^ ^ ^ ^ — — ‫י‬
HOLOCAUST DENIAL:
WHAT THE
SURVEY DATA
REVEAL
Tom W• Sm'rth
THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE, Institute of Human Relations, 165 East 56 Street, New York, NY 10022-2746
The American Jewish Committee protects the rights and freedoms of Jews
the world over; combats bigotry and anti-Semitism and promotes human
rights for all; works for the security of Israel and deepened understanding
between Americans and Israelis; advocates public policy positions rooted
in American democratic values and the perspectives of the Jewish heritage;
and enhances the creative vitality of the Jewish people. Founded in 1906, it
is the pioneer human-relations agency in the United States.
Working
temporary
Con
T o m
\N•
S
n
^
Tom W. Smith is director of the General Social Survey at the National
Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago.
Copyright © 1995 The American Jewish Committee
All rights reserved
CONTENTS
Foreword
v
Holocaust Denial: What the Survey Data Reveal
Introduction
Holocaust Ignorance
Holocaust Denial
Awareness of Holocaust Denial
Factual Denial vs.
Denial of Relevance
Teaching and Learning
about the Holocaust
Holocaust Remembrance and Denial
and Anti-Semitism
Summary and Conclusion
Endnotes
References
Tables
Appendix
1
2
9
17
18
20
21
22
22
26
30
62
FOREWORD
Tom W. Smith's Holocaust Denial: What the Survey Data Reveal is the
twentieth in a series of Working Papers on Contemporary Anti-Semitism
published by the American Jewish Committee.
Smith , s analysis is amazingly comprehensive, taking account of all
available survey research data dealing with the issue of Holocaust denial.
Among the specific topics that Smith examines are: the actual level of Holocaust denial; the link between ignorance of the Holocaust and Holocaust denial; the impact of question wording, questionnaire context, and time period
on measurement of Holocaust denial; factual denial of the Holocaust and denial of relevance of the Holocaust; and Holocaust denial in an international
comparative perspective.
Smith's key conclusion is that the group of hard-core Holocaust deniers in the United States is less than 2 percent. Up to another 10 percent of
Americans express some doubt or uncertainty about the Holocaust, mainly
due to a lack of historical knowledge and information. Included in the latter
category are those who say it is possible or probable that the Holocaust did
not happen; those who accept the Holocaust as a reality, but believe its dimensions have been exaggerated; and those who are simply unsure due to
wholesale ignorance of the event.
David Singer, Director
Department of Research and Publications
HOLOCAUST DENIAL:
WHAT THE SURVEY DATA REVEAL
Introduction
Neo-Nazi denials of the Holocaust have been around for decades but have
gained greater notoriety over the last two decades as proponents have tried
to peddle their anti-Semitic ideas as revisionist history and have tried to
penetrate college campuses under the guise of scholarly debate and with appeals to First Amendment freedoms.1 The denial controversy took on a new
twist in April 1993 when results were released from a survey conducted in
November 1992 by the Roper Organization for the American Jewish Committee (AJC). When asked "Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened?" 22.1
‫י‬
percent of respondents said "possible,'65.4
percent "impossible," and 12.4
percent "don't know." This seemed to indicate that over a fifth of Americans
had doubts about the Holocaust and over a third questioned the Holocaust
or were uncertain about its occurrence.
This finding attracted considerable attention (and more so than the rest
of the twenty-one questions about the Holocaust combined). It was generally
accepted as accurate, and commentary centered on the inroads of the Holocaust deniers and woeful historical knowledge of Americans (e.g., "Dealing," 1993; "One in Five," 1993; "What Holocaust," 1993; Reich, 1993;
Shapiro, 1993; "Knowledge," 1994).
However, right from the beginning some challenged this statistic
(Miller, 1993; Klausner, 1993; Moschandreas, 1993; "Holocaust Poll
Flawed," 1994). Critics contended that the wording was highly confusing
and that many people probably misunderstood the question. The main criticism was that the double negative formulation was difficult to comprehend
and probably misled many people. Others said that the question was too hypothetically phrased and that people might say that "anything seems pos-
sible" or that "impossible" might have been an expression of moral incomprehension rather than a factual judgment. Still others have noted that since
Hitler's Final Solution had not been completed the literal "extermination" of
the Jews had not occurred.
These concerns about wording led to a number of follow-up surveys
by Roper, CBS, and Gallup and ultimately the replication of the AJC/Roper
study in late March 1994. The Gallup Organization took the public lead in
challenging the denial statistic (Moore and Gallup, 1994; Moore and Newport, 1994; AAPOR, 1994; Urschel, 1994) and the American Association
for Public Opinion Research held a discussion panel on "Controversies
Over the Measurement and Reporting about Denial of the Holocaust" at its
May 1994 conference (AAPOR, 1994; Bischoping, 1994; Kifner, 1994).
In light of this controversy the AJC asked Tom W. Smith of the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, to "evaluate the data
in the follow-up survey for accuracy and reliability a n d . . . prepare a written
analysis of the survey findings, taking into account all available data on the
subject, including other polls" ("Holocaust Poll Analyzer," 1994).
This report examines: (1) ignorance about the Holocaust among adults
and students, including (a) levels of knowledge, (b) trends in knowledge, (c)
comparisons to other countries, (d) comparisons to other historical events,
(e) factors associated with knowledge, and (f) sources of knowledge; (2) denial of the Holocaust, including (a) level of denial, (b) how the measurement
of denial is influenced by question wording, questionnaire content, and period, (c) the link between ignorance and denial, (d) comparisons to other
countries, (e) comparisons to other events, and (f) factors associated with
denial; (3) awareness of Holocaust denial; (4) factual denial vs. denial of
relevance; (5) teaching and learning about the Holocaust; and (6) Holocaust
remembrance and anti-Semitism.
It draws on all available American survey data dealing with Holocaust
ignorance and denial as well as a number of international surveys (for details
see Appendix: Survey Data).
Holocaust Ignorance
Levels of Holocaust Knowledge. At the simplest level, knowledge of the
Holocaust is widespread. About 95 percent of Americans report having
heard of the Holocaust and about 85 percent say they know what the term
refers to (Table 1, top).
2
But knowledge of the Holocaust is shallow, incomplete, and imperfeet. In response to open-ended questions that asked people to actually explain what the Holocaust was, 62-74 percent could supply a correct response, 8-13 percent gave vague or incorrect responses, and 18-28 percent
reported that they did not know what the Holocaust referred to (Table 2).2
Only 25-35 percent gave what were considered fully correct answers—those
that mentioned three key elements: (1) the persecution, extermination, etc. of
the (2) Jews by the (3) Germans, Nazis, etc. Another 30-35 percent mentioned the persecution, etc. of the Jews, but did not explicitly mention Germany, the Nazis, etc. Among other answers considered correct were mentions of the Nazis, death camps, or World War II without mentioning Jewish
persecution/extermination.
Many of the incorrect answers (4-9 percent) were not factually wrong,
but only too vague and unspecific. They consisted of general mentions of
death and slaughter or destruction, disaster, and tragedy. Most of the unknowledgeable (18-28 percent) indicated that they didn't know what the
Holocaust referred to.
The limited nature of knowledge about the Holocaust is also shown by
five multiple-choice questions on Holocaust facts. From 87 to 89 percent of
respondents could identify Hitler as the leader of Nazi Germany, 78-81 percent knew that the Nazis first rose to power in Germany, 62-67 percent correctly said that Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were concentration
camps, 42 percent said that Jews were forced to wear yellow stars, and 3544 percent indicated that about 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust (Table
3A). A little less that a tenth (7.3-9.7 percent) knew none of these five facts
and only about a fifth (19.9-23.6 percent) knew all five answers (Table 3B).
On average there were 3.0 correct answers in 1992 and 3.2 in 1994.
A final knowledge item measures how many groups people could
identify as persecuted by the Nazis (Table 3C).3 Of the listed groups Poles
were most frequently recognized as victims of the Nazis (47-50 percent),
followed by Gypsies and homosexuals (25-27 percent). Volunteered mentions included the handicapped and disabled, blacks, and Catholics (less
than 1 percent). In all, 61-62 percent correctly identified at least one group
as persecuted by the Nazis, but only 14-15 percent were able to name three
or more victimized groups. About a third could not cite any other persecuted
groups and 4-7 percent misidentified Aryans as victims of Nazism.
There is less information on student knowledge of the Holocaust, but
the available evidence suggests that students know even less than adults.
3
About three-quarters of high school juniors in 1986 and 1988 could correctly identify the Holocaust in a multiple-choice test given four possible answers (Table 4), but only 48 percent of students in the tenth to twelfth grades
in 1992 could correctly describe the Holocaust in an open-ended question
with just 15 percent giving complete answers (Table 5). This compares to
62 percent of adults in 1992 giving correct responses with 25 percent supplying full answers (Table 2).
Students also did slightly worse than adults on the five factual, multiple-choice items (Table 6). Eighty-three percent knew that Hitler was the
leader of the Nazis, 76 percent that the Nazis first came to power in Germany, 48 percent that Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were concentration
camps, 42 percent that Jews wore yellow stars, and 28 percent that 6 million
Jews were killed. While student scores were lower than those of adults on
five of the six items and tied on the sixth, student knowledge was significantly lower only on identifying concentration camps (compare Tables 3 and
6).
On the item about groups persecuted by the Nazis, 31 percent correctly mentioned Poles and 20 percent cited both Gypsies and homosexuals
(Table 6C). Only 50 percent named one or more groups and just 7 percent
mentioned three or more groups. This was much lower than the 62 percent
and 15 percent of adults correctly naming respectively one and three plus
persecuted groups (Table 3C).
Trends in Holocaust Knowledge. The 1992 and 1994 AJC/Roper surveys
show a modest overall gain in knowledge about the Holocaust (Tables 2 and
3). Correct definitions of the Holocaust increased by seven percentage
points. Complete descriptions, however, showed no increase, all of the increase being from don't knows added to the partial and relevant categories
(Table 2). Knowledge also rose for four of the five specific factual items
(Table 3). While there was no gain in knowing what symbols Jews were
forced to wear, correct answers to the other items had small to moderate increases (up two percentage points for identifying Hitler, three points for the
rise of Nazism, five points for concentration camps, and nine points for
number of Jews killed). Altogether the proportion giving three or more correct answers grew from 65 percent to 71 percent. Finally, no meaningful
change occurred in naming groups persecuted by the Nazis (Table 3C).
