Only Half Of Respondents Are In Favor Of
Recent Efforts By Dutch Public Figures To Acknowledge And
Apologize For The Netherlands' Failure To Protect The Jews During
The Holocaust.
NEW
YORK, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims
Conference) today released a Netherlands Holocaust Knowledge and
Awareness Survey, including a breakdown of Millennial and
Gen Z respondents, exposing a disturbing lack of awareness of key
historical facts about the Holocaust and the Netherlands' own connection to Holocaust
history.
Although there were several transit camps in the Netherlands used to deport more than 70
percent of the country's Jewish population to concentration camps
and one of the most recognizable names of the Holocaust,
Anne Frank, was in hiding
in Amsterdam, a majority of Dutch
respondents (53 percent of all respondents and 60
percent of Millennials and Gen Z) "did not cite" their own country
as a country where the Holocaust took place.
Findings include:
- More than half of all respondents (54 percent of all
respondents and 59 percent of Millennial and Gen Z) do not know
that six million Jews were murdered, and 29 percent believe that
two million or fewer Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
- Alarmingly, this number grew to 37 percent of Millennials and
Gen Z who believe that two million or fewer Jews were murdered
during the Holocaust.
- The number of respondents who believe the Holocaust is a myth
was higher than any country previously surveyed, with 23 percent of
Millennials and Gen Z, and 12 percent of all respondents believing
the Holocaust is a myth or the number of Jews killed has been
greatly exaggerated. Nine percent are unsure.
- Twenty-two percent of Millennials and Gen Z feel it is
acceptable for an individual to support neo-Nazi views and 13
percent are unsure. Twelve percent of all Dutch respondents feel it
is acceptable and 11 percent are unsure.
- When asked whether they support or oppose recent efforts by
Dutch public figures to acknowledge and apologize for the Netherlands' failure to protect Jews
during the Holocaust, only 44 percent of Dutch Millennials and Gen
Z support and half (50 percent) of all Dutch respondents
support.
To review the survey findings, visit:
https://www.claimscon.org/netherlands-study
"Survey after survey, we continue to witness a decline in
Holocaust knowledge and awareness. Equally disturbing is the trend
towards Holocaust denial and distortion," said Gideon Taylor, Claims Conference President.
"To address this trend, we must put a greater focus on Holocaust
education in our schools globally. If we do not, denial will soon
outweigh knowledge, and future generations will have no exposure to
the critical lessons of the Holocaust."
Greg Schneider, Claims
Conference Executive Vice President, said, "One of the more
troubling trends we continue to see in these surveys is the rise in
numbers of people who believe the Holocaust was a myth or that the
number of Jews murdered is exaggerated. In the Netherlands survey, 23 percent of
Millennial and Gen Z respondents believe that the Holocaust was a
myth or that the number of those murdered was greatly exaggerated.
The numbers overall regarding denial and distortion are also higher
compared to other countries we have surveyed. This is a denigration
to those who lost their entire family during the Holocaust. On a
positive note, this survey, like all of the surveys we have
conducted, indicates a strong desire for improved Holocaust
education in schools across the world."
While many of the identified gaps in Holocaust knowledge among
Dutch adults are shocking, there is a clear desire for Holocaust
education. Two-thirds (66 percent) of Dutch respondents and a
majority of Dutch Millennials and Gen Z agree that Holocaust
education should be compulsory in school. And 77 percent of all
respondents say it is important to continue to teach about the
Holocaust, in part, so it does not happen again.
Max Arpels Lezer, a Holocaust
survivor from the Netherlands,
said, "As a Holocaust survivor from the
Netherlands, it is important to me that future generations
learn about and understand the history of the Holocaust. I am
upset and deeply concerned by these findings. That many of my
countrymen do not even know their own national
history. Without education, future generations will not
understand the full impact of the Holocaust in my country. It is of
utmost importance for us who survived that the future generations
carry forward our testimonies even when we are gone."
Emile Schrijver, survey
taskforce member and General Director of the Jewish Cultural
Quarter in Amsterdam, said,
"While many of the historical facts related to the Holocaust in
the Netherlands are not known, I
am encouraged by the number of respondents to this survey that
believe Holocaust education is important. We know that we can work
together with educators to ensure the trends we see in Holocaust
denial and distortion and the rise in antisemitism are countered by
a robust curriculum of Holocaust education. This must be our focus
moving forward."
Matthew Bronfman, Claims
Conference Task Force Chairman, said, "The ongoing
Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness surveys continue to build a
strong case for Holocaust education. As we explore the base of
knowledge about the Holocaust around the world, we are competing
with the rapid growth of social media and the platforms those
channels provide to those who would deny and distort the history of
the Holocaust. Now more than ever, we need to be lending support to
teachers in their current efforts around Holocaust education and
expanding their resources so we do not lose this battle to the
detractors."
Eddo Verdoner, National Coordinator on Combating
Antisemitism, the
Netherlands, said, "It is shocking to see that 23
percent of Millennials and Gen Z believe the Holocaust is either a
myth or has been exaggerated. This points to a growing gap in
knowledge and awareness. We must do better in our schools to fight
Holocaust distortion wherever we find it. Additionally, 66
percent of all respondents and 57 percent of Millennials and Gen Z
feel Holocaust education should be compulsory in school, while
that's the majority, the survey shows the importance of a more
robust effort to engage future generations in Holocaust
history."
The Netherlands Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness
Survey taskforce was led by Claims Conference Board member
Matthew Bronfman and comprised of
historians and subject matter experts from museums, educational
institutions, and leading nonprofits in the field of Holocaust
education, including Yad Vashem, the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, the Claims Conference, and the Jewish Cultural
Quarter in Amsterdam. Taskforce
members include: Richelle Budd Caplan, Director of
International Relations and Projects at the International School of
Studies at Yad Vashem; Dan Michman,
Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad
Vashem; Emile Schrijver, General
Director of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam; Tad
Stahnke, Director of International Educational Outreach at
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Michael Feuer, Dean of the Graduate School of
Education and Human Development at George
Washington University; David
Marwell, Director Emeritus, Museum of Jewish Heritage; and
Holocaust survivor Sidney
Zoltak.
The Netherlands Holocaust Knowledge and
Awareness Survey was commissioned by the Claims Conference.
Data was collected by Schoen Cooperman Research, with a
representative sample of 2,000 interviews with adults aged 18 and
over between December 1 and December 20,
2022, across the
Netherlands. The margin of error on the Netherlands sample of 2,000 is +/- 2%.
The Netherlands Holocaust Knowledge and
Awareness Survey was funded by the Foundation Remembrance,
Responsibility and Future and the German Federal Ministry of
Finance as part of the Holocaust Education Program.
For more information, please visit: www.claimscon.org.
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SOURCE Claims Conference