The Hall of Names commemorating the millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust, as part of Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
MONDAY, JANUARY 27: Seventy-five years to the day of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, members of the United Nations collectively bow their heads for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. After the horrors of the Holocaust, nations came together in 1945 to form what would become the United Nations—this year, celebrating its 75th anniversary, in October. (Learn more about the 2020 Holocaust Remembrance from UN.org.)
Did you know? Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi death camp. Soviet troops liberated the camp in 1945.
Member states of the UN have developed educational programs, conducted memorial ceremonies and instituted remembrances over the years. If you follow the UN link above, scroll down on the webpage to learn about a whole series of programs—including exhibits, a panel discussion, a film and a recital—that run through Thursday January 30 in New York.
Pew Research Shows: Education Is Essential
Researchers, educators and historians know that Holocaust Education is a global challenge. In the U.S., more public schools nationwide began including the Holocaust in standard curriculum after a public outcry after a 1978 TV miniseries. Today, most school systems in the U.S. include the subject—however, awareness of this vast genocidal campaign by Nazi Germany varies widely around the world.
In preparation for this year’s Remembrance Day, Pew Research published a January 22 summary of American knowledge about the Holocaust. The report says, in part:
Most U.S. adults know what the Holocaust was and approximately when it happened, but fewer than half can correctly answer multiple-choice questions about the number of Jews who were murdered or the way Adolf Hitler came to power, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
When asked to describe in their own words what the Holocaust was, more than eight-in-ten Americans mention the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people or other related topics, such as concentration or death camps, Hitler, or the Nazis. Seven-in-ten know that the Holocaust happened between 1930 and 1950. And close to two-thirds know that Nazi-created ghettos were parts of a city or town where Jews were forced to live.
Fewer than half of Americans (43%), however, know that Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany through a democratic political process. And a similar share (45%) know that approximately 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Nearly three-in-ten Americans say they are not sure how many Jews died during the Holocaust, while one-in-ten overestimate the death toll, and 15% say that 3 million or fewer Jews were killed.
Read the entire Pew report, including charts that provide detailed break-outs of the data.
NOT JUST AN ANNIVERSARY AS DANGER RISES
ON JANUARY 23, The New York Times covered The World Holocaust Forum 2020 in Israel, which also marked the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation.
THE DANGER OF RISING ANTI-SEMITISM is the theme of other reports, this week. Forbes magazine reports: “Such education and focus on collective action against antisemitism is crucial as the world witnesses an increase in antisemitic attacks globally.” The Forbes report is headlined: 75 Years After Auschwitz—Collective Action Against Antisemitism Is Still Needed.
The Chicago Tribune published a related story, headlined: As 75th anniversary nears, families affected by Holocaust sound warning as anti-Semitism incidents rise.
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