Of those surveyed, 11% wrongly believe Jewish people were responsible for the genocide, results the president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany called shocking and saddening.
A new survey showed that two-thirds of young Americans don’t know that 6 million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust, and 11% think Jewish people were to blame for the genocide. The survey, which was overseen by the Claims Conference, whose mission is “to provide a measure of justice for Jewish Holocaust victims,” said more than one in 10 people also believe Jews were responsible for the holocaust.
Of those surveyed, 48% of Millennials and Gen Z adults, between ages 18 and 39, did not know the names of any concentration camps and nearly a quarter of those respondents believe the Holocaust is a myth. Twelve percent hadn’t even heard of the Holocaust.
The data was collected from 1,000 interviews nationwide and 200 in each state.
“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, president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
“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,” Taylor added.
The survey attempted to determine three things in the United States: whether young people have definitely heard about the Holocaust, whether they could name one concentration camp, death camp or ghetto, and whether they knew 6 million Jewish people were killed.
The top-scoring state was Wisconsin, followed by Minnesota and Massachusetts.
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