Half the Planet Is Unaware of the Holocaust

More than a quarter of people have anti-Semitic views: survey
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2014 8:09 AM CDT
Updated May 17, 2014 11:19 AM CDT
Half the Planet Is Unaware of the Holocaust
This Friday, June 17, 2011 file photo shows a general view of Berlin's Holocaust memorial.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber,File)

Worldwide, just 54% of people know about the Holocaust—and of that population, some 32% doubt it ever happened, seeing it as a myth or heavily exaggerated, a sweeping new Anti-Defamation League poll finds. In the Middle East and North Africa, the numbers are even more disturbing: Only 38% of people are aware of the Holocaust, and 63% think it is exaggerated or never occurred. Across 102 countries, more than a quarter of people—26%—have deep-seated anti-Semitic views, the survey of 53,100 finds.

The poll asked about 11 Jewish stereotypes, among them that Jews have too much business power, only care about the Jewish people, and believe they're better than others. In the US, 9% of people believed at least six of these stereotypes, qualifying them as anti-Semitic in the survey's terms, the AP notes. Some 31% of Americans see Jews as "more loyal to Israel" than to the US. The survey also points to "hotspots" of anti-Semitism—and the opposite. In the West Bank and Gaza, 93% display such views, while in Laos, southeast Asia, only 0.2% do, NBC News reports. "Our findings are sobering but, sadly, not surprising," says the ADL's director. (More Holocaust stories.)

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