What Americans Know About the Holocaust

Note: We are presenting raw data. When available, we provide some or all of the crosstabs (i.e., breakdowns by various categories such as party ID). To analyze the data, we encourage users to read the entire study and the methodology used. Results and reliability can be affected by such things as sample size, question wording, and question order. Responses may also be influenced by context and timing; for example, if the survey is conducted during a war.

Do you think it is or is not anti-Semitic to deny that the Holocaust happened? (The Economist/YouGov, N-1500, December 2-5, 2023)

Anti-Semitic	33%
Not anti-Semitic	30%
Not sure	37%

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The Holocaust is a myth. (The Economist/YouGov, N-1500, December 2-5, 2023)

Agree	7%
Disagree	77%
Neither agree nor disagree	16%

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The Holocaust has been exaggerated. (The Economist/YouGov, N-1500, December 2-5, 2023)

Agree	9%
Disagree	74%
Neither agree nor disagree	18%

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Israel exploits Holocaust victimhood for its own purposes. (The Economist/YouGov, N-1500, December 2-5, 2023)

Agree	20%
Disagree	42%
Neither agree nor disagree	38%

How much do you know about the Holocaust? (American Jewish Committee, Jews September 9-October 4, general public September 15-20, 2020)

	Jews	General Public
A lot	35%	37%
Some	15%	38%
Not much	0%	14%
Not at all	0%	10%

As far as you know, what does “the Holocaust” refer to? (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

Annihilation of Jews	66%
Death, general	6%
Persecution of Jews	4%
Jews/Jewish	4%
Hitler	1%
Concentration camps	1%
World War II	1%
Nazis/Nazism	1%
Persecution, general	<1%
Other	3%
Don't know	3%
No answer	10%

When did the Holocaust happen? Between… (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

1930 and 1950 (Correct)	69%
1890 and 1910	2%
1910 and 1930	10%
1950 and 1970	1%
Not sure	17%
No answer	1%

In total, about how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust? (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

Approximately 6 million (Correct)	45%
Less than 1 million	2%
Approximately 3 million	12%
More than 12 million	12%
Not sure	28%
No answer	1%

What were Nazi-created ghettos? (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

Parts of a city or a town where Jews were forced to live (Correct)	63%
Places where Jews were killed in gas chambers	7%
Factories where Nazis forced their political opponents to work	2%
Housing developments for poor Nazis	2%
Not sure	27%
No answer	1%

Which of the following statements best describes how Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany? (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

By a democratic political process (Correct)	43%
By violently overthrowing the German government	25%
By hereditary succession	2%
By agreements with neighboring countries	2%
Not sure	27%
No answer	1%

Have you ever visited a Holocaust memorial or museum? (Pew Research, N-10,971, February 4-19, 2019)

Yes	27%
No	73%
No answer	1%

Have you ever seen or heard the word Holocaust before? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Yes, , I have definitely heard about the Holocaust	89%	78%	78%
Yes, I think I’ve heard about the Holocaust	7%	13%	10%
No, I don’t think I have heard about the Holocaust	3%	8%	7%
No, I definitely have not heard about the Holocaust	1%	9%	5%

In your own words, what does the term Holocaust refer to? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Extermination of the Jews/s/Jewish people	62%	51%
Genocide generally	18%	14%
World War II	4%	8%
The Nazis	3%	6%
Adolf Hitler	3%	3%
Other	14%	19%
Not Sure	3%	7%

Who or what do you think caused the Holocaust? [OPEN ENDED]? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Adolf Hitler	83%	76%	72%
The Nazis	67%	63%	62%
Germany	36%	33%	36%
Jews	10%	15%	11%
World War I	6%	9%	13%
The Great Depression	4%	8%	7%
The United States	4%	12%	6%
Franklin Delano Roosevelt / FDR	2%	3%	1%
Israel	1%	2%	3%
Palestine	1%	1%	2%
Other	1%	--	2%
Not Sure	4%	6%	4%

Who were victims during the Holocaust? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
The Jewish People	94%	92%	86%
Homosexuals	33%	27%	34%
The disabled / People with disabilities	32%	27%	32%
Roma-Sinti (Gypsies)	22%	18%	25%
Non-Jewish Poles	17%	13%	15%
Resistance workers	16%	13%	17%
Jehovah’s Witnesses	14%	16%	16%
Communists	10%	5%	11%
Rescuers	9%	12%	11%
Other	1%	--	6%
Not Sure	3%	3%	6%

In which of the below country or countries did the Holocaust take place? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Germany	84%	72%	70%
Poland	37%	27%	31%
Austria	27%	30%	26%
Europe	24%	27%	26%
France	19%	16%	12%
Hungary	17%	14%	12%
The Netherlands (Holland)	15%	19%	7%
Belgium	14%	14%	11%
Former Yugoslavia	10%	5%	12%
Denmark	9%	8%	7%
Former Soviet Union	8%	6%	9%
Ukraine	8%	8%	7%
Italy			7%
Romania			6%
Latvia	6%	9%	3%
Estonia	5%	2%	2%
Lithuania	5%	2%	5%
Australia	1%	1%	1%
The United States	1%	--	5%
North Africa	--	1%	3%
Greece			3%
China	--	--	2%
All of the Above	2%	2%	3%
Not Sure	4%	6%	9%

During the Holocaust, Jews and many others were sent to concentration camps, death camps, and ghettos. Can you name any concentration camps, death camps, or ghettos you have heard of? [OPEN ENDED AND MULTIPLE RESPONSES
ALLOWED] (Claims Conference, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Gen Z+Millenials
Auschwitz	44%
Dachau	6%
Bergen-Belsen	3%
Belzec	2%
Chelmno	1%
Treblinka	1%
Buchenwald	1%
Warsaw ghetto	1%
Other incorrect response	12%
Not Sure / None	36%