These gains in knowledge are probably the result of increased media
coverage of the Holocaust and related developments such as the opening of
4
J
various Holocaust museums and memorials. Table 7 shows that the number
of articles in major newspapers mentioning the Holocaust began to rise in
the second half of 1990 and reached a high point in the first half of 1994.
Altogether coverage expanded by 89 percent.
The opening of the Simon Wiesenthal Beit HaShoah Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles in February 1993 and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington, D.C., in April 1993 contributed to the increased
media coverage as well as directly reaching more than a million visitors.4
Likewise Steven Spielberg's movie Schindler s List has generated enormous
press attention as well as a large audience. In the second half of 1993
Schindler's List was mentioned in 346 newspaper articles and in the first
half of 1994 in an estimated 1,644 articles. Through April 1994 ticket sales
in the United States and Canada had reached $39 million and 9 percent of
adults said they had seen the film. In addition, 58 percent of those who have
been to a movie in the last twelve months and who hadn't seen Schindler's
List indicated that they wanted to see it.5
Thus the opening of the Holocaust museums, Schindler's List, and
other events have both directly increased awareness of the Holocaust and
contributed to the large expansion of media coverage and in turn have improved public knowledge of the Holocaust.
For students there is a trend only for the single item in the National
History Assessments in 1986 and 1988. It shows no significant change.
Similarly, the test as a whole indicates no change in historical knowledge
(Hammack et al., 1990).6
Holocaust Knowledge Compared to Other Countries. Americans are less
knowledgeable about the Holocaust than the British, French, or Germans
(Table 8). Germans are the most knowledgeable on six of the eight measures, the French and British are generally second or third most knowledgeable, and Americans are the least knowledgeable on six of the eight comparisons.7 The knowledge gaps are often rather large with Americans averaging twelve percentage points below the British, eighteen percentage
points lower than the French, and twenty-seven percentage points under the
Germans. The cross-national differences vary directly with historical involvement in World War II and the events surrounding the Holocaust.8
Holocaust Knowledge Compared to Other Historical Events. While
knowledge of the Holocaust is limited, it is not particularly low compared to
5
knowledge of other historical events, nor is it distinctive from other historical knowledge. Among adults, knowledge about the Holocaust is similar to
that for other occurrences associated with World War II (Table 1). First, in
terms of both awareness and knowledge about specific facts, nothing distinguishes the level of understanding of the Holocaust from that of other World
War II events. Knowledge of specific facts about the Holocaust runs from a
high of 89 percent of respondents in 1994 knowing Hitler was the leader to
Nazi Germany to a low of 21 percent indicating the connection of the Warsaw ghetto to the Holocaust. Among non-Holocaust items knowledge
ranged from 84 percent identifying Pearl Harbor to 27 percent knowing that
D-Day refers to the invasion of Normandy.9
Similarly, when people were asked how much they knew about five
major events of the twentieth century, knowledge of the Holocaust rated below the Vietnam War, slightly above the Great Depression and the American
civil rights movement, and well above the Russian Revolution (Table 9).
Second, knowledge of the Holocaust is not a special or unique area of
knowledge, but consistent with general knowledge of World War II (and
probably of historical understanding in general). On the two AJC/Roper surveys a factor analysis of the knowledge items to see how they relate to one
another shows that knowledge about the two items that do not specifically
refer to the Holocaust (i.e., about Hitler and Nazism starting in Germany) is
closely related to knowledge of the Holocaust. While two distinct, but overlapping, factors emerge, they distinguish easy items about knowing what the
Holocaust refers to, Hitler, and the start of Nazism from harder items about
the number of Jews killed, wearing the yellow star, and knowing what other
groups were persecuted. (The concentration camp item related to both factors.)
Moreover, in the 1994 CBS survey, which included the open-ended
Holocaust definition item (Table 2) along with items about World War II
unrelated to the Holocaust (on who was supreme commander in Europe,
who were America's enemies, what D-Day refers to, who won the war, and
where the atomic bomb was first used against an enemy), Holocaust knowledge was not distinctive from knowing about other aspects of World War II.
As with the two AJC/Roper surveys, two factors emerge: easy questions on
the Holocaust, where the atomic bomb was dropped, who won the war, and
who America's enemies were and hard questions consisting of the supreme
commander and D-Day questions. (An item of intermediate difficulty on
Russia's role in the war loaded on both factors.)
6
Holocaust knowledge is also similar to other historical knowledge for
students. In the 1986 and 1988 National Assessment of History examinations the percentage of high school juniors getting an item on the Holocaust
correct (75-76 percent) was higher than the average percentage correct for
seventeen items relating to World War II (58-64 percent) and twenty-one
items on civil rights (58 percent) (Table 4). Since there is only one Holocaust item on these tests, one cannot be sure how Holocaust knowledge in
general relates to other historical understanding, but the available information does not indicate any unique or special problem concerning learning
about the Holocaust.
In addition, a factor analysis of students in the 1992 AJC/Roper survey shows the same two factors as the adult samples do: easier items on
Hitler, the rise of Nazism, and knowing what the Holocaust was and harder
items on the yellow star, the number of Jews killed, groups persecuted by the
Nazis, and concentration camps.
Factors Associated with Knowledge about the Holocaust. The predominant factor in determining knowledge of the Holocaust is education. The
more education people have the more knowledgeable they are. For example,
in the 1994 AJC/Roper survey, among those with less than a high school
education 55 percent knew what the Holocaust was. This rose to 74 percent
among high school graduates, to 87 percent among college graduates, and to
92 percent among those with advanced degrees. Similarly, the percentage
knowing three or more of the five factual items were: less than high school,
47 percent; high school, 70 percent; college graduate, 85 percent; and advanced degree, 93 percent. Among students, knowledge also increases with
education with both the college-bound knowing substantially more than
those not intending to attend college and with seniors better informed than
those in lower grades (Golub and Cohen, 1993).
While education had the largest influence on knowledge, other factors
also had independent impacts on knowledge. Of particular interest is the association with cohort. For ten of twelve knowledge items the youngest cohort (those currently under 30) are the least knowledgeable. The highest
level of knowledge is usually held by cohorts currently 40-49 or 50-64.
Knowledge among the oldest cohort (65+) typically falls off.
The decline among the elderly is partly a function of their lower education. Among those with at least some college education knowledge about the
Holocaust does not vary across age groups. For those with less than some
7
college, older adults usually are more knowledgeable than younger groups
and the drop in knowledge among the oldest group occurs only occasionally.
In no case are the youngest age groups more knowledgeable than the oldest
groups. This suggests that a college education equalizes knowledge across
age groups, but that an age difference remains among the less educated because more recent cohorts, born after the Holocaust, have been less exposed
to information about the Holocaust.
In addition, cohort turnover also makes a tremendous impact on the
importance that people assign to historical events. In confirmation of
Mannheim's theory of generational effects, Schuman and Scott (1989) and
Smith (forthcoming) show that people are much more likely to consider
events that occurred while they were young as more important than events
that occurred before their birth or when they were older adults. For example,
on NORC's 1993 General Social Survey 42 percent of adults born between
1920 and 1927 named World War II as the most important event or change
since 1930, but only 8 percent of those born since 1968 mentioned World
War II.
Knowledge was also greater among those with higher incomes,
whites, those who lived outside the South, and, perhaps, residents of large
metropolitan areas. Gender and religion are not consistently related to
knowledge (except for Jews being better informed than non-Jews).10
Sources of Knowledge about the Holocaust. People learn about the Holocaust from a variety of sources (Table 10). Among adults more than half
mention television as an informational source. This is followed by books (in
1992) or school (in 1994), mentioned by 37-48 percent, by newspapers and
magazines (31-35 percent), movies (25-33 percent), other people (21-26
percent), churches/synagogues (10-15 percent), other sources (1-2 percent),
and by mentions of having lived and learned about the Holocaust when it
happened (1-2 percent). Only 10-15 percent fail to report any specific source
(with 4-5 percent saying they don't recall where they heard about the Holocaust), 28-31 percent mention only a single source, 35-36 percent two or
three sources, and 19-27 percent four or more sources."
Consistent with the gain in knowledge from 1992 to 1994, the number
of informational sources mentioned by people also increased (Table 10).
Those naming no source fell from 14 percent in 1992 to 10 percent in 1994
while only 19 percent reported four or more sources in 1992 compared to 27
8
percent in 1994. The largest gains are for schools (up eleven percentage
points), movies (up nine), and television (up eight).12
The importance of informational sources is shown by the strong connection between knowledge and number of sources. In 1992, among those
who correctly identified the Holocaust only 0.7 percent could not name a
source, 26.1 percent named one source, 45.1 percent two or three, and 28.0
percent four or more. In contrast, among those who said they couldn't say
what the Holocaust was 47.5 percent named no sources, 28.2 percent one
source, 20.0 percent two or three sources, and 4.4 percent four or more. (For
1994 the corresponding numbers among the knowledgeable were 0.5 percent none, 25.5 percent one, 39.7 percent two or three, and 34.4 percent four
or more and among the don't knows 47.0 percent none, 28.1 percent one,
20.5 percent two or three, and 4.3 percent four or more.) There was also a
strong correlation between the number of correct answers and the number of
informational sources.
Students report less exposure to information on the Holocaust than
adults. In 1992, 22 percent mentioned no sources vs. 14 percent for adults
and only 14 percent reported four or more sources compared to 19 percent
for adults. Students had lower levels for all sources except school. This is
probably a combination of a cohort effect and forgetting. School was mentioned by 59 percent of students, 54 percent of adults 18-29, 45 percent of
adults 30-44, 32 percent of adults 45-59, and 9 percent of adults 60+. Many
adults in the oldest age group finished school before the Holocaust was
widely disclosed at the end of World War II. Among younger age groups the
increasingly higher figures are probably partly a function of greater formal
instruction about World War II and the Holocaust and less forgetting that at
least some attention had been given to these events.
Holocaust Denial
Levels of Denial. Table 11 lists the responses to thirteen questions about
the Holocaust that have been asked over the last two years in seven national
surveys. As summarized in Table 12, they show a huge range in reported denial with from 1 percent to 46 percent expressing some doubt about the Holocaust and from 3 percent to 52 percent indicating doubt or at least uncertainty (i.e., with don't knows added in). This range of levels result from
three factors: question wording, questionnaire context, and period.
