A survey released on Holocaust Remembrance Day found that a number of adults lack the basic knowledge of what happened during the holocaust. 31% of Americans as a whole, and 41% of millennials believe that 2 million, not the actual 6 million, Jews were killed, and many don’t even know what Auschwitz was. 52% of Americans don’t know the correct answer when it comes to how Hitler rose to power.
Though many people cannot relay correct information about the Holocaust, 96% believe the genocide did occur, and 93% believe that all students should learn about it in school.
Prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945.
Only 400,000 Holocaust survivors remain alive, most of them in their 80s and 90s. Many Holocaust remembrance advocates dread the day no survivors are left, as they believe there is no better way to educate people than through the voice of a survivor.
Photographs of prisoners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Museums and memorials from around the world are searching for ways to tell the witnesses’ stories once they are gone.
Questions:
- Does the fact that so many Americans do not have their Holocaust facts correct worry you? Why or why not?
- Once the remaining survivors have all passed away, how do you think Museums and memorials should educate the world about the Holocaust?
- Is the Holocaust something you believe should be taught about in school? Why or why not?
The fact that people in general have forgotten about important events in history is worrying, since many other problems arise from it. For example, it would be easier for governments to try to deceive the public if the truth was confused with lies. Also, the fact is that the Holocaust was a horrible event, something that should not be forgotten so that we can prevent a similar catastrophe from occurring. Educating others should not be very difficult, as currently most people do not hear about it from a eyewitness anyways. However, while it is obviously a very sobering, once in a lifetime experience, it is not necessary. The Holocaust is definitely something that should be taught in school, because it has valuable lessons to learn from, and had a major impact on our modern day society.
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ReplyDeleteWhen people start forgetting, one of the histories most impactful event, it foreshadows how history will repeat itself. Th fact that Americans are forgetting the Holocaust facts is very worrying. Its shocking to believe that we are losing information, with "over 60 Holocaust museums and memorials throughout the United States" (NBC). The Holocaust is a very touchy subject, but that does not mean to cut it out of students curriculum, but rather than cutting it out and censoring it we should be more exposed to it, but still keeping its true meaning at heart. It teaches us beneficial lessons on leadership. However, some say, "of course, hearing that people in 2018 have a lack of knowledge about the Holocaust feels different than hearing that people in 1915 had a lack of knowledge about Jefferson Davis" (Slate). With the "millennials" who are forgetting this relevant event, it only hurts society. However, if we do continue to go forward and remember the Holocaust's true meaning and society not wanting history to repeat itself, then we should be fine.
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Many Americans do not recognize the Holocaust as a horrifying event of society. Many just see it as another useless history lesson that isn't important in anyway. However, many humans have lost their lives during that sad time. They have been tortured in countless different methods. Americans today should be more carefully informed. Museums and memorials should start by recording documentaries of the remaining survivors. Additionally, the Holocaust should be taught in school because it was one of the more important events of society. There are a lot of morals to be learned from the Holocaust. Although it is in the past, it is one of the events that has shaped society today.
ReplyDeleteI think the Holocaust should still be taught in school. It teaches people when to stand up against something that is unjust. It is a helpful lesson that can make the modern society safer. I am not worried by the facts being wrong, people just need to understand the concept of millions of people being killed because they were a specific religion, and to realize that that is not morally correct. I think that the way we are educating people on the holocaust is working, people know that it was a terrible event and why it was.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely disturbing that so many people have forgotten this crucial moment in history. The Holocaust is certainly something that should remain being taught in schools. It maintains the message of how bad dictatorship is.And also makes sure the many lives that were lost due to this horrible event are not unrecognized. Ultimately it teaches students to not only be respectful towards others religions, but others in general.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. It is worrying that people no longer remember the facts about such a terrible, yet crucial moment in history. I definitely agree with your point about that it should be taught about in school, and about what an education on the event teaches people. Thank you for your comment :)
DeleteIt does worry me that many Americans have forgotten basic facts of the Holocaust. Like most, I think it should be taught in school so children are aware of the past and they learn from it. It teaches them them about discrimination and the power of governments. This could prevent it from happening again since if people know the horrors, they will try to prevent it. Once the survivors past people can still keep learning about the Holocaust. Museums and memorials can have written stories from the survivors or quotes from them. There are many other ways, even if they aren't effective, to teach people more about the Holocaust.
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ReplyDeleteThe importance of history has always been clear: so that society does not repeat the same mistakes. The latter idea definitely applies to situations like these. It is without a doubt that the lack of education about the Holocaust is worrisome- it should not even be of question. The real question, then, should be: how do we increase awareness and more importantly, why is it important for society to be aware? As Mitchell stated, it is crucial that Americans stay informed. However, awareness should definitely not be limited to Americans- the Holocaust was a global nightmare. Due to this, society needs to be informed on a global scale. This can be done through museums and memorials, as well as social media. Social media campaigns are rather effective in this current rage of technology, and the inclusion of many celebrities would help as well. Most importantly, younger generations need to take action. Recent student walkouts were publicized on the national scale. If students organize a way to remember the Holocaust and honor all of the 6 million victims that changed and shaped society, not only will the Holocaust be viewed with respect and gravity, but society will do a better job at ensuring that genocides (no matter what form it may take) won’t occur again.
