A third of young adults in the UK are unable to name Auschwitz or any of the other concentration camps and ghettos where the crimes of the Holocaust were committed, according to a study.
Other growing gaps in knowledge—especially among 18-29-year-olds—were also identified as part of a larger international survey in countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.
These results have been released earlier as well International Day of Remembrance Monday commemorates the victims of the Holocaust and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It comes amid renewed right-wing and alarmist concerns about growing hostility.
More than a quarter of people surveyed in Britain could not name a single camp or ghetto established by the Nazis during the Second World War.
Asked to name concentration camps, death camps, killing sites, transit camps or ghettos, 26% of those surveyed said they did not know their names. In the UK the proportion was 33% among 18-29 year olds, although the figure was higher among those surveyed in the US at 48%.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the most famous camp, mentioned by 69% of those surveyed in the UK. Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Those involved in the research said some of the results showed that Holocaust education in the UK was having a meaningful impact. However, there was particular concern about the apparent prevalence of Holocaust denial and distortion on social media platforms such as X and Facebook.
When asked if they had experienced Holocaust denial or distortion on social media, 23% of those surveyed in the UK said “yes”. Almost half of Poland (47%) responded positively, compared to 38% in Austria and Hungary. In Germany it was 25% in Romania, and in France 20%, 33%, 33%.
Professor Stuart Foster, Director of UCL Center for Holocaust Educationsaid: “This study reveals significant and troubling levels of knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust among adults in Europe and North America.
“Particularly troubling is the high level of Holocaust denial and distortion reported, apparently fueled by misinformation and unknown information on social media platforms. However, it is some comfort that respondents in schools Overwhelmingly support Holocaust education.
Among those in the UK who had experienced Holocaust denial and distortion, X and Facebook emerged as the most common social media platforms where they had experienced it. X was cited by 42%.
Among 18-29-year-olds in this group, however, 42 percent cited TikTok as the social media platform where they withdrew after seeing denial and distortion.
In the eight countries surveyed, large segments of the population did not know that 6 million Jews perished during the Holocaust, while a significant subset of the population believed 2 million or fewer Jews. have been killed.
Those who believed that 2 million or fewer Jews had died were 28% in Romania, 27% in Hungary, 24% in Poland, 21% in France, the United States and Austria, and 20% in Great Britain and Germany. 18% included.
A similar proportion of young adults aged 18–29 had not heard of the Holocaust in France (46%), Romania (15%), Austria (14%) and Germany (12%). In the UK the figure was 2%.
Jadon Taylor, President of Claims Conferencesaid: “The alarming gaps in knowledge, particularly among younger generations, highlight the urgent need for more effective Holocaust education. The fact that a significant number of adults cannot identify basic facts – such as 60 The 100,000 Jews who perished – profound.
A task force that oversaw the survey included historians and experts from museums, academic institutions and leading nonprofits in the field of Holocaust education. These included the Yad Vashem Memorial Center in Jerusalem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Claims Conference.