9
Variation in Reported Denial. Results fall into high and low groups due to
question wording.13 The high group (with denial estimates of22-46 percent)
consists of responses to what might be called double negative wordings.14
Alternative wordings make up the low group (denial ranging from 1 to 9
percent).
As Burns Roper of the Roper Organization has noted (AAPOR,
1994), the original Holocaust denial question from the 1992 AJC/Roper
survey is "flawed" and never should have been written or fielded by the
Roper Organization. First, the double negative formulation used in the original question is difficult to understand. To express the position that the Holocaust happened, one had to comprehend that the proper response was that it
seems "impossible" that it "never happened." Not only does the survey research literature warn against using double negatives because people have
difficulty in understanding them (Payne, 1951; Sheatsley, 1983; and Roper,
1984), but there is direct evidence that most people who apparently expressed doubt by replying "possible" actually meant exactly the opposite. In
the Gallup surveys people asked the double negative questions were then
asked the follow-up, "Just to clarify, in your opinion, did the Holocaust definitely happen, probably happen, probably not happen, or definitely not happen?" Of those who had said it was possible that the Holocaust never happened, 98.0 percent changed their position with 96.7 percent saying it did
happen and 1.3 percent saying don't know. Of those who had said that it
was impossible that it never happened, only 1.7 percent changed to questioning the Holocaust. Of those who had said they didn't know, 82.0 percent
changed with 60.6 percent now expressing belief and 11.4 percent indicating doubt. Across these two questions 0.6 percent were consistent deniers,
63.5 percent consistent believers, 0.4 percent consistent don't knows, 33.8
percent contradicted their apparent denial or uncertainty, 1.2 percent reversed their apparent acceptance, and 0.6 percent showed other patterns."
Within the double negative group, questionnaire context and a further
question-wording factor explain the variation in responses. The original
Roper survey receives the lowest level of denial (22 percent) because the
question appeared after nineteen questions on the Holocaust. This context
helped to establish the reality of the Holocaust, provided certain information
about the Holocaust, and activated memories about it. By facilitating recall
and supplying information, this context reduced uncertainty about the Holocaust. In addition, since information about the Holocaust was more accessible in memory, this probably allowed respondents to pay more attention to
10
the grammatical complexities of the question. This allowed an appreciable
group to realize the question was convoluted and prompted a large number
(12 percent) to opt for a neutral don't know answer. (Many in effect indicated that they did not know what the question meant rather than that they
did not know about the Holocaust.) With one or no previous Holocaust
questions on the other surveys using double negatives, people had to simultaneously figure out what they thought about the Holocaust and decipher the
question. This greater cognitive burden created more difficulty and led more
to select (usually out of confusion) the "possible" response.16
In addition, the 1993 Bruskin and Roper surveys may have further
boosted denial by adding the introductory statement that "The Holocaust is a
term used to describe the extermination of the Jews in World War Two.
Some people have said it is possible that it never actually happened," which
presents an unbalanced argument in favor of denial. Also, confusion over the
double negative may have been greater on the telephone surveys (Bruskin
and Gallup) since the pace of telephone interviews is usually faster, communication between respondents and interviewers is more restricted, and answers are typically less complete.
The non-double negative questions produce fairly consistent results,
from 1.1 to 8.8 percent expressing doubt and from 2.8 to 13.0 percent doubt
or uncertainty. While there are no glaring problems with these alternative
wordings of the magnitude associated with the original, double negative
wording, there does seem to be some problem with the "doubt" item (Table
11H) in the second Gallup survey (which produced the highest estimate). Of
those who expressed doubt, 86.5 percent reversed their apparent position on
a follow-up question, while only 0.7 percent of the nondoubters switched to
being doubters.17 That meant only 1.3 percent were consistent deniers.
Among the other alternative wordings, differences are rather small (14 percent), but some of the variation is probably due to wording, context,
house styles, and period. The three related wordings (Table 11C, D, I) that
refer to whether it "seems possible" the Holocaust never happened versus
one being "certain" that it occurred produce estimates of 1.1-3.7 percent
questioning the Holocaust. The 1994 AJC/Roper item (with the lowest
overall estimate) probably minimized reports of denial because the context
referred to the Holocaust as a real event, while the introductory phrase mentioning denial claims encouraged expressions of doubt on the two 1993 surveys.
The two related wordings asking whether the Holocaust definitely or
11
probably happened/did not happen (Table 11F,G) indicate that 2.0-2.3 percent doubt the Holocaust occurred with only 0.1-0.7 percent saying it definitely did not happen.
The single item on whether the Holocaust "took place" finds 2.5 percent expressing doubt and an additional 0.9 percent saying it took place, but
disagreeing that millions were killed.
Adding in the unsures/don't knows with the doubters creates some
small additional variation in estimates (7.4-11 percent for the seems possible/certain versions; 2.8-5.0 percent for definitely/probably; 7.2-8.1 percent for the took place item). Differences in don't know levels are probably a
function of variation in house style in the handling of don't know, with
Roper apparently collecting more of these responses than other organizations do.18
Finally, the increased public coverage of the Holocaust and the growth
in knowledge about the Holocaust over the last several years have probably
reduced both doubt and uncertainty since the 1992 survey (see Trends in
Holocaust Knowledge, above).19
Knowledge and Denial. Not only are the levels of denial low, but few are
dedicated, committed deniers. Most of the questioning of the Holocaust refleets ignorance rather than anti-Semitic commitment. Doubters and the unsure have low levels of factual knowledge about the Holocaust, and those
who are unsure or who are less than certain about the Holocaust indicate
that lack of information is the main source of their uncertainty.
Doubt and unsureness about the Holocaust are mostly results of ignoranee (Table 13). The 1994 Gallup surveys show that among those who
know what the Holocaust was 89-90 percent say it definitely happened and
only a 0.5 percent were either unsure or doubters, while among those unfamiliar with the Holocaust only 34-37 percent thought it definitely happened
and 21-23 percent were uncertain or doubtful. Similarly, on the 1994 AJC/
Roper survey among those unable to get even one of five factual questions
correct, 31 percent were certain that the Holocaust had occurred and 69 percent were uncertain or doubted it. Among those knowing three or more facts,
99 percent were certain about the Holocaust and only 1 percent questioned it
or were unsure.
The strong association between knowledge of and acknowledgment of
the Holocaust means that most doubters and unsures are people who are ignorant of what the Holocaust was. On the January, 1994 CBS survey, 78
12
percent of doubters said they didn't know what the Holocaust was as did 65
percent of those who were unsure whether the Holocaust had occurred. Similarly, the 1994 AJC/Roper study found that 64.5 percent of those unsure
about the reality of the Holocaust knew none of the five facts about the Holocaust.20
Moreover, the lack of a strong link between the neo-Nazi Holocaust
deniers and those expressing doubt or uncertainty about the Holocaust is
demonstrated by the fact that in the 1994 AJC/Roper study only 54 percent
of doubters and a mere 4 percent of the unsures had ever heard that "Some
people claim that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened."
Without exposure to these claims, these people could not have been influenced by them.
In addition, probing the answers given by the doubters and unsures
also reveals that their position is largely based on lack of information. In the
1994 AJC/Roper survey, the 1 percent who said it seemed possible the Holocaust never happened and the 9 percent who said they didn't know were
asked "Why do you feel less than certain that the Nazi extermination of the
Jews happened?" Of this 10 percent consisting of doubters and the unsure,
50 percent said they didn't know why, 34 percent said they didn't have
enough information to be sure, 3.4 percent said they didn't have firsthand
information, 2.3 percent mentioned things that only supported the existence
of the Holocaust, 3.4 percent said that it seemed "unbelievable" that something like that could occur, 3.4 percent mentioned exaggeration, and 3.4 percent indicated some exposure to Holocaust denial information. Thus only 710 percent of doubters and the unsure, or less than 1 percent of the whole
sample, indicated some acceptance of the denial perspective (including those
who thought the Holocaust was exaggerated and those who expressed what
might have been only a rhetorical expression that it was "unbelievable").
Similarly, on the late January 1994 Gallup survey those who said the
Holocaust "probably happened" were asked in an open-ended follow-up to
explain "why did you think the Holocaust only probably happened, rather
than definitely happened." Of the 17 percent who indicated that it only
"probably happened" 6 percent said they really meant that it definitely happened, 14 percent mentioned things that only supported that the Holocaust
occurred, 28 percent didn't know why they said it, 8.5 percent said they
didn't have enough information, 14 percent said they didn't have firsthand
information, 0.6 percent refused to explain, 10 percent gave miscellaneous
answers, and 18.4 percent expressed some doubt about the Holocaust (7.1
13
percent that it was exaggerated, 4.7 percent that there were two sides, 5.4
percent that there might be distortion or propaganda, and 1.2 percent that
you can't trust anything the government tells you).
Those who said the Holocaust "probably did not happen" and "definitely did not happen" were asked in an open-ended follow-up to explain
"why do you think the Holocaust probably/definitely did not happen." Of
this 2 percent who thought it did not happen, half (nine of eighteen) had no
explanation recorded, five said it was exaggerated or invented, one did not
know why, one was unclear, and one said "it just seems impossible to me."
Besides showing that denial is largely a function of ignorance, this
also indicates that there are few "hidden" deniers among the qualified "probably" happened group. If we put those who said it probably happened, but
expressed at least some doubt (18.4 percent of 17 percent, or 3 percent) together with those who said it probably or definitely did not happen (2 percent), we find a total of about 5 percent with some degree of doubt (and even
most of this group on balance thought that the Holocaust had occurred).
In sum, both the analysis by knowledge levels and the open-ended
probing indicate that few of the qualified believers and of the unsure have
any substantial questioning of the Holocaust. Their uncertainty comes
mostly from their ignorance about the Holocaust and not from real doubt.
True deniers are essentially restricted to the small group of explicit doubters,
and even the position of a substantial number of this group is mostly a result
of ignorance and indifference rather than committed denying.
However, while outright denial is limited to a small segment of the
population, most of whom are largely ignorant of historical facts rather than
devotees of denial claims, a larger segment of the population apparently believes that the Holocaust has been exaggerated. A telephone survey in 1993
in Georgia found both considerable uncertainty and substantial support for
the idea of exaggeration:
Please tell me which of the following statements comes closest to your opinion about the Holocaust:
I believe the Holocaust was a real event that
resulted in the deaths of over six million Jews
and others at the hands of the Nazis.
14
60.4%
I believe the Holocaust was a real event although
the number of people killed by the Nazis was
probably nowhere near six million.
I believe the Holocaust never happened.