The fact that many Americans do not know correct information on the holocaust worries me because this means people do not care as much about important times in our history. It is disrespectful for the survivors that people do not care about what happened. Also, people must learn about the past, so we do not make similar mistakes in the future. When all the survivors pass away, people should educate each other with pictures and documents from the people who were there at the time. It should be taught in school because people should learn from their mistakes and make sure something like the holocaust does not happen again. If people do not learn about it in school, they will not know to watch out for similar dangerous situations, and history could repeat itself. People also need to understand that discriminating because of religion is wrong, and it should not happen again. People should have the freedom to believe what they want to.
ReplyDeleteIt worries me that this sort of incident may occur in the far future if students do not learn about this in school. Americans should be more educated on these facts as this was a major event in history and it occured less than 100 years ago. When there are no more survivors left, the museums and pictures should have stories told by the witnesses behind them. People should continue to educate one another with the information told by the witnesses to make sure something like this never occurs again. People also need to understand the consequences of hatred and the brutality people have faced because of their religion. We should teach others to not have this kind of discrimination against each other.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Holocaust should be taught in schools to teach the students of the schools what could happen and what did happen when a totalitarian leader took control and how hate controlled a whole race to try and exterminate another whole race. If students are not shown what happened in the holocaust there might be a chance of the holocaust happening again. History is bound to repeat itself unless we are taught the wrong doings of the people in the past
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing how some people can still deny the fact that the Holocaust happened. The phrase "history repeats itself" is something that can be prevented if the population is aware of the mistakes of the past. When a big event like the Holocaust is ignored by so many people it's easier for similar events to happen because no one is trying to prevent them. Learning about events in history is a necessary just because knowing what has already happens affects choice for the future. Bad things warn the future, and good things guide the future. That's why education is so important.
ReplyDeleteIt worries me when someone does not know the basic facts about the Holocaust. This tremendous and disturbing is something that should never be repeated. People should learn and spread awareness about the Holocaust. Even though it is a disturbing topic, schools should teach the truth of the Holocaust to inform young students. I agree with Madison with using social media to spread awareness. This is a easy way to get informed with something that is easily accessible, like a smart phone. Walk outs and other marches are also great ways to inform people of this tragic event. Using these methods will help people to not forget because once it's on the internet, it can never be removed. If people do slowly forget about the Holocaust we still must do everything we can to prevent another one from happening in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhile people may not know the exact numbers and facts about the Holocaust, it is a little settling to see that 96% are aware of the fact that this genocide did occur. Generations must continue to learn about this grotesque, horrifying period of time in order to be aware of past wrongs (although that is quite the understatement) in history and know that human nature can be extremely cruel. Many people deny that the Holocaust ever happened, which just sets us up for future failure as a general population; although it is deemed as merely ignorant or uneducated, this mindset can be extremely dangerous. As people have said before, history repeats itself. While we joke about Trump's political actions setting us up for WWIII, it is still very possible, with all these callouts to other world leaders and other risky decisions. The fact that people deny this genocide is extremely degrading and the fact that people make jokes about the Holocaust now is very worrisome.
ReplyDeleteI find it alarming that so many Americans do not know about what really happened during the Holocaust. The Holocaust is an extremely tragic, and significant historical event. It is a huge part of the millions lives of the people who were affected by it, and should be remembered by people. People need to learn about this terrible event because it shows them the horrifying events that have happened in the past, and how they have impacted the world today. People in the US should learn about the Holocaust for the same reason they should learn about other widely taught events, like the American Civil War; it shows them how cruel people have been in the past, and teaches them that they were cruel and they were wrong. The Holocaust teaches people about what happened in the past, and how to prevent things like it from ever happening again.
ReplyDeleteWe know that this is the last generation of holocaust survivors who can tell their stories and from there on it is up to everyone else to teach and spread knowledge of the past. It is not the Americans itself wo are forgetting this even, accord to NBC news, The Polish government recently passed a bill making it illegal to blame Poland for any crimes committed during the Holocaust. More than half of the people exterminated by the Nazis were from Poland. So for this event to not be forgotten we need to improve our education system as only 9 states require the holocaust to be taught so instead it should be mandatory so that everyone has some sort of idea of the what happened and so that such horrible acts of anti-antisemitism don't happen or exist anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to learn about the past, not only for learning from past mistakes but also for general knowledge. Regardless of the exact number of deaths, the fact that millions died is horrific and is worth learning about. education is crucial. I think schools should focus on teaching us about actual events, instead of random facts bout random tribes. I don't remember anything from middle school history classes except the mass genocides and important historic dates. When all survivors pass, it's important that museums preserve the artifacts and diary entries for public display.
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