This morning the Claims Conference publishes the findings of the Holocaust awareness survey it conducted in the Netherlands, as part of a study conducted in recent years in several different countries. The findings of the survey point to a lack of basic knowledge, including Holland’s own connection to the history of the Holocaust alongside alarming data regarding its denial.
The number of Dutch adults who believe that the Holocaust is a myth was higher than in any country previously surveyed: 12% of all respondents believe that the Holocaust is a myth or that the number of people said to have been murdered in the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated, while 9% are unsure. These numbers are higher in the segmentation of Generation Z (people born since the late 1990s), when almost a quarter (23%) of them believe that the Holocaust is a myth or that the number of Jewish victims was greatly exaggerated, while 12% are unsure.
22% of the Dutch generation Z think it is acceptable for a person to support neo-Nazi positions, compared to the general population – 12%. The survey also shows that the majority (54%) of the Dutch do not know that approximately 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
Max Arpels, a Dutch Holocaust survivor: “I am deeply hurt by the findings of the survey and by the fact that the public does not know its own history. Without real education, the younger generations will not know the magnitude of the Holocaust’s impact, how it was established and increased, and we who survived will not have the testimony to continue our stories.” .
Greg Schneider, CEO of the Claims Conference: “One of the most disturbing trends we continue to see in these polls is the increase in the number of people who believe that the Holocaust is a myth or that the number of Jews who were murdered is exaggerated. The overall numbers regarding the denial and distortion of the Holocaust are higher compared to other countries where the survey was conducted. This is a mockery of those who lost their families in the Holocaust.”
According to him, “On the other hand, this survey, similar to the other surveys we have conducted, proves that there is a great desire to improve Holocaust memory studies in schools around the world. Two-thirds (66%) of the Dutch respondents think that Holocaust memory studies should be mandatory in schools. 77% of respondents believe that studies of Holocaust memory are important The memory of the Holocaust, among other things, so that something like this doesn’t happen again.”