I'm not sure whether the Holocaust did or did
not occur.
19.7
1.0
18.9
(415)
Indirect evidence that an appreciable number may believe that the
number killed in the Holocaust is exaggerated comes from the knowledge
item on number of deaths. In the 1992 and 1994 AJC/Roper surveys, 21-25
percent chose a figure below 6 million, 35-44 percent cited 6 million, 7-10
percent cited a higher number, and 28-30 percent didn't know.21 It is possible that those who think that the number killed is lower than 6 million
would tend to select the second option on the Georgia question.
On the other hand, the doubt about magnitude or numbers might only
reflect that (a) number questions are among the hardest factual questions for
people to answer (Sudman and Bradburn, 1982) and (b) Americans have
little grasp of large population figures.22 In both the open-ended Gallup follow-up question and the precoded, but unread, exaggeration response allowed for on the CBS survey, less than 1 percent volunteered such a judgment. However, if an exaggeration option had been explicitly offered (as in
the Georgia item) it would have attracted more adherents (although not necessarily as many since Holocaust ignorance and denial are both higher in the
South than in the country as a whole). To know how many Americans think
the Holocaust has been exaggerated and whether this is a form of partial denial, a mere point of factual ignorance, and/or a function of innumeracy requires more research.
Altogether the group of committed, consistent deniers is less than 2
percent (1.1 percent on the 1994 AJC/Roper survey, 1.3 percent consistent
deniers on the 1994 Gallup doubt and follow-up items, 0.1-0.7 percent definite deniers on the three 1994 Gallup questions) and a total of 2-4 percent
(including the committed group) either think it seems possible that it did not
occur or think it probably did not happen. An additional 1-8 percent are unsure, but they overwhelmingly are expressing ignorance rather than doubt.
Finally, another group of uncertain size (probably 5-15 percent) accepts that
15
the Holocaust occurred, but believes that its magnitude has been exaggerated. This group has never been measured in a national survey and those
who think that there has been exaggeration are distributed among doubters,
the unsure, and accepters. This position is also probably based mostly on
lack of information rather than on belief in a conspiracy.
Holocaust Denial Compared to Other Countries. Since the only denial
question asked in various countries uses the double negative wording, inferences about comparative levels of denial are problematic. On their face, the
numbers suggest more denial in the United States than in Germany, France,
or Britain. Of course we have seen that the double negative wording greatly
exaggerates the true level of denial in the United States. Without an assessment of the German and French translations by language and survey experts
it is not known whether confusion and misreporting are likely in these countries or whether the equivalents of nonproblematic American wordings
would produce even lower denial levels. Given the greater knowledge about
the Holocaust in these countries, we would expect denial to be less than in
America.
Possible
USA (1992)
Germany (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
22%
8
7
5
Impossible
65%
80
84
94
DK/NA
12%
13
9
1
Denial of the Holocaust and Other Historical Events. Holocaust denial is
apparently notably less than the number of Americans questioning a number
of other historical events. Thus, the number uncertain about the Holocaust is
not unusually high. Many Americans hold positions substantially at odds
with accepted historical facts. On the less serious side, 6-16 percent consider it possible that Elvis Presley is still alive (Yankelovich, 8/1991; CBS/
NYT 6/1992; ABC/Washington Post 7/1990; CBS 1/1989). Dealing with
more important matters, 28 percent think that "Oswald did not fire any shots
at Kennedy, but was set up by others to take the blame5' ( Washington Post
survey 5/1991) and 80 percent said that "several hundred prisoners were
kept after the [Vietnam] war ended and never returned to the United States"
(Gordon Black, 4/1993).23
16
Factors Associated with Denial of the Holocaust. As with the case of
knowledge, denial is strongly influenced by education, with the better educated being much less likely to be uncertain about or to doubt the Holocaust.
For example, on the 1994 AJC/Roper survey 21 percent of those with less
than a high school education are unsure whether the Holocaust occurred as
opposed to 4 percent of those with a college education. Similarly, the late
January 1994 Gallup survey shows that the percentage saying the Holocaust
definitely happened rises from 49 percent among those with less than a high
school education to 77 percent among high school graduates and to 95 percent among college graduates. Most of education's impact works because
the better educated are more knowledgeable about the Holocaust. However,
even among the unknowledgeable, more education tends to reduce doubt and
uncertainty about the Holocaust. For example, on the CBS survey among
those scoring poorly on the World War II factual items 70 percent of those
with less than a high school education and 95 percent of college graduates
fully accepted the reality of the Holocaust.
Age has a somewhat complex relationship with denial. Uncertainty
and perhaps doubt are somewhat higher among both the young (under 30)
and old (65+). However, this pattern is not always statistically reliable and
with controls for education the relationship between age and denial is irregular and weak.
Denial and uncertainty are also higher among those with low incomes.
The association between more income and less denial (controlling for education and other factors) probably results from the greater information, political involvement, and media consumption of the higher-income groups,
rather than merely from their superior material circumstances.
Denial and/or uncertainty is also higher among blacks and those in the
South. Education, age, income, race, and region all have independent associations to denial controlling for other factors. Little difference exists for
gender, community type, or religion.
Awareness of Holocaust Denial
Between 1992 and 1994 awareness of neo-Nazi claims that the Holocaust
never happened grew appreciably from 38 to 49 percent (Table 14). Television is both the dominant source of information and the only source of information to show an appreciable increase (Table 14B). Television news programs such as Sixty Minutes have carried Holocaust denial stories with par-
17
ticular focus on the controversy about the placement of Bradley Smith/Mark
Weber advertisements in college newspapers, and talk shows and tabloid
TV have featured neo-Nazis among their kooks-du-jour (Lipstadt, 1993a).
Awareness of Holocaust deniers is much higher among the better educated and those with higher incomes, among whites, and those living outside
the South. It is somewhat greater among men and those 30 and older. Awareness is also higher in Europe than in the United States (although the increased gains in the United States have apparently narrowed the gap—Table
14B). In effect, awareness relates to the same factors that knowledge does.
Knowing about the deniers is higher among those groups who are well informed and knowledgeable about the Holocaust in general and is not concentrated in social groups that are particularly ignorant and thus susceptible
to influence.
Despite concerns (Lipstadt, 1993a; 1993b), denial claims have not
made special inroads among students and the young. Those under 30 are the
least likely to have heard of the deniers (27 percent in 1992 and 38 percent
in 1994 compared to 41 percent in 1992 and 53 percent in 1994 among
those 30 and older). Similarly, in 1992 students were less likely to have
heard denial claims than adults (21 vs. 38 percent). Furthermore, school is
mentioned as a source of information about deniers by only 4-6 percent and
while 18-29-year-olds in 1992 were more likely to name school as a source
than older adults, in 1994 there was no difference between younger and
older adults.
Factual Denial vs. Denial of Relevance
Majorities in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany see the Holocaust as historically important, relevant and important to the present, and
the source of vital lessons for society (Tables 15-16). Fifty-five percent consider the Holocaust to have been "one of the most significant events in history" (Table 15). Only slavery was ranked as more significant and the Holocaust topped slavery by 51 to 22 percent as "the worst tragedy in history"
(Table 15). However, a decline in importance may occur as time passes.
Schuman and Scott (1989) show that evaluations of the importance of twentieth-century historical events are greatest among cohorts who lived through
the events as young adults, and Smith (forthcoming) finds that mentions of
World War II as the most important event or change declined between 1985
and 1993.
18
Likewise, the Holocaust is widely considered as relevant to the
present. For example, in the United States in the 1994 AJC/Roper survey 39
percent say it is "essential" and 37 percent that it is "very important5' that all
Americans learn about and understand the Holocaust. Likewise, over 80
percent in the United States, Britain, and France agree that one of the
Holocaust's lessons is that "People must speak out against oppression so
that another Holocaust will not happen" (Table 16). In the United States
little change occurred between 1992 and 1994.24
Belief in the historical importance and contemporary relevance of the
Holocaust and its lessons is strongly supported by knowledge about the Holocaust and acceptance of its reality. First, those who are more knowledgeable about the Holocaust are much more likely to see it as relevant and important and to believe that it teaches vital lessons to the present (Table 17).
For example, in the 1994 AJC/Roper survey 48 percent of those giving a
full explanation of what the Holocaust was considered it "essential" that all
Americans know about the Holocaust, while only 23 percent of those with a
vague or incorrect understanding thought it "essential," as did a mere 11
percent of those who did not know what the Holocaust was. Similarly, the
portion saying that one of the lessons of the Holocaust is that "firm steps
need to be taken to protect the rights of minorities" rose from 29 percent
among those scoring zero on the five-item Holocaust knowledge scale to 77
percent for those with two correct answers, and about 83 percent for those
with three or more correct responses.25
However, factual knowledge is not the sole factor. Bischoping (1993,
1994) points out that some people have low factual knowledge but high
"emotional knowledge." These people know what the Holocaust was and
have a strongly negative, emotional response to the Holocaust, but do poorly
at reporting particulars such as the names of camps and Nazi leaders or the
timing of events. However, they would tend to rate the Holocaust as important and a source of vital lessons.
Second, those who acknowledge the Holocaust as opposed to doubters
and the unsure see the Holocaust as relevant and important (Table 17). For
example, in the 1994 AJC/Roper survey 52 percent of those who accepted
the Holocaust's reality strongly disagreed that it was not relevant today compared to only 3 percent of those who were unsure about the occurrence of the
Holocaust. Likewise, on the 1994 CBS survey 76 percent of accepters
thought schools should teach more about it, while only 31-44 percent of
those not fully accepting or unsure favored more instruction.
19
Also, Holocaust knowledge may help people to remember and understand related contemporary events. Bischoping (1993) finds that "with controls for newspaper reading and other knowledge-related variables . . .
knowledge about the Holocaust is significantly associated with knowledge
of these related events [German unification, Iraqi attacks on the Kurds, and
Nazi youth activity in Germany],‫יי‬
While a strong link exists between knowledge and the rejection of denial on the one hand and acceptance of the relevance of the Holocaust on the
other hand, ignorance and factual denial are not the same as denial of relevance. In this regard, the special circumstance of Germany is instructive.
