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Study: A third of Americans think numbers of Holocaust deaths exaggerated

And 45 percent of Americans could not name any of the 40 ghettos or concentration camps erected by the Nazis, with a whopping 66 percent of millennials unable to state the significance of “Auschwitz.”

The “Hall of Names” commemorating victims of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Photo: David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons.
The “Hall of Names” commemorating victims of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Photo: David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons.

A survey released by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, otherwise known as the Claims Conference, has revealed that a third of all Americans believe the scope of the murder of Jews in the Holocaust has been exaggerated.

The data, released ahead of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, showed that the large swath of Americans believe that just 2 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, rather than 6 million.

In addition, 45 percent of Americans could not name any of the 40 ghettos or concentration camps erected by the Nazis, with a whopping 66 percent of millennials being unable to state the significance of “Auschwitz.”

While 93 percent of those polled said they believe students should learn about the Holocaust in schools, 70 percent said people are less concerned about the Holocaust than in the past, and 58 percent said a Holocaust or similar catastrophe could occur again.

The Claims Conference also showed that 68 percent of Americans believe anti-Semitism exists in the United States, with 37 percent saying neo-Nazis were present in large numbers.

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