any camps or ghettos set up by the Nazis during World War II.

To mark the anniversary, King Charles will visit Auschwitz on Monday, joining survivors and other officials, including Poland’s president.

The UK Prime Minister has promised to make Holocaust education a nationwide effort, ensuring that all schools teach about it.

Keir Starmer said it’s important to remember the 6 million Jewish victims and to defend the truth against Holocaust denial. He also emphasized the need for action, noting that genocides still occur today. He said that learning about the Holocaust and listening to survivors’ stories can help foster empathy and defeat hatred.

He reminded everyone that the Holocaust is a warning: “It happened, it can happen again.” We must make sure “never again” truly means never again.

In response to being asked to name concentration camps, death camps, killing sites, transit camps, or ghettos they had heard of, 26% of people in the UK said they didn’t know any of the names. This was higher among people aged 18-29 in the UK, where 33% didn’t know, and 48% of people in the US didn’t know.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was the most well-known camp, with 69% of people in the UK mentioning it, according to research by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

The researchers said some findings showed that Holocaust education in the UK was making a difference. However, there were concerns about the spread of Holocaust denial and distortion on social media sites like X and Facebook.

When asked if they had seen Holocaust denial or distortion on social media, 23% of people in the UK said yes. The number was higher in Poland (47%), Austria (38%), Hungary (38%), Germany (37%), the US (33%), Romania (25%), and France (20%).

Professor Stuart Foster, director of the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, said the study highlighted serious problems with people’s knowledge of the Holocaust in Europe and North America. He was especially worried about the high levels of denial and distortion, often spread by misinformation on social media. However, he was comforted by the fact that most people supported Holocaust education in schools.

In the UK, people who had seen Holocaust denial and distortion on social media most often encountered it on X and Facebook, with 42% mentioning X. Among people aged 18-29, 42% mentioned TikTok as the platform where they saw it.

In the eight countries surveyed, many people didn’t know that 6 million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust. Some even thought that only 2 million or fewer Jews were killed.

Among those who thought fewer Jews were killed, 28% were in Romania, 27% in Hungary, 24% in Poland, 21% in France, the US, and Austria, 20% in the UK, and 18% in Germany.

A significant number of young adults aged 18-29 hadn’t heard of the Holocaust in countries like France (46%), Romania (15%), Austria (14%), and Germany (12%). In the UK, only 2% of young adults were unaware.

Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference, said: “The lack of knowledge, especially among younger people, shows a serious need for better education about the Holocaust. It’s worrying that many adults don’t know basic facts, like the 6 million Jews who died.”

The survey was overseen by a group of historians and experts from museums, schools, and major organizations focused on Holocaust education, including Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Claims Conference.

Published: 27th January 2025

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