First, Germans have high levels of factual knowledge about the Holocaust
and greater knowledge than those in other countries (Table 8) and few Germans deny its reality (Golub, 1994).26 Second, in the United States and presumably in other countries more knowledge is associated with less denial
and more endorsement of the Holocaust's importance to the present (and future). However, Germans score lower on importance/relevancy than do the
less well-informed publics in Britain, France, and the United States (Table
16). While 33-45 percent of the publics in Britain, France, and the United
States consider understanding to be "essential," only 18 percent of Germans
concur. Similarly, Germans are more likely to agree that the Holocaust is no
longer relevant today (Table 16A and 16C). Thus, although Germans know
the facts, they have greater difficulty in accepting the importance of the Holocaust to the present.
Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust
Not only do Americans accept the Holocaust as of enduring importance and
relevancy, but they also feel that the facts and lessons of the Holocaust
should be widely taught. The 1991 Yankelovich survey asked "How important is it for the facts and lessons of the Holocaust to be incorporated into
American education—is it essential, very important, only somewhat important, or not important?" Thirty-two percent considered it essential, 41 percent very important, 22 percent somewhat important, 4 percent not important, and 1 percent didn't know. In 1994 CBS found that only 18 percent
thought that "the Holocaust is a closed chapter in history and we should
move on and not talk about such things," while 73 percent believed "the Holocaust has been discussed too little, and we should make more efforts to
20
discuss it and teach it to young people." (Five percent said it was already
being taught and 3 percent had no opinion.)
Of course, learning about the Holocaust is not restricted to formal instruction in school. Most adults and students name sources of information
outside of the classroom (Table 10). Media exposure of both Holocaust-related contemporary events and fictional depictions increases both public
awareness and public concern about anti-Semitism. Crespi (1964) and
Glock, Selznick, and Spaeth (1966) show that the Eichmann trial generated
considerable attention and increased sympathy for Israel and Jews. The AJC
(1981) found that the television series Holocaust increased both understanding and negative evaluations of the Nazis and positive sentiments toward Jews. In Canada, Weimann and Winn (1986) found that the Holocaust
denial trial of Ernst Zundel "appears to have increased knowledge of the Holocaust and to have intensified sympathy for Jews . . . . , ‫י‬
Holocaust Remembrance and Denial and Anti-Semitism
Related to the frontal assault on the realty of the Holocaust have been the
contentions that the Holocaust in general is given too much attention and
Jews in particular have excessively exploited the Holocaust. In a series of
major studies of anti-Semitism carried out for the ADL and AJC in 1964,
1981, and 1992 it has been shown that those who think that Jews make too
much of the Holocaust tend in general to hold negative attitudes about Jews
(Selznick and Steinberg, 1969; Martire and Clark, 1982; Marttila and Kiley,
1992).27
Complaints about Jewish remembrance of the Holocaust did decline
from 1964 to 1981, but an appreciable segment still objects to this.28 In the
1992 ADL survey (Marttila and Kiley, 1992) 34 percent agreed that "Jews
still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust" (62 percent disagree and 4 percent don't know) and the 1991 Yankelovich survey
found that 19 percent agreed that "The Holocaust is something that we hear
too much about" (77 percent disagree and 4 percent not sure) and that 20
percent thought that the American Jewish community paid too much attention to the Holocaust. The Yankelovich survey also found that relatively few
thought that too much attention was being paid by the media (13 percent),
the national government (6 percent), state and local governments (5 percent), or the schools (3 percent).29
21
Summary and Conclusion
Holocaust ignorance is widespread. It is substantially higher in the United
States than in Europe, but no higher than for other important events dealing
with World War II and civil rights. Holocaust ignorance decreased modestly
from 1992 to 1994.
Uncertainty and doubt about the Holocaust is mostly a function of ignorance, not the absorption of the neo-Nazi party line. Consistent and committed deniers make up a small segment of the population (less than 2 percent). Most of those who express some doubt or uncertainty do so from lack
of information and not from having accepted the "big lie" of the Holocaust
deniers.
Among adults and students, ignorance and denial decline with education and exposure to more sources of information. Support for teaching
about the Holocaust is widespread and formal schooling, Holocaust-related
contemporary events, and realistic, fictional portrayals decrease both ignoranee and anti-Semitism.
Factual knowledge of the Holocaust is important as (1) a basic requirement of historical competency, (2) an antidote to Holocaust denial, and
(3) a boost to knowing the lessons of and appreciating the relevancy of the
Holocaust.
Most accept the contemporary relevancy of the Holocaust and that it
provides important lessons for the present, but such acceptance is limited by
lack of knowledge about the Holocaust. Likewise, most believe that the Holocaust should be remembered, and those who oppose remembrance tend in
general to have negative attitudes toward Jews.
The Holocaust has proven such a powerful and horrific warning of the
consequences of bigotry and authoritarianism that neo-Nazis and antiSemites have tried to deny its truth. Their goal is assisted by the historical
ignorance of Americans, but few have swallowed the deniers' claims. While
uncertain of the details, most Americans see the Holocaust as an enduring
warning from the past, whose lessons should be taught and remembered.
Endnotes
I would like to thank the following individuals for supplying valuable information
and/or data: James Bason, University of Georgia, Katherine Bischoping, York
University, Kathleen Frankovic, CBS News, Alain Goldschlager, University of
Western Ontario, Edward Keller, the Roper Organization, Charles Miller, Lake
22
Forest College, David Moore, the Gallup Organization, Katherine Moschandreas,
Harvard Divinity School, Ina Mullis, Educational Testing Service, Harold
Quinley, Yankelovich and Partners, and Lydia Saad, the Gallup Organization. I
would also like to thank Patrick Bova, NORC, for on-line searches of media and
bibliographical databases.
1. No reputable historian questions the reality of the Holocaust and those
promoting Holocaust denial are overwhelmingly anti-Semites and/or neo-Nazis
(Lipstadt, 1993b; Vidal-Naquet, 1992; Weimann and Winn, 1986; Jaroff, 1993;
Reich, 1993; Shapiro, 1993; Ryback, 1993).
2. Comparing questions that asked about knowing what the Holocaust was
using "Yes/No" responses to questions about the Holocaust that required an openended explanation suggests that the former overestimate understanding of what the
Holocaust was by about 10-15 percentage points (Table 1). That is, some people
who say they know what the Holocaust was are either unable to articulate an accurate response or are mistaken in their understanding of the term (e.g., as referring
to nuclear war). However, people who do have at least a general understanding of
the term may reply that they don't know to the open-ended question because they
think their response will be inadequate or poorly expressed. This possibility is
borne out by the Bischoping study (1994), which finds that 83.5 percent could
correctly identify the Holocaust. This study gets higher scores for three reasons.
First, the kind of vague answers that were counted as inadequate in the Roper and
CBS studies (e.g., unspecific references to murders, disasters, etc.) were judged as
correct. Second, interviewers apparently probed initial responses, thereby allowing
those with vague responses to elaborate and to reduce don't-know responses.
Third, the Bischoping wording both supplied a small clue about what the Holocaust was ("We are interested in how people think about the past. The particular
event we are focusing on here is the Holocaust." [emphasis added]) and assumes
that the respondent can identity the Holocaust ("Would you tell me what you think
the Holocaust was?") as opposed to the Roper/CBS wording ("As far as you know,
what does the term 'the Holocaust' refer to?") which somewhat more encourages
don't-know responses. Thus the higher number of correct responses on the
Bischoping study is largely due to easier scoring and more interviewer probing.
In addition, Bischoping (in preliminary unpublished results) finds that an
additional 13 percent say they have heard of the Holocaust when the term is explained, making a total of 96.5 percent either correctly defining the Holocaust or
saying they had heard of the events when described to them.
This raises the possibility that don't knows are really substantially lower
than the 18-28 percent shown on the two AJC/Roper surveys. However, an analysis of the 1992 and 1994 AJC/Roper studies suggests that most people who replied
don't know to the open-ended question on what the Holocaust was in fact knew
little about the Holocaust. To the three factual questions on the Holocaust (number
killed, concentration camps, and symbol worn) two-thirds in both years gave no
correct answers and only 1-6 percent got all three correct. Similarly, only 4-7 percent correctly named either Gypsies or homosexuals as persecuted by the Nazis.
Similarly, Bischoping's preliminary assessment is that only 3.2 percent of the 13.0
percent who reported they had heard of the Holocaust after it was described to
23
them knew at least one of the four factual Holocaust items regarding the Warsaw
Ghetto, Eichmann, Anne Frank, or Dachau. This indicates that most of those who
said they did not know what the Holocaust was actually had very little knowledge
about it.
3. This item is somewhat problematic. First, in response to "name-all-thatapply" questions some people tend to mention only the minimum (e.g., one persecuted group) while others tend to be exhaustive (e.g., mentioning all possible
groups). Thus, not mentioning a group (e.g., homosexuals) does not clearly indicate that a person believes the group was not persecuted. Second, minimal vs.
maximal response styles are heightened by the fact that levels of persecution varied
widely across the listed groups. Thus people might not mention Poles because the
Nazis did not plan their systematic extermination or might not mention homosexuals because the absolute numbers involved were smaller compared to Jews.
4. A Princeton Survey Research Associates survey in April/May 1993 found
that 3 ].percent had heard a lot about the opening of the Holocaust Museum in
Washington D.C., 40 percent had heard something about it, 28 percent had never
heard of it, and 1 percent did not know. For public attitudes regarding the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum see Yankelovich et al., 1991, especially Part
II.
5. Gallup 3/94: Please tell me whether or not you have seen each of the following movies . . . Schindler's List? For each movie you haven't seen [The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, Remains of the Day, Schindler's List],
please tell me if you want to see that movie, or if you do not want to see it, or if you
have never heard of it.
6. Whittington (1990) argues that in general historical knowledge among
students has not changed much over the last sixty years. However, no long-term,
representative data on the Holocaust are apparently available from standardized,
student tests.
7. Since differences in survey procedures probably explain the lower British
score on defining the Holocaust, Americans probably are lowest on everything except naming Poles as victims of Nazism (Table 6, note a).
8. An alternative interpretation is that Americans are more poorly educated
and less knowledgeable about a range of historical and related matters. Evidence
on this point is sketchy. On two geographical identification scales the four countries ranked as follows: France 1st and 2nd; U.S. 2nd and 3rd; West Germany 4th
and 1st; and Britain 3rd and 4th (Gallup, 1988). On tests of science and environmental knowledge the ranks were Britain 1 st, U.S. 2nd, and Germany 3rd (France
not surveyed) (Smith, 1994c).
9. The measured level of knowledge about the Holocaust and other World
War II events is a function of both the substance and format of the questions. It is
greater for general questions dealing with major events and about what countries
fought on which side. Knowledge is weaker for questions dealing with geography,
numbers, specific titles and terms, and individuals.
