Survey finds New Zealanders know very little about the Holocaust

7th August, 2019

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand is concerned about the apparent lack of knowledge New Zealanders have about the Holocaust, as revealed in a recent poll, undertaken by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Auckland.

More than 1000 people were surveyed throughout the nation with over 70% having “little” or “no knowledge” of the Holocaust.

The survey included asking participants “How many Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust?” to which 57% were not able to identify the correct number of six million.

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand (HCNZ) has been actively engaged in Holocaust education for over 12 years. This includes addressing thousands of students and sending over 90 teachers overseas to learn about the Holocaust and how to deliver education on the Holocaust in NZ classrooms.

HCNZ has also been part of an initiative where schools sign up to commit themselves to teaching at least an hour of Holocaust education per year; this campaign encourages schools to contact HCNZ to register their interest and access support and guidance to teach the topic.

Findings, such as that derived from this survey are troublesome.

HCNZ CEO, Chris Harris said “If we do not learn about the Holocaust, how do we take the lessons of this tragedy and make changes for today, in a world experiencing a rise in antisemitism, xenophobia, prejudice and discrimination.”

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