- 5% of UK adults don’t believe the Holocaust actually happened
- 64% do not know how many Jews were murdered, or grossly underestimate the number
- 8% say the scale of the Holocaust has been exaggerated
The survey of over 2,000 people was commissioned by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust – the charity set up by Government to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
It shows that 64% of people polled either do not know how many Jews were murdered or grossly underestimate the number: 45% of those polled said they did not know how many people were killed, while one in five (19%) believe fewer than two million Jews were murdered.
Despite the figures, the vast majority (83%) of respondents say it’s important to know about the Holocaust and that we can all learn lessons for today from the past (84%), while over three quarters (76%) believe more needs to be done to educate people about what happened.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, says: “The Holocaust threatened the fabric of civilisation and has implications for us all. Such widespread ignorance and even denial is shocking.
“Without a basic understanding of this recent history, we are in danger of failing to learn where a lack of respect for difference and hostility to others can ultimately lead. With a rise in reported hate crime in the UK and ongoing international conflicts with a risk of genocide, our world can feel fragile and vulnerable. We cannot be complacent.
“Despite many respondents (25%) telling us that events like those in the Holocaust could never happen again, genocides have been carried out across the world in the last 70 years. Each of us has a responsibility to know what happened, and the need for Holocaust Memorial Day has never been so pressing.
“Thankfully, more people than ever before are taking part in our annual commemorations to learn lessons from genocide and help create a better future.”
Dr Joe Mulhall, Senior Researcher at anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate and Trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, says: “As time passes we have fewer and fewer people who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust first-hand.
“That’s why it’s vital we keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, especially among younger generations. The best way to fight back against Holocaust denial wherever it rears its head is awareness and education, and Holocaust Memorial Day is an important part of that, especially as we approach the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau next year.”
Steven Frank BEM (aged 84) is a survivor of the Holocaust and was sent to three concentration camps. He and his brothers are three of only 93 children who survived the Theresienstadt camp. He says: “I find these figures terribly worrying.
“In my experience, people don’t have a solid understanding of what happened during the Holocaust and that’s one of the reasons I am so committed to sharing what happened to me.
“At one of my talks, I met someone who said the Holocaust didn’t happen. The only way to fight this kind of denial and antisemitism is with the truth – I tell people what happened, what I saw and what I experienced. Education is so important. If we ignore the past, I fear history will repeat itself.”
Lord Alf Dubs was six years old when the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia and he was forced to flee his home.
In this video he shares his story and talks about the importance of giving sanctuary to those who are torn from their homes, and of remembering the Holocaust and other genocides, to make sure they are never forgotten and never repeated.
Speech given by the Secretary of State the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP at the UK Commemorative Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day 2019:
Last Sunday, I had the privilege to join mourners from around the world to pay my respects to 6 unknown victims of the Shoah – including a child.
It was an incredibly moving moment, not just for the Jewish community, but for our entire country.
These holy souls or Kedoshim, were “torn from home” – somewhere that should have been a place of safety, comfort and security.
They lived and died through one of the darkest chapters in human history, but rest today in the loving embrace of our Jewish community here in the UK.
As I reflected on this, I was reminded of my father-in-law, who escaped Nazi Germany and came to Britain with the help of the MI6 agent, Frank Foley, who’s actions also saved the lives of thousands of other Jews.
But as we honour the millions of victims of the Shoah today, we remember those families who weren’t so lucky.
Those who never made it home.
Those who were brutalised and murdered.
Those whose lives were cut short and whose loss provides a stark and powerful legacy to us all.
A legacy that demands we challenge hatred and bigotry wherever it exists.
A legacy that requires that we say “never again” we really mean it.
Sadly, this is a lesson that we are still learning.
40 years ago, the Khmer Rouge claimed the lives of one quarter of the population through mass murder and starvation.
25 years ago, almost one million Rwandans were murdered in 100 days.
And horror returned to our continent as we witnessed the murder of over 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.
We still imagine that these barbarities belong in the history books.
And yet today – 74 years since the Nazi death camps were liberated – antisemitism is on the rise, here and abroad.
And Jewish communities are once again living in fear.
This troubles me deeply and must trouble us all.
I want to reassure our Jewish community that you are an intrinsic part of what makes Britain Great and the government will always stand by you to challenge bigotry and intolerance…
…and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that future generations never forget where hatred can lead, and that we will not walk by on the other side where it is present.
Our new National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will help us do that – a permanent reminder at the heart of our democracy.
Because we all know: tolerance and reconciliation begins at home and that we all have our part to play to ensure home is truly a place of safety, security and of strength.
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