Have you seen Holocaust denial or distortion on social media or elsewhere online? (Claims Conference, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Gen Z+Millenials
Yes	49%
No	42%
No answer	9%

At what level of school did you learn about the Holocaust? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY (Claims Conference, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Gen Z+Millenials
Middle school/Junior high school	54%
High school	35%
Elementary school	26%
All of the above	7%
Did not learn about the Holocaust in school	4%
Not Sure	7%

In your opinion, what are the biggest benefits of teaching the Holocaust in school? [MULTIPLE CHOICES ALLOWED] (Claims Conference, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Gen Z+Millenials
The Holocaust is a historically significant event	60%
To learn from past mistakes and prevent genocide and mass atrocity today	52%
To prevent something like the Holocaust from happening again	41%
Teaches about racism, intolerance, and indifference	37%
To study the past and consider our roles as citizens today	15%
Learning about the Holocaust is the right thing to do	10%
Other	1%
None	7%

From what you know or have heard, what was Auschwitz? [OPEN ENDED] (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Concentration camp	40%	22%	47%
Death/extermination camp	23%	11%	17%
Forced labor camp	1%	2%	1%
Other	21%	31%	17%
Not Sure	20%	35%	26%

. Have you personally or has anyone you know visited a Holocaust museum in the United States? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
I have not visited a Holocaust museum and do not know anyone who has visited one	40%	45%	34%
I have personally visited a Holocaust museum in the United States	20%	33%	28%
I have not visited, but someone I know has visited	25%	21%	26%
Not Sure	15%	1%	12%

People still talk too much about what happened during the Holocaust. (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Total Agree	18%	41%	20%
Total Disagree	53%	39%	55%

Something like the Holocaust could happen again today. (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Total Agree	58%	47%	59%
Total Disagree	20%	22%	17%

Holocaust education should be compulsory in school. (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Total Agree	88%	88%	64%
Total Disagree	2%	4%	7%

Okay, and have you ever heard of “The Final Solution” before? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Yes, I have definitely heard of the Final Solution	34%	23%
Yes, I think I’ve heard of the Final Solution	7%	11\|%
I have heard of it generally but not sure what it means	14%	31%
No, I don’t think I have heard of it before	21%	14%
No, I definitely have not heard of it before	14%	8%
I’m not sure if I’ve heard of it or not	10%	13%

[IF YES] And in your own words, what was “the Final Solution” before? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Genocide	36%	52%
The Holocaust	32%	27%
The Nazi plan to murder Jews	26%	--
Mathematics	4%	--
None	2%	--
Other	6%	48%
Not sure	10%	--

With which of the wars listed below is the Holocaust closely associated with? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
World War I	17%	19%
The Vietnam War	1%	2%
The Civil War	1%	1%
World War II	67%	55%
Not sure	14%	23%

[IF Q9=WW II] And from what you know or have heard, which came first, World War II or the Holocaust? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
The Holocaust happened first, then World War II	21%	25%
World War II happened first, then the Holocaust	24%	36%
They happened simultaneously	45%	28%
Not sure	10%	11%

Approximately how many Jews were killed during the Holocaust? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
20 million	6%	9%	10%
6 million	49%	36%	37%
2 million	7%	2%	15%
1 million	11%	11%	10%
100,000	10%	26%	6%
25,000	3%	2%	5%
Other	1%	--	--
Not sure	13%	14%	17%

During the Holocaust, Jews and many others were sent to concentration camps death camps, and ghettos. Can you name any concentration camps, death camps, or ghettos you have heard of? [OPEN ENDED]? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Could name camp/ghetto (Auschwitz, Treblinka, Warsaw ghetto, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Sobibór, Chelmno, Belzec)	55%	51%
Other incorrect response	10%	7%
None/Never heard	12%	14%
Don’t know/Can’t remember	23%	28%

[Of the 91% who knew Hitler was the leader of Germany] From what you know, how did Hitler come to power? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Hitler was democratically elected	39%	29%
Hitler took power by force	52%	68%
Not sure	9%	3%

Thinking about the Nazis, did the Nazis persecute just the Jewish people or were other groups persecuted as well? (Claims Conference , March 2018)

	Adults	Millenials
Only Jews were persecuted by the Nazis	34%	49%
Other groups were persecuted as well	60%	44%
Not sure	6%	7%

Left off at q 29 did some after

ADD TO ANTISEMITISM POLL?

Have you personally seen Nazi symbols in your community or on the social media platforms you visit or have used in the past 5 years?

Some common examples of Nazi symbols include: flags with swastikas, pictures idealizing Hitler, flyers with pro-Nazi messages, pictures glorifying Nazi soldiers, “Heil Hitler” symbols such as Nazi-imagery or tattoos with “88” a numerical code for “Heil Hitler.” (Claims Conference, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Gen Z+Millenials
Yes—in my community	13%
Yes—on social media	30%
Yes—both in my community and on social media	13%
No	36%
Not sure	8%

Okay, and in your opinion, is there antisemitism in the United States today? (Claims Conference, March 2018, March 2020 Gen Z+Millenials Ages 18-39)

	Adults	Millenials	Gen Z+Millenials
Yes, there is antisemitism in the United States today	68%	63%	64%
No, there is not antisemitism in the United States today	4%	5%	12%
Not sure	28%	32%	24%