Format also makes a difference. It is easier to correctly answer (a) multiplechoice questions than open-ended questions, (b) multiplechoice items with few alternatives than with many, and (c) multiplechoice items with unlikely incorrect al-
24
ternatives than with plausible, close-to-correct alternatives (Sudman and
Bradburn, 1982). The Holocaust and other World War II factual items use a wide
variety of formats and these explain some of the differences in scores across items.
On balance the two groups of items have a similar mix of formats and as such format does not create or explain differences between the two groups.
10. The subjective knowledge item on the Yankelovich survey shows a similar pattern.
11. More information on sources appears in the Yankelovich survey.
12. The reported increase in school as a source from which "you learned
about the Holocaust" is a bit hard to interpret. Most adults have not been in school
for many years. As a result, learning about the Holocaust from school for most
people would refer to exactly the same experiences in 1994 as in 1992. People
having no more schooling between 1992 and 1994 could not gain any new information from that source over that period. Furthermore younger adults (18-29),
which would include a fair number recently in school, show little increase in mentioning schools as a source (from 54 percent in 1992 to 56 percent in 1994). Perhaps the recent attention to the Holocaust in the media rekindled memories of history lessons on the Holocaust.
13. Since the two 1994 Gallup, the 1993 Bruskin, and the 1993 Roper surveys involve experimental, split-ballot administrations of alternative wordings to
random halves of the same survey, we know that the differences are due to wording and not to intersurvey differences in timing, context, sample, or other factors.
14. The analysis will suggest that most, if not all, of the difficulty with the
original question comes from its complex double negative. Comparatively little
confusion seems to emanate from its other questioned elements ("seems possible"
and "extermination"). We will refer to it as the double negative wording.
15. In addition, Moschandreas (1993, 1994) demonstrates how a double
negative can produce similarly high levels of apparent disbelief in the moon landing.
16. On order and context effects in general see Smith, 1991a, 1991b; and
Schuman and Presser, 1981.
17. Strictly speaking this item is also a double negative (AAPOR, 1994), although of a less confusing sort than the original. For this wording it appears that a
number of people who said "yes" meant "yes, it actually happened" rather than
"yes, I doubt that it actually happened."
18. On house effects in general and difference in don't knows in particular,
see Smith, 1978 and 1982.
19. Since none of the alternative wordings are replicated over time, trends
are uncertain.
20. A pattern also shown by Moschandreas, 1994.
21. Similarly in Canada 5 percent believe that the standard 6 million figure
is too low and 15 percent think it is too high (Weimann and Winn, 1986).
22. Gallup and Newport (1990) found that in 1990 only 27 percent of
Americans knew that the U.S. population was between 200 and 300 million, 26
percent thought it was less than 200 million (with 10 percent thinking it was less
than 10 million), 18 percent thought it was greater than 300 million (with 15 per-
25
cent putting it above a half billion), and 29 percent said they don't know.
23. The POW item is poorly worded ("Now a couple of questions on the
people who were missing in action in Vietnam. Do you think the North Vietnam
government returned all of our captured personnel after the war or do you think
several hundred prisoners were kept after the war ended and never returned to the
United States?"). It forces respondents to choose between all prisoners being returned and "several hundred" never returned. Many people may have selected the
second alternative because they rejected the first option rather than because they
favored the second (e.g., if they believed a few prisoners had not been returned).
24. There are five questions about lessons, one on being "not relevant" today, and one on importance of understanding the Holocaust. In both 1992 and
1994 they form two factors: (1) positive items consisting of lessons about standing
firm, speaking out, and standing by what one thinks and the separate item on importance of understanding and (2) negative items consisting of lessons about no
hope and power/morality and the separate item on the Holocaust being not relevant.
25. Yankelovich (1991) shows that people who say they are better informed
about the Holocaust also consider it more relevant and important.
26. Whether the German version of the original question is as confusing as
the American English is unknown.
27. Likewise the 1994 AJC survey in Germany found that 39 percent agreed
that "Jews are exploiting the National Socialist Holocaust for their own purposes"
(41 percent disagreed and 20 percent not sure) and that those who agreed tended
to give negative answers about Jews to other items (Smith, 1994b; Golub, 1994).
28. For a general review of anti-Semitism in the United States see Smith,
1994a. On issues relating to the Holocaust in the US and other countries, see
Golub and Cohen, 1993a, 1993b, 1994; and Golub, 1994.
29. The full connection between ignorance, denial, irrelevancy, anti-remembrance, and anti-Semitism is unknown since all of these elements have not been
investigated on the same survey.
References
AAPOR. 1994. "Controversies Over the Measurement and Reporting about Denial of the Holocaust." Discussion panel, American Association for Public
Opinion Research, Danvers, Mass., May. [Kathleen A. Frankovic (Chair),
Katherine Bischoping, Burns W. Roper, and Frank Newport.]
American Jewish Committee. 1981. "Americans Confront the Holocaust." International Journal of Political Education 4 (May): 5-19.
Bischoping, Katherine. 1993. "Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
in a Study of Knowledge about the Holocaust." Paper presented to the
American Association for Public Opinion Research, St. Charles, 111., May.
. 1994. "Knowledge about the Holocaust: Hidden Assumptions about
Measurement and Meaning." Paper presented to the American Association
for Public Opinion Research, Danvers, Mass., May.
26
Crespi, Irving. 1964. "Public Reaction to the Eichmann Trial." Public Opinion
Quarterly 28 (Spring): 91-103.
"Dealing with Holocaust-denial." 1993. Los Angeles Times, Apr. 22, p. B6.
Gallup, George Jr. 1990. "Americans Ignorant of Basic Census Facts." Gallup
Poll Monthly, March, pp. 2-5.
Gallup Organization. 1988. Geography: An International Gallup Survey. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Glock, Charles Y., Gertrude J. Selznick, and Joe L. Spaeth. 1966. The Apathetic
Majority: A Study Based on Public Responses to the Eichmann Trial. New
York: Harper & Row.
Golub, Jennifer. 1994. Current German Attitudes toward Jews and Other Minorities. Working Papers on Contemporary Anti-Semitism. New York: American Jewish Committee.
and Renae Cohen. 1993a. What Do Americans Know about the Holocaust? Working Papers on Contemporary Anti-Semitism. New York:
American Jewish Committee.
and
. 1993b. What Do the British Know about the Holocaust?
Working Papers on Contemporary Anti-Semitism. New York: American
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and
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29
Table 1
Knowledge of the Holocaust in Comparison to Other World War II
Events (Adult Samples, 1988-94)
(Items relating to the Holocaust in bold)
% heard/read/know
Heard/read about Pearl Harbor
Knew of/recognized Holocaust
Heard of Holocaust
Heard/read about atomic bombing of Japan
Know term "The Holocaust"
Know term "The Holocaust"
97
97
95
94
86
82
% correct
Hitler leader of Nazis
Identify Pearl Harbor
Germany was enemy
Winner of World War II
What the Holocaust was
Great Britain was ally
Japan was enemy
Nazis rose to power in Germany
Japan attacked US first
Identify December 7, 1941
Atomic bomb used against enemy
Atomic bomb first used against Japan
Meaning of term "the Holocaust"
Atomic bomb first used against Japan
Switzerland was not involved
Soviet Union was ally
Define term "The Holocaust"
Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were concentration camps
Soviet Union was ally
Sweden was not involved
Soviets had more casualties than US
Anne Frank's connection to the Holocaust
Soviet Union fought on America's side
Jews forced to wear yellow star
Dachau's connection to the Holocaust
Adolf Eichmann's connection to the Holocaust
Most American troops killed in World War II
German crossed Poland to invade Soviet Union
30
87-89
84
84
84
84
83
82
78-81
78
75
75
75
73
71
69
67
62-68
62-67
56
56
55
49
49
42-42
41
38
38
35
(cont'd.)
Table16(cont'd.)
Six million Jews killed in the Holocaust
Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe
D-Day was Normandy invasion
Warsaw ghetto's connection to the Holocaust
35-44
30
27
21
Question Wordings and Sources:
Heard/Read/Know:
Hart and Associates, 11/91: Do you personally remember, or have you read or heard about the
day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?
SRC, Summer/92: We are interested in how people think about the past. The particular event we
are focusing on here is the Holocaust. Would you tell me what you think the Holocaust was?
[83.5% gave a pertinent response and 13.0% said they had heard of the event when given a
definition for a total of 96.5% having heard of or recognizing the Holocaust.]
AP/Media General, 7/89: Have you heard of the Holocaust, or not?
Hart and Associates, 11/91: Do you personally remember, or have you read or heard about the
United States dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945?
Gallup, 1/94: Do you happen to know what the term "The Holocaust" refers to, or not? [Two
polls, reporting 82% and 86%.]
Correct:
Roper, 11/92 & 4/94: Who [Joseph Stalin/Adolph Hitler/Hirohito/Winston Churchill/Other]
was the leader of Nazis/Germany? [1992 listed first; 1994 second.]
Gallup, 11/91: As you may know, this December 7th marks the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Would you know specifically what happened 50 years ago, relating to Pearl Harbor?
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4-5/88: The next question is about World War II. I'm going to read
you a list of countries. Based on what you know or have learned about World War II, please tell
me if each country was an ally of the United States, an enemy, or if it was not really involved in
the war. How about... Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, the Soviet Union, Japan?
CBS, 1/94: Who won World War II? 84% figure excludes 15% who volunteered that no one
won the war. If these answers are kept in the base and counted as wrong, then the correct % is
71%.
SRC, Summer/92: We are interested in how people think about the past. The particular event we
are focusing on here is the Holocaust. Would you tell me what you think the Holocaust was?
Roper, 11/92 & 4/94: In which country [Belgium/France/Germany/Russia/Other] did the Nazis
first come to power?
CBS, 11/91: In World War II, did the United States attack Japan first or did Japan attack the
United States first?
Gallup, 11/91: This coming December 7th marks the 50th anniversary of a significant event in
American history which occurred on December 7, 1941. Would you happen to remember what
that event was?
(cont'd.)
31
Table11(cont'd.)
Gallup, 7/90: To your knowledge, has an atomic or nuclear weapon ever been used on an enemy in wartime, or not?
CBS, 1/94: Where was the first use of the atomic bomb against the enemy in World War II?
CBS, 1/94: As far as you know, what does the term "the Holocaust" refer to?
