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Apr 12, 2018

Americans are starting to forget key details of the Holocaust

Erica Pandey
Marchers with Israeli flags on their shoulders stand outside Auschwitz

Participants of the annual March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau stand before Auschwitz' main gate. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Many adults, especially millennials, don't know about some of the key events in the Holocaust, per a survey released today, Holocaust Remembrance Day, by the Claims Conference.

A key stat: 41% of American adults don't know what Auschwitz — the Nazi concentration camp in Poland — was. That rises to 66% for millennials (ages 18-34) alone.

More findings:

  • 31% of Americans — and 41% of millennials — think 2 million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust. In reality, 6 million were killed.
  • 52% of Americans incorrectly think Adolf Hitler took power by force, reports the New York Times from Claims Conference's survey results.
  • 80% of Americans have never visited a Holocaust museum.
  • 96% of respondents believe that the Holocaust happened, and 93% believe it should be taught in school.
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