Sadly, a new study conducted in Canada by my firm demonstrates that remembrance once or twice a year is not enough to ensure that the core pillars of the Holocaust – Never Forget and Never Again – are upheld.
The study, commissioned by the Azrieli Foundation, comes on the heels of a study on Holocaust knowledge in the US conducted by my firm last year on behalf of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
After reading about our American study, and our alarming findings regarding lack of basic Holocaust knowledge amongst the American public, the Azrieli Foundation wanted to know if Canadians would fare any better.
Ultimately, the studies in both countries found encouraging and troubling results.
In one of the most poignant results of our survey, we found that more than half (57 percent) of Canadians agree that “fewer people seem to care about the Holocaust than they used to.” This number was even higher in the United States, where 70 percent of adults agreed.
Barbed wire surrounds the former prison camp at the Auscwitz-Birkenau concentration camp museum in Auscwitz-Birkenau, Poland, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Poland is trying to defuse its biggest standoff with Israel in at least three decades over the law, which has drawn warnings that it verges on denying the crimes of the Holocaust from the U.S. and other allies. Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg© 2018 Bloomberg Finance LP
And our survey uncovered critical knowledge gaps that could be driving this sentiment.
In Canada, even basic awareness of the Holocaust is particularly low among younger generations. Almost one-quarter (22%) of Generation Z and Millennials in the United States and Canada were unaware or not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust.
And as we found in the United States, almost half of Canadian adults (49%) could not identify a single Nazi camp or ghetto, while a majority (54%) of Canadian adults and more than 6-in-10 Canadians under thirty-five did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.
Just as disturbing, most Canadians have forgotten their country’s own complicated history with accepting (or not accepting) Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.
Today Canadians may pride themselves on having among the more generous and open immigration policies, but such was not the case during the Holocaust, where the official policy on Jewish refugees was: “none is too many” and the MS St Louis – a ship carrying 900 Jewish refugees from Europe — was infamously denied entry and sent back to persecution and ultimately murder in Europe.
Yet, our study found that less than one-fifth of Canadians were aware of Canada’s closed border policy – while nearly one-third thought Canada had open borders and another third were completely unsure what Canada’s immigration policy was.
Since we conducted the study, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized for Canada’s decision to turn away the MS St Louis. While Prime Minister Trudeau’s public recognition of the inhumane stain on Canada’s past was both powerful and symbolic, closing the knowledge gap amongst the general public is the only way to ensure that the mistakes of history do not repeat themselves.
When we analyze these knowledge gaps collectively, they are alarming—particularly when we take into account the direct relationship between detailed Holocaust knowledge and likeliness to reject neo-Nazism.
Among Canadian adults who had never heard of the Holocaust, 16 percent said they found neo-Nazi beliefs acceptable. Among those with in-depth Holocaust knowledge, only 4 percent said these beliefs are acceptable.
Tolerance of Neo-Nazi Views by Holocaust AwarenessSchoen Consulting
These numbers are similar in the United States, where those who have not heard of the Holocaust are twice as likely to think neo-Nazi beliefs are acceptable.
How then do we use our findings to devise a comprehensive plan to combat anti-Semitism in North America and around the globe?
First and foremost, comprehensive, fact-based Holocaust education is the most important weapon in fighting off these hateful beliefs.
As the Holocaust becomes an increasingly distant point in world history, it is essential that we not only remember the Holocaust, but also ensure that the next generation is well-versed on important details of this horrific genocide. It is only through education that we can fix this problem of detachment.
Put simply, if we are to ensure that something like the Holocaust does not happen again, we need a bold and fundamental overhaul in the way in which we approach Holocaust education to fill the widening gaps in Holocaust knowledge.
Positively, a large majority (82 percent) of Canadians—and 93 percent of Americans—support such action, and agree that all students should learn about Holocaust at school. In both countries, approximately 80 percent of adults believe that it is important to keep teaching about the Holocaust so it doesn’t happen again.
But to date, no provincial education authority requires the Holocaust be taught in Canada. And only twelve American states require Holocaust education in school.
The time for comprehensive Holocaust education reform is now. Education is our most powerful weapon in ensuring our promises of “never forget” and “never again,” and governments, lawmakers, and education thought leaders must take action.
With antisemitism and right-wing nationalism on the rise globally, it is my sincere hope that these results serve as a wakeup call for education authorities globally.
Time is of the essence. We need comprehensive Holocaust education reform, and we need it now.
The Canada Holocaust Knowledge & Awareness Study was conducted by Schoen Consulting on behalf of The Azrieli Foundation in partnership with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Schoen Consulting conducted 1,100 interviews with Canadian adults aged 18 and over between September 1 – 9, 2018. The margin of error for all respondents is +/- 3%. The full findings are available: https://azrielifoundation.org/canadian-holocaust-knowledge-and-awareness-study/
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Sunday marks the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – a day when communities around the world will take a moment of silence to remember the genocide of 6 million Jews at the hands of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Sadly, a new study conducted in Canada by my firm demonstrates that remembrance once or twice a year is not enough to ensure that the core pillars of the Holocaust – Never Forget and Never Again – are upheld.
