JERUSALEM/NEW YORK—Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and the World Jewish Congress both expressed deep concern about the initial report of a CNN survey, according to which one-third of Europeans claim to know little or nothing about the Holocaust.
Additionally, the survey highlights the troubling fact that many entrenched hateful antisemitic tropes persist in European civilization, 75 years after the Holocaust.
The poll of Europeans in seven countries found that more than a quarter believe Jews have too much influence in business and finance. The poll was performed in Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Sweden and Austria.
Only 5 percent of the 7,092 respondents reported never hearing about the Holocaust, but 29 percent said they had heard about the genocide and that this was the full extent of their knowledge about it. Half of respondents said they know “a fair amount” about the Holocaust.
One-third of respondents said that Jews use the Holocaust to advance their own positions or goals. More than 7,000 respondents believe that Israel uses the Holocaust to justify its actions and to deflect criticism against the Jewish state.
While antisemitism does not necessarily lead to genocide, antisemitism was central to the Nazis’ worldview and the basis for their “Final Solution” to eradicate all Jews and their culture from the face of the earth.
In a statement, Yad Vashem said : ‘’The results of this survey prove the necessity to intensify broad-based efforts in the area of Holocaust education and awareness, which is essential to any effort to contend with antisemitism. We remain determined to foster the requisite knowledge and provide means to teach about the Holocaust.’’
“We have created numerous tools to further our educational efforts, in order to ensure a deeper understanding about the Holocaust and antisemitism,” proclaimed Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev.
Most recently, Yad Vashem created an online course entitled, “Antisemitism – From its Origins to the Present,” which was introduced less than a year ago on the UK e-education platform FutureLearn.” More than 10,000 people from around the world have so far joined this enlightening and compelling course.
Yad Vashem stressed that while Holocaust education plays an indispensable role in combating antisemitism, ‘’it must also be augmented by effective government legislation and enforcement.’’
‘’Yad Vashem believes that by raising public awareness about the Shoah, not as a closed chapter in human history but as a relevant topic for our own time, the nations of Europe and elsewhere will be better equipped and motivated to fight racism and antisemitism.’’
World Jewish Congress CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer released the following statement:“It is absolutely insufferable, yet sadly unsurprising, that 75 years after the Holocaust, the age-old antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes continue unfettered around the world. We have long been alarmed by the resurgence of antisemitism, and this recent poll underscores our ongoing concern. There can be no confusion in the fact that accusing Israel of exploiting the brutal murder of six million Jews for its own gains is nothing short of blood libel and the worst forms of xenophobia.
The WJC has partnered with UNESCO to launch a website geared toward educating young adults and those unaware about the horrors of the Holocaust and the danger of what can happen when such atrocities are ignored, forgotten, or distorted.