Poll: More Than Half of Austrians Don’t Know Extent of Holocaust

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, an organization that advocates for the German government to provide reparations to Holocaust survivors, released a poll Thursday concluding that more than half of Austrians don’t know that six million Jews died during the Holocaust.

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 Austrians from Feb. 22-Mar. 1, found that 56 percent of Austrians were not aware of the full extent of Jewish deaths during the Holocaust. This included 36 percent of Austrians believing that two million Jews or less died during the Holocaust; 42 percent of Austrian millennials and Generation Z believed this as well.

Additionally, 58 percent of respondents believed another Holocaust could happen in various European countries and 47 percent said a Holocaust could occur in the United States today. Another 36 percent believed that there are “a great deal” of neo-Nazis in Austria and 50 percent said there are “many” neo-Nazis in the United States.

On Holocaust education, 82 percent of respondents said that every student should learn about the Holocaust in school.

Julius Berman, president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said in a statement that the poll showed “disturbing trends” on Holocaust education.

“Without education, we risk the history of the Holocaust being distorted and otherwise denied and those who were murdered being forgotten,” Berman said. “Effective education is paramount towards ensuring that what happened in the past does not repeat itself.”