Almost a quarter of young Dutch people think the Holocaust is a myth or exaggerated. This is the result of a study by the Claims Conference.
That number — a total of 23 percent of the 2,000 adults over the age of 18 surveyed for the representative study — is higher than any other country previously surveyed, it said. The Claims Conference was established after World War II to enforce claims by Jewish survivors against Germany and continues to serve Holocaust survivors and their descendants today.
Many respondents were unaware of the full extent of the Holocaust: 54 percent of all respondents and 59 percent of young Dutch people from the millennial and so-called Generation Z generations did not know that six million Jews were murdered. On the other hand, a total of 29 percent believed that two million or fewer Jews were killed during the Holocaust. For Millennials and Gen Z, the proportion was even higher at 37 percent.
“Our Netherlands study shows us that historical facts are no longer binding, especially among young adults,” said Rüdiger Mahlo, the representative of the Claims Conference in Germany. “Knowledge and awareness of the Holocaust are eroding at a rate that is shocking. Our worst fears are proving to be justified.”
