A new survey is revealing shocking ignorance about the Holocaust in young American adults between the ages of 18 and 39.
Almost two-thirds do not know that 6 million Jews were killed during the greatest crime of the 20th century. More than one-tenth believe Jews caused the Holocaust.
Almost half, or 48%, could not name one concentration camp or ghetto established during the second world war.
Almost a quarter, or 23%, said they felt the Holocaust had been exaggerated or was a myth, or weren’t sure. One in eight had definitely not heard of, or didn’t think they had heard about, the Holocaust.
More than half (56%) said they had seen Nazi symbols on their social media platforms and/or in their communities, and almost half (49%) had seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online.
The survey, the first to drill down to state level in the US, ranks states according to a score based on three criteria: whether young people have definitely heard about the Holocaust; whether they can name one concentration camp, death camp or ghetto; and whether they know 6 million Jews were killed.
The top-scoring three states in the US were Wisconsin (where 42% met all three criteria), followed by Minnesota (37%), and Massachusetts (35%).
The lowest-scoring states were Florida at 20%, Mississippi at 18% and Arkansas at 17%.
The story at The Guardian has more details and statistics.