There was a family in my school (I graduated in the 90s, so this is far from a new phenomenon) who refused to let their kids learn about WWII or the Holocaust at all, because of it “all being lies”. Opted them out of history and English classes for those units. This somehow wasn’t the worst thing about them…the extreme intentional animal abuse was.
> A new poll from YouGov/The Economist suggests that Yad Vashem has its work cut out. Young Americans—or at least the subset of them who take part in surveys—appear to be remarkably ignorant about one of modern history’s greatest crimes. Some 20% of respondents aged 18-29 think that the Holocaust is a myth, compared with 8% of those aged 30-44 (see chart). An additional 30% of young Americans said they do not know whether the Holocaust is a myth. Many respondents espouse the canard that Jews wield too much power in America: young people are nearly five times more likely to think this than are those aged 65 and older (28% versus 6%).
Looks like about 1,400 people took part. I don’t know enough about statistics to know if that’s a large enough group to come to the conclusion that 20% of young Americans think the holocaust is a myth.
I mean, in 2018 the Republican candidate for Congress in IL-3 (who was the only Republican crazy enough to run despite overwhelming odds of facing a losing battle a reasonably blue district) had a page on his campaign website titled “Holocaust?” which said about what you’d think a page titled “Holocaust?” would say. And he still got 26% of the vote. EDIT: In a year that was a bit of a blue wave.
This is horrifying and truly scares me. Growing up in the 80s, it was a big part of education, certainly in the UK. Nazi’s were widely accepted as the bad guys. I was also a late-life baby and my parents grew up in the war as children-teens and both their parents fought in the war. I never thought this would happen now we all have access to so much knowledge on the Internet. I didn’t account for propaganda and misinformation being pumped into people in their own homes, or how easily manipulated people are.
I don’t think this is so much a failure of the education system, but a concerted effort by Holocaust deniers. I mean, yes, the US school system needs drastic improvement.
But, it doesn’t matter how good the school is if students can then immediately go home and be flooded with BS from deranged people at unprecedented numbers.
>Get it all on record now – get the films – get the witnesses – because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.
>
>The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering. … I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda.
-Then General Dwight D. Eisenhower when he went to a liberated death camp and demanded reporters come to document what he’d found there.
cinderparty says
There was a family in my school (I graduated in the 90s, so this is far from a new phenomenon) who refused to let their kids learn about WWII or the Holocaust at all, because of it “all being lies”. Opted them out of history and English classes for those units. This somehow wasn’t the worst thing about them…the extreme intentional animal abuse was.
X0718379 says
1 in 5 young americans are morons.
SoVerySleepy81 says
> A new poll from YouGov/The Economist suggests that Yad Vashem has its work cut out. Young Americans—or at least the subset of them who take part in surveys—appear to be remarkably ignorant about one of modern history’s greatest crimes. Some 20% of respondents aged 18-29 think that the Holocaust is a myth, compared with 8% of those aged 30-44 (see chart). An additional 30% of young Americans said they do not know whether the Holocaust is a myth. Many respondents espouse the canard that Jews wield too much power in America: young people are nearly five times more likely to think this than are those aged 65 and older (28% versus 6%).
https://archive.is/2023.12.07-151642/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/12/07/one-in-five-young-americans-think-the-holocaust-is-a-myth
Here’s the poll
https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/b17i8aeg5p/econTabReport.pdf
Looks like about 1,400 people took part. I don’t know enough about statistics to know if that’s a large enough group to come to the conclusion that 20% of young Americans think the holocaust is a myth.
henrysmyagent says
Best. Documented. Crime. In. History.
Flat-Entrepreneur282 says
I mean, in 2018 the Republican candidate for Congress in IL-3 (who was the only Republican crazy enough to run despite overwhelming odds of facing a losing battle a reasonably blue district) had a page on his campaign website titled “Holocaust?” which said about what you’d think a page titled “Holocaust?” would say. And he still got 26% of the vote. EDIT: In a year that was a bit of a blue wave.
allanon1105 says
The great failure of the U.S. education system.
ScaleEnvironmental27 says
Cause they’re fucking stupid…
youwhatmush says
54% of American adults can only read to a sixth grade level. There is no hope.
DauOfFlyingTiger says
Public education is our biggest failure as a nation.
eddnedd says
They know. They actively choose to deny it for political reasons.
fuckyourcanoes says
Fuuuuuck. This is BAD.
MatesWithManatees says
This is horrifying and truly scares me. Growing up in the 80s, it was a big part of education, certainly in the UK. Nazi’s were widely accepted as the bad guys. I was also a late-life baby and my parents grew up in the war as children-teens and both their parents fought in the war. I never thought this would happen now we all have access to so much knowledge on the Internet. I didn’t account for propaganda and misinformation being pumped into people in their own homes, or how easily manipulated people are.
dabuddah_ says
There is no way this is true I can’t believe we are that dumb. Please
SalltyJuicy says
I don’t think this is so much a failure of the education system, but a concerted effort by Holocaust deniers. I mean, yes, the US school system needs drastic improvement.
But, it doesn’t matter how good the school is if students can then immediately go home and be flooded with BS from deranged people at unprecedented numbers.
kikistiel says
>Get it all on record now – get the films – get the witnesses – because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.
>
>The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering. … I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda.
-Then General Dwight D. Eisenhower when he went to a liberated death camp and demanded reporters come to document what he’d found there.