Americans' Holocaust Knowledge... Or Lack Of.

[SYZ]

Fewer than half of American adults know how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust, according to a
survey published ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January... 45% of those
asked by the Pew Research Center about the number of Jews killed by the Nazis gave the correct answer
of approximately 6 million.  

From multiple choice answers, 12% selected about 3 million, and 2% selected less than 1 million.
Another 12% said more than 12 million Jews died in the Holocaust. One in three people (29%) said
they were not sure or did not answer.

Half of Americans don’t know 6m Jews were killed in Holocaust.

And a poll conducted by the Jewish Claims Conference showed that 41% Americans, and 66% of millennials
did not know what Auschwitz was, including a stunning 22% that had not even heard of the Holocaust. The
Pew survey also found that only 43% of respondents knew that Hitler became German chancellor through a
democratic process, with 25% believing he and his supporters violently overthrew the government.

—What does this say about US education?     

There's been no comparable survey carried out here in Australia, but a small non-statistical  survey by
SBS Australia TV in 2018 reported that all participants knew what the Holocaust was, that Auschwitz was
a concentration camp and that the Nazi party was responsible for the genocide.  The history of the
Holocaust is included in the states' education curricula though, which could explain this.

[abaris]

And a poll conducted by the Jewish Claims Conference showed that 41% Americans, and 66% of millennials
did not know what Auschwitz was, including a stunning 22% that had not even heard of the Holocaust.

That seems to be the crucial part. It's not important to know the numbers, but not knowing about the Holocaust at all points to a lack of education.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The ignorance of our public is shameful. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

[abaris]

The ignorance of our public is shameful. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

I'm not sure how a similar survey in Europe would turn out. Especially amongst young people being glued to their phones.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The ignorance of our public is shameful. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

I'm not sure how a similar survey in Europe would turn out. Especially amongst young people being glued to their phones.

I doubt it would be much different, given the electronic distraction first-world countries seem to have in abundance. I seem to remember a couple of years ago kids in the UK being asked historical questions on the street, with the video replies of their abysmally-wrong answers being put up on YouTube.

[Minimalist]

The situation is cataclysmically worse than that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...story.html

A survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni found that “more Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billie Jean’ than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” “more than a third did not know the century in which the American Revolution took place,” and “half of the respondents believed the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation or the War of 1812 were before the American Revolution.”

As Dubya once famously asked:  "Is our children learning?"

[abaris]

As Dubya once famously asked: "Is our children learning?"

[Thumpalumpacus]

C'mon kids, it's not rocket surgery.

[Aegon]

I had a ton of Holocaust education in primary school. We actually had a day where my entire grade watched Schindler's List in the auditorium. Probably because I'm from the NYC area, and my school district had a high Jewish population.

What worries me about a lack of public knowledge in regards to the Holocaust? It's going to be easier and easier for people to become Holocaust deniers.

[no one]

People are stupid, I'm surprised most of them can find their own ass. Everyone has their moments of "doh", some just have them substantially closer together.

[abaris]

It's going to be easier and easier for people to become Holocaust deniers.

The real danger doesn't lie in denying the Holocaust. It's the lack of knowledge that's worrying. The many small steps that led up to the final solution. Starting with discrimination of so called aliens, over dehumanising certain groups and ending with industrial mass murder. History can and does repeat itself. We already climbed the step of discrimination and are on our way to dehumanising certain people again.

[Thumpalumpacus]

What worries me about a lack of public knowledge in regards to the Holocaust? It's going to be easier and easier for people to become Holocaust deniers.

As with most things in life, deniers are enablers.

[jerry mcmasters]

I'm not sure what's worse, people not knowing history outright or knowing just enough history to think their dumb historical analogies make sense.

[PopeyesPappy]

—What does this say about US education?     

It doesn't say a damn thing about US education. The Holocaust is standard fair in the class History of the World 1500 - Present. It's a core class for 9th graders in public schools in every state of the union. Every class may not get taught that 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazi's in WWII, or even about Auschwitz in particular. But they for sure were taught about the economic conditions in Germany following WWI that led to Hitler's rise to power, his election to the position of Chancellor, the persecution of the disabled, gays, gypsies, the deaths of millions of Jews, and the work/death camps. Since the early 90's many states have passed laws requiring more in depth course work on the Holocaust. 

The information is being given to the kids. The fact they aren't retaining it speaks more to the quality of the students and their parents than it does the system that is teaching them.

[Gwaithmir]

I read in PLAYBOY that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. This was during my college years in the late 1960's. I can't recall the article or author, however.

[jerry mcmasters]

I read in PLAYBOY that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. This was during my college years in the late 1960's. I can't recall the article or author, however.

I remember that issue.  It was on the centerfold's biography section.  "Turnoffs: men who lack self-confidence, people who chew with their mouth open, the Holocaust."

[brewerb]

Um............. do we care about Americans knowing how many yellow people died in their holocaust?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Um............. do we care about Americans knowing how many yellow people died in their holocaust?

Were they subject to an apparatus of state devoted to their extermination? Do tell.

[Fireball]

Um............. do we care about Americans knowing how many yellow people died in their holocaust?

Pretty sure that the commentary was there by the staples... 

[Szuchow]

It is quite disconcerting but I don't remember Shoah having much coverage in schools to which I was attending. When one knows how little Poles read then I suspect results here wouldn't be much better.

[brewerb]

Um............. do we care about Americans knowing how many yellow people died in their holocaust?

Were they subject to an apparatus of state devoted to their extermination? Do tell.

As far as I can tell, yes.

And why does it matter?

[Gwaithmir]

It is quite disconcerting but I don't remember Shoah having much coverage in schools to which I was attending. When one knows how little Poles read then I suspect results here wouldn't be much better.

I attended Catholic schools throughout my youth and can say the same. About all that was mentioned in the history books I read was that the Jews in Nazi Germany were persecuted for about 15 years and many of them died in concentration camps, but the details were barely touched upon. I'm sure this was to avoid any discovery of the Pope's complicity in the persecutions, or that of many Church officials. It wasn't until the 1980's that I learned about the Church's complicity in helping many leading Nazis to escape to South America after the war.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Um............. do we care about Americans knowing how many yellow people died in their holocaust?

Were they subject to an apparatus of state devoted to their extermination? Do tell.

As far as I can tell, yes.

I'd be interested in reading about this. Got a link?

And why does it matter?

Not sure -- you're the one who brought it up, remember?

[brewerb]

Were they subject to an apparatus of state devoted to their extermination? Do tell.

As far as I can tell, yes.

I'd be interested in reading about this. Got a link?

And why does it matter?

Not sure -- you're the one who brought it up, remember?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes

I brought it up because I don't believe one should be remembered more the other. Is the motive for mass killing the deciding factor? It appears that it's not because of the numbers.

Guess which one I hear about more often.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I brought it up because I don't believe one should be remembered more the other. Is the motive for mass killing the deciding factor? It appears that it's not because of the numbers.

Guess which one I hear about more often.

I'd imagine one reason is a matter of scale and organization; the German organization of the Holocaust shocks the imagination, whereas the Japanese atrocities were generally, though not always, smaller in scope and at the unit level rather than an industrial approach to murder.

It might also have to do with the fact that many survivors of the Holocaust settled here in America after the war, while few Chinese did; the Chinese we supported moved instead to Taiwan.

If you follow Asian politics at all, you'll quickly learn that Japanese atrocities are still a major issue.

All these reasons might help to explain why you hear about one more than the other.