Gallup, 7/90: Where was it (the atomic or nuclear weapons used on an enemy in wartime) used?
Roper, 11/92 & 4/94: As far as you know, what does the term "the Holocaust" refer to?
Roper, 11/92 & 4/94: From what you know or have heard, what were Auschwitz, Dachau, and
Treblinka [Capitals of countries allied with Nazi Germany/Concentration camps/Battle sites of
the Second World War/Nazi slogans/Other]?
ABC/Washington Post: To the best of your knowledge, during World War II, was the Soviet
Union an ally of the United States or not?
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4-5/88: Please tell me whether you believe each one is true or not?
During World War II, the Soviet Union had far more casualties than the United States?
SRC, Summer/1992: Now I'm going to read some names and places associated with the Holocaust. For each one you've heard of in connection with the Holocaust, could you tell me what
the connection was? The first one is Adolf Eichmann. The next one is Dachau. And the last one
is Anne Frank.
CBS, 1/94: How about Russia? Was the United States fighting on the same side as Russia in
World War II, was the U.S. fighting against Russia, or wasn't Russia involved in World War II?
Roper, 11/92 & 4/92: Many Jews in Europe were forced to wear a symbol on their clothes during the Second World War. What was it [A swastika/Hammer and sickle/A yellow star/A red
cross/Other]?
Gallup, 3/90: In which of these wars [World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War]
do you think the greatest number of American troops lost their lives?
Gallup, 4/88: On this card are listed many, though by no means all, of the countries in the
world. Countries in some part of the world are listed together to help you find the name of the
one you are looking for. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the card—you will need to
refer to it to answer the following questions. Which country did German troops have to cross
through before invading the Soviet Union during World War II? [Lists 26 countries in Europe
and 8 in Eastern Europe.]
Roper, 11/92 & 4/12: Approximately how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust? [25,000/
100,000/1 million/2 million/6 million/20 million]
CBS, 1/94: Who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe—the countries
that fought with the U.S. in World War II?
CBS, 1/94: As far as you know, what does the term "D-Day" refer to?
32
Table 2
Meaning of the Term "the Holocaust" (Adults)
Roper
1992
CBS
1994
Roper
1994
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
24.7%
29.7
7.1
34.9%
31.4
7.2
24.1%
35.0
9.2
Subtotal
61.5
73.5
68.3
Not correct
General
Don't know
10.6
27.8
8.0
18.4
12.8
18.9
Note: Complete = mentions all key elements: (a) the persecution, extermination, killing, etc. of
(b) Jews by (c) Germany, Nazis, Hitler, etc.; Partial = omits explicit mentions to Germany, etc.;
Relevant = mentions of (a) death or concentration camps or (b) Germany, Nazis, Hitler, etc. or
(c) World War II, 1940s; General = mentions of (a) death/murder/ slaughter or (b) destruction/
disaster/tragedy without any specifics or (c) nuclear war/war or (d) other uncoded responses.
33
Table 3
Knowledge of Holocaust Facts (Adults)
Roper
1992
Roper
1994
(Correct answers in bold)
A. Specific Items
1. Country in which Nazis first came to power
Belgium
France
Germany
Russia
Other
Don't know
0.9%
0.7
77.8
3.5
1.2
15.2
1.3‫׳‬
1.1
81.1
1.8
0.9
13.7
1.8
86.7
1.0
0.1
0.1
10.2
0.8
89.1
0.5
0.0
0.0
9.6
0.8
3.6
7.1
13.4
35.2
9.7
0.1
30.1
1.1
4.6
6.4
9.3
44.1
6.7
0.2
27.6
4.6
62.3
1.6
2.2
0.2
2.4
26.7
1.4
66.8
1.1
1.3
0.5
0.8
28.1
(cont'd.)
2. Leader of Nazi Germany
Joseph Stalin
Adolph Hitler
Hirohito
Winston Churchill
Other
Don't know
3. Number of Jews killed in Holocaust
25,000
100,000
1 million
2 million
6 million
20 million
None (Vol.)
Don't know
4. Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were...
Capital of countries allied with Nazi Germany
Concentration camps
Battle sites of the Second World War
Nazi slogans
Other
None of the above (Vol.)
Don't know
34
Table11(cont'd.)
5. Symbols worn by Jews
22.1
3.9
41.8
2.6
2.0
27.6
20.3
2.2
42.2
1.3
1.3
32.6
None
1
2
3
4
5
9.7
7.3
18.5
22.5
22.2
19.9
7.3
6.0
15.3
22.4
25.3
23.6
Mean
3.0
3.2
25.9
50.4
24.6
7.2
26.8
46.7
26.1
4.1
2.6
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.5
3.1
30.1
2.5
0.5
0.9
1.1
0.2
2.8
33.8
None
1
2
3
4
5
6
37.7
38.1
9.6
13.9
0.7
0.1
0.0
39.2
34.3
12.7
12.7
1.1
0.0
0.0
Mean
1.0
1.0
A swastika
Hammer and sickle
A yellow star
A red cross
Other
Don't know
B. Number correct on five-item scale
C. Mentions of other groups persecuted by Nazis"
Gypsies
Poles
Homosexuals
Aryans
Others:
Other, unlisted (vol.)
Disabled (vol.)
Blacks (vol.)
Catholics (vol.)
Traitors, opponents (vol.)
None, no one
Don't know
Number of correct mentions b
35
Table11(cont'd.)
""In addition to the Jews, which of the following groups, if any, were persecuted by the Nazis?" [Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, Aryans, Others] Percentages add to more that 100 percent
because of multiple mentions.
1,
Answers of Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, the disabled, blacks, and Catholics were counted
as correct. The other, unlisted group may have additional correct answers, but this is unknowable. Catholics as a group were not persecuted (as Jews, Gypsies, etc. were), but some Catholic
leaders were. As defined by the Nazis, "traitors" and "opponents" were persecuted, but this category was used by some respondents to challenge the idea that the Nazis persecuted groups.
36
Table 4
Knowledge of the Holocaust in Comparative Perspective (American
High School Juniors)
% correct
1986 1988
(Item relating to the Holocaust in bold)
World War II
Adolf Hitler was leader of Germany during
World War II
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led US into
World War II
US dropped first atomic bomb on Japan in
World War II
Churchill was prime minister of Great Britain in
World War II
Women worked in factories during World War II
Nazi decimation of Jewish people in Europe
called the Holocaust
Germany and Japan were main US enemies in
World War II
World War II ended between 1943-1947
US policy after World War II was to provide aid
to Europe
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor between 1939-1943
World War II was between 1900-1950
Japanese-Americans were forced into camps during
World War II
Stalin was leader of the Soviet Union during
World War II
Franklin Roosevelt was president between 1929-1946
US dropped first atomic bomb between 1943-1947
D-Day occurred between 1943-1947
The United Nations founded between 1943-1947
Average
87.4
88.5
80.0
79.9
78.1
77.3
79.5
—
75.8
75.3
70.7
70.7
72.8
69.9
67.2
60.0
57.3
57.3
49.1
55.2
53.6
53.6
52.0
48.6
39.5
25.9
54.0
52.4
45.0
36.7
25.7
63.5
58.4
87.5
83.9
83.8
....
....
Civil Rights
The Underground Railroad was secret network to
help slaves escape
Ku Klux Klan used violence to oppose minorities
Harriet Tubman was leader in helping slaves escape
89.2
84.3
(con,
37
Table11(cont'd.)
Guarantee of free speech and religion found in the
Bill of Rights
Nazi decimation of Jewish people in Europe
called the Holocaust
Civil rights movement of 1960s focused on equality
for minorities
Indians were put on reservations after the Civil
War
Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation
Brown decision of 1954 ruled school desegregation
unconstitutional
Plessy vs. Ferguson decision approved racial
segregation
Booker T. Washington was major black leader before
World War I
Japanese-Americans were forced into camps during
World War II
Before Civil War, nation debated spread of slavery
Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to prominence in
Montgomery bus boycott
Missouri Compromise admitted Maine as free,
Missouri as slave state
Dred Scott decision: slave who moved to free state was
nor free
Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the
Confederacy
"Three-fifths" compromise in Constitution defined
status of slaves
Scopes trial was about teaching evolution
Religious toleration in colonies due to common
interest of many groups
Purpose of Jim Crow laws was to enforce racial
segregation
Average
81.3
83.3
75.8
75.3
71.7
72.8
70.5
68.0
75.4
63.7
67.9
61.4
64.6
57.1
51.4
55.2
51.6
—
53.6
—
48.9
45.1
43.0
41.5
39.5
41.5
38.2
36.8
37.7
37.2
....
36.0
38.0
30.7
34.0
58.2
58.4
39.0
Source: 1986 National Assessment of History, n = 7,812, see Ravitch and Finn, 1987; and 1988
National Assessment of History, n = 2,349, see Hammack et al., 1990.
38
Table 5
Meaning of the Term "the Holocaust" (Students)
Roper
1992
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
15.3
25.1
7.9
Subtotal
48.3
Not Correct
General
Don't know
12.9
38.8
Note: Complete = mentions all key elements: (a) the persecution, extermination, killing, etc. of
(b) Jews by (c) Germany, Nazis, Hitler, etc.; Partial = omits explicit mentions of Germany, etc.;
Relevant = mentions of (a) death or concentration camps or (b) Germany, Nazis, Hitler, etc. or
(c) World War II, 1940s; General = mentions of (a) death/murder/slaughter or (b) destruction/
disaster/tragedy without any specifics or (c) nuclear war/war or (d) other uncoded responses.
39
Table 6
Knowledge of Holocaust Facts (Students)
Roper
1992
(Correct answers in bold)
A. Specific items
1. Country in which Nazis first came to power
Belgium
France
Germany
Russia
Other
Don't know
1.2
1.2
76.3
3.0
0.2
18.0
2. Leader of Nazi Germany
Joseph Stalin
Adolph Hitler
Hirohito
Winston Churchill
Other
Don't know
1.2
83.2
1.0
0.7
0.0
13.8
3. Number of Jews killed in Holocaust
25,000
100,000
1 million
2 million
6 million
20 million
None (vol.)
Don't know
1.7
4.9
9.1
11.3
28.1
12.2
0.4
32.3
4. Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka were . . .
Capital of countries allied
with Nazi Germany
Concentration camps
Battle sites of the Second World
War
Nazi slogans
Other
4.0
48.3
3.7
4.4
0.0
(cont'd.)