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The study, commissioned by the Azrieli Foundation, comes on the heels of a study on Holocaust knowledge in the US conducted by my firm last year on behalf of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
After reading about our American study, and our alarming findings regarding lack of basic Holocaust knowledge amongst the American public, the Azrieli Foundation wanted to know if Canadians would fare any better.
Ultimately, the studies in both countries found encouraging and troubling results.
In one of the most poignant results of our survey, we found that more than half (57 percent) of Canadians agree that “fewer people seem to care about the Holocaust than they used to.” This number was even higher in the United States, where 70 percent of adults agreed.
Barbed wire surrounds the former prison camp at the Auscwitz-Birkenau concentration camp museum in Auscwitz-Birkenau, Poland, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. Poland is trying to defuse its biggest standoff with Israel in at least three decades over the law, which has drawn warnings that it verges on denying the crimes of the Holocaust from the U.S. and other allies. Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg© 2018 Bloomberg Finance LP
And our survey uncovered critical knowledge gaps that could be driving this sentiment.
In Canada, even basic awareness of the Holocaust is particularly low among younger generations. Almost one-quarter (22%) of Generation Z and Millennials in the United States and Canada were unaware or not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust.
And as we found in the United States, almost half of Canadian adults (49%) could not identify a single Nazi camp or ghetto, while a majority (54%) of Canadian adults and more than 6-in-10 Canadians under thirty-five did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
Just as disturbing, most Canadians have forgotten their country’s own complicated history with accepting (or not accepting) Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.
Today Canadians may pride themselves on having among the more generous and open immigration policies, but such was not the case during the Holocaust, where the official policy on Jewish refugees was: “none is too many” and the MS St Louis – a ship carrying 900 Jewish refugees from Europe — was infamously denied entry and sent back to persecution and ultimately murder in Europe.
Yet, our study found that less than one-fifth of Canadians were aware of Canada’s closed border policy – while nearly one-third thought Canada had open borders and another third were completely unsure what Canada’s immigration policy was.
Since we conducted the study, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized for Canada’s decision to turn away the MS St Louis. While Prime Minister Trudeau’s public recognition of the inhumane stain on Canada’s past was both powerful and symbolic, closing the knowledge gap amongst the general public is the only way to ensure that the mistakes of history do not repeat themselves.
When we analyze these knowledge gaps collectively, they are alarming—particularly when we take into account the direct relationship between detailed Holocaust knowledge and likeliness to reject neo-Nazism.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
Among Canadian adults who had never heard of the Holocaust, 16 percent said they found neo-Nazi beliefs acceptable. Among those with in-depth Holocaust knowledge, only 4 percent said these beliefs are acceptable.
Tolerance of Neo-Nazi Views by Holocaust AwarenessSchoen Consulting
These numbers are similar in the United States, where those who have not heard of the Holocaust are twice as likely to think neo-Nazi beliefs are acceptable.
How then do we use our findings to devise a comprehensive plan to combat anti-Semitism in North America and around the globe?
First and foremost, comprehensive, fact-based Holocaust education is the most important weapon in fighting off these hateful beliefs.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
As the Holocaust becomes an increasingly distant point in world history, it is essential that we not only remember the Holocaust, but also ensure that the next generation is well-versed on important details of this horrific genocide. It is only through education that we can fix this problem of detachment.
Put simply, if we are to ensure that something like the Holocaust does not happen again, we need a bold and fundamental overhaul in the way in which we approach Holocaust education to fill the widening gaps in Holocaust knowledge.
Positively, a large majority (82 percent) of Canadians—and 93 percent of Americans—support such action, and agree that all students should learn about Holocaust at school. In both countries, approximately 80 percent of adults believe that it is important to keep teaching about the Holocaust so it doesn’t happen again.
But to date, no provincial education authority requires the Holocaust be taught in Canada. And only twelve American states require Holocaust education in school.
The time for comprehensive Holocaust education reform is now. Education is our most powerful weapon in ensuring our promises of “never forget” and “never again,” and governments, lawmakers, and education thought leaders must take action.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
With antisemitism and right-wing nationalism on the rise globally, it is my sincere hope that these results serve as a wakeup call for education authorities globally.
Time is of the essence. We need comprehensive Holocaust education reform, and we need it now.
The Canada Holocaust Knowledge & Awareness Study was conducted by Schoen Consulting on behalf of The Azrieli Foundation in partnership with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Schoen Consulting conducted 1,100 interviews with Canadian adults aged 18 and over between September 1 – 9, 2018. The margin of error for all respondents is +/- 3%. The full findings are available: https://azrielifoundation.org/canadian-holocaust-knowledge-and-awareness-study/
