The U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey,
which was commissioned by the Claims Conference and conducted by Schoen
Cooperman Research, is the first 50-state survey on Holocaust knowledge among
millennials and Gen Z, according to a Wednesday press release.
Through the survey, the Claims Conference calculated Holocaust
"knowledge scores" using the percentage of millennials and Gen Z
adults who met all three criteria: they have definitively heard about the
Holocaust, the can name at least one concentration camp, death camp, or ghetto,
and they know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
Sixty-three percent of survey respondents did not know 6 million
Jews were killed during the Holocaust, Claims Conference says.
Thirty-six percent thought that "two million or fewer
Jews" were killed during the Holocaust, and 48% could not name a single
camp or ghetto established during World War II, despite the fact that there
were more than 40,000 of them.
"In perhaps one of the most disturbing revelations of this
survey, 11 percent of U.S. Millennial and Gen Z respondents believe Jews caused
the Holocaust," Claims Conference writes.
Nearly 20% of millennials and Gen Z in New York said they
thought Jews caused the Holocaust, the survey, which analyzed state-by-state
results, found.
Wisconsin scored the highest in Holocaust awareness, while
Arkansas showed the lowest Holocaust knowledge.
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine, Kansas, Nebraska,
Pennsylvania, Idaho, Iowa and Montana were the states with the highest
Holocaust knowledge scores, while Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, New York,
Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas had the
lowest.
Respondents — adults aged 18 to 39 who were selected at random —
were also asked if they had seen Nazi symbols on social media platforms or in
their community and 30% said they had. Seventy percent of respondents in Nevada
had seen Nazi symbols on social media or in their community.
Forty-nine percent of millennials and Gen Z have seen Holocaust
denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online, Claims
Conference said, calling the finding "troubling."
"Not only was their overall lack of Holocaust knowledge troubling,
but combined with the number of Millennials and Gen Z who have seen Holocaust
denial on social media, it is clear that we must fight this distortion of
history and do all we can to ensure that the social media giants stop allowing
this harmful content on their platforms," said Claims Conference Executive
Vice President Greg Schneider. "Survivors lost their families, friends,
homes and communities; we cannot deny their history."
Fifty-nine percent of respondents indicated they believe
something like the Holocaust could happen again, a finding that Claims
Conference called "a disturbing sign of the times."
"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," Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor said.
"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."
Claims Conference said the lack of Holocaust knowledge is a
growing problem, since only a few Holocaust survivors are alive to share the
lessons of the Holocaust.
Comments
Post a Comment