40
Table16(cont'd.)
None of the above (vol.)
Don't know
1.5
38.1
5. Symbols worn by Jews
A swastika
Hammer and sickle
A yellow star
A red cross
Other
Don't know
20.6
2.1
41.8
4.1
0.8
30.6
B. Number correct of five-item scale
None
1 9.2
2 20.3
3 22.2
4 24.0
5 13.1
Mean
11.2
2.8
C. Mentions of other groups persecuted by Nazis'
Gypsies
Poles
Homosexuals
Aryans
Others:
Other, unlisted (vol.)
Disabled (vol.)
Blacks (vol.)
Catholics (vol.)
Traitors, opponents (vol.)
None, no one
Don't know
Number of correct mentions b
None
1
2
3
4
5
6
Mean
19.8
30.6
20.0
7.7
2.8
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.2
3.5
40.5
50.0
35.9
7.4
6.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.7
(cont'd.)
41
Table11(cont'd.)
""In addition to the Jews, which of the following groups, if any, were persecuted by the Nazis?" [Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals, Aryans, Others] Percentages add to more that 100 because
of multiple mentions.
b
Answers of Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, the disabled, blacks, and Catholics were counted
as correct. The other, unlisted group may have additional correct answers, but this is unknowable. Catholics as a group were not persecuted (like Jews, Gypsies, etc. were), but some Catholie leaders were. As defined by the Nazis "traitors" and "opponents" were persecuted, but this
category was used by some respondents to challenge the idea that the Nazis persecuted groups.
42
Table 7
Articles on the Holocaust9
Number
1/90-6/90
7/90-12/90
1/91-6/91
7/91-12/91
1/92-6/92
7/92-12/92
1/93-6/93
7/93-12/93
1/94-6/94
1,271
922
978
1,162
1,315
1,410
1,437
1,629
1,746'
Daily average
per paper11
0.96
0.70
0.74
0.88
1.00
1.07
1.09
1.24
1.32
"A full-text search was carried out of the major newspaper group on DIALOG by Patrick
Bova, NORC librarian. The major newspaper group covers the following papers: Washington
Post, Detroit Free Press, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, USA Today, Christian Science
Monitor, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Cleveland Plain Dealer. The search was for articles
that included: (1) "Holocaust" and not "nuclear" and (2) "Nazi" or "Jew" or (3) "German" and
"concentration camp(s)" or "death camp(s)" or (4) "Auschwitz" or "Dachau" or "Treblinka."
This search yielded 12,623 articles for the period 1990 to mid-June 1994. This is an average of
0.79 articles per paper per day or about an article every 1.3 days.
To detect false hits a sample of eighty-four articles was inspected. This identified six artides that did not refer to the Holocaust during World War II (three about Serbia and Bosnia,
one about the Bataan death march, and two on other topics). This means that an estimated 7.1%
of the identified hits were extraneous. Conversely the search missed other articles that referred
to the Holocaust without using the key words utilized in our search (e.g., mentions of Nazi
atrocities, other specific concentration camps, Kristallnacht). There is no way to estimate such
misses, but they might be substantial. For example, a search for Schindler's List turned up
2,197 articles of which only 1,072 or 48.8% were also part of the Holocaust search mentioned
above.
Since the sample of eighty-four articles did not indicate that the rate of false hits varied
over time, we multiplied the number of articles by .929 to come up with estimates of the minimal number of articles that referred to the Holocaust during each time period.
"1990-94 average = 1.0.
'Estimate based on 1,724 articles found through mid-June.
43
Table 8
Knowledge of the Holocaust by Country
> correct
America
Britain
France
Germany
A. Meaning of the term
"the Holocaust"
% complete
% correct
24
61
33
56'
35
68
59
87
35
62
42
41
76
56"
45
90
88
36
92
91
50
26
25
63
51
51
52
57
33
43
74
68
B. Factual items
Six million killed
Concentration camps b
Jews wore yellow star0
C. Mentioned persecution of
Poles
Gypsies
Homosexuals
Sources: Data from Golub and Cohen, 1993a, 1993b, 1994; Golub, 1994.
"A very large number (30%) were coded as giving only general responses. This probably results from different coding rules, less probing, and/or some other variation in procedures.
1,
Open-ended questions in Britain and Germany.
'Open-ended questions in Britain and Germany.
•1Includes 9% who mentioned star of David.
44
Table 9
Expressed Knowledge about Historical Events
Here are some historical events from this century. For each, please tell me how much you
know about it—a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or nothing?
Great
deal
The Vietnam War
The Holocaust
The Great Depression
The American civil
rights movement
The Russian Revolution
Fair
amount
Only a
little
Nothing
35%
27%
25%
40
36
35
20
26
34
5
11
6
23%
6%
36
17
33
47
8
30
(885)
Source: Yankelovich, Skelly & White/Clancy Shulman for Anti-Defamation League, 11/1990.
45
Table 10
Sources of Knowledge about the Holocaust
Adults
Students
Roper
1992
Roper
1994
Roper
1992
1.9%
50.1
24.5
42.7%
58.0
33.1
32.8%
32.7
15.6
30.7
36.7
10.1
20.5
35.3
48.3
14.5
26.0
12.9
59.2
4.7
12.8
2.0
0.8
0.6
6.1
2.2
5.4
3.6
1.8
4.2
10.4
5.5
8.8
14.2
30.5
1.0
15.3
7.3
5.0
2.8
3.4
0.3
9.6
28.4
18.1
16.8
8.0
7.7
5.4
5.7
0.3
22.3
34.2
18.4
11.4
7.0
3.3
2.7
0.6
0.2
A. Specific sources:
Books4
Television
The movies
Newspapers and
magazine articles
School
Churches/synagogues
People I know
Other
This is first time I've
heard of the Holocaust
None (vol.)
Don't know
B. Number of sources
0, none
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
46
Table 11
Holocaust Denial Questions
A. [As you know] the term Holocaust usually refers to the killing of millions of Jews in Nazi
death camps during World War II. Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that
the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened?
Roper"
11/92
Possible
Impossible
Unsure, don't know, etc.
Gallup'
1/941
Gallup"
1/94II
22.1%
65.4
12.4
36.8%
58.2
5.0
32.7%
64.8
2.5
(992)
(511)
(482)
"Omits introductory sentence.
"As you know" read for those who had replied "Yes" to the prior question "Do you
happen to know what the term "The Holocaust' refers to, or not?"
b
B. The Holocaust is a term used to describe the extermination of the Jews in World War Two.
Some people have said it is possible that it never actually happened. Does it seem possible or
does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened?
Seems possible it never happened
Seems impossible
Don't know
Bruskin
4-5/93
Roper
5/93
35.0%
62.2
2.8
46%
48
6
(511)
(997)
C. The Holocaust is the term used to describe the extermination of the Jews in World War Two.
Some people have said it is possible that it never actually happened. In your own mind, are you
certain that the Nazi extermination of the Jews happened, or does it seem possible to you that it
never happened?
Bruskin
4-5/93
Certain it happened
Possible it never happened
Don't know
93.2%
3.7
3.7
(500)
(cont'd.)
47
Table 16 (cont'd.)
D. The Holocaust is a term used to describe the extermination of the Jews in World War Two.
Some people have said it is possible that it never actually happened. Does it seem certain that
the Nazi extermination of the Jews happened, or does it seem possible that it never happened?
Roper
5/93
Certain it happened
Possible it never happened
Don't know
89%
3
8
(1007)
E. As you may know, the term "the Holocaust" refers to the Nazi extermination of millions of
Jews during the Second World War. Do you think the Nazi extermination of millions [of] Jews
actually took place, or not?
CBS
1/94
Yes, took place
Yes, took place, but not millions (vol.)
Probably/might have happened (vol.)
No, did not take place
Don't know, etc.
89.5%
0.9
2.4
2.5
4.7
(1210)
F. [As you know]' the term Holocaust usually refers to the killing of millions of Jews in Nazi
death camps during World War II. In your opinion, did the Holocaust definitely happen, probably happen, probably not happen, or definitely not happen?
Gallup
1/941
Definitely happened
Probably happened
Probably did not happen
Definitely did not happen
Don't know, etc.
83.09i
13.6
1.6
0.7
1.2
(511)
"As you know" read for those who had replied "Yes" to the prior question "Do you happen to
know what the term 'The Holocaust' refers to, or not?"
c
(cont'd.)
48
Table 11 (cont'd.)
G. Just to clarify, in your opinion, did the Holocaust definitely happen, probably happen, probably not happen, or definitely not happen?
Gallup 1/94II
Definitely happened
Probably happened
Probably did not happen
Definitely did not happen
Don't know, etc.
After "Roper"
item
After "doubt"
item
80.6%
16.6
1.4
0.6
0.8
77.8%
17.2
2.2
0.1
2.7
(482)
(528)
H. [As you know]11 the term Holocaust usually refers to the killing of millions of Jews in Nazi
death camps during World War II. Do you doubt that the Holocaust actually happened, or not?
Gallup
1/94II
Yes, doubt it happened
No, don't doubt it happened
Unsure, etc.
8.8%
87.0
4.2
(528)
d
"As you know" read for those who had replied "Yes" to the prior question "Do you happen to
know what the term 'The Holocaust' refers to, or not?"
I. Does it seem possible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened, or do
you feel certain that it happened?
Roper
4/94
Possible it never happened
Feel certain it happened
Don't know
1.1%
91.2
7.7
(991)
49
Table 12
Summary of Holocaust Denial Questions
Survey/Date
Doubters
Roper 5/93
Gallup 1/941
Bruskin 4-5/93
Gallup 1/94II
Roper 11/92
Gallup 1/94II
Bruskin 4-5/93
Roper 5/93
CBS 1/94
Gallup 1/941
Gallup 1/94II
Gallup 1/94II
Roper 3/94
46.%
36.8
35.0
32.7
22.1
8.8
3.7
3.
2.5-3.4
2.3
2.3
2.0
1.1
Doubters
+ DKs
52.%
41.8
37.8
35.2
34.5
13.0
7.4
11.
7.2-8.l b
3.5 ‫־‬
5.0
2.8
8.8
Method
Sample
size
Wording"
Personal
Phone
Phone
Phone
Personal
Phone
Phone
Personal
Phone
Phone
Phone
Phone
Personal
997
513
511
482
992
528
500
1,007
1,210
511
528
482
991
DN-B
DN-A
DN-B
DN-A
DN-A
A-H
A-C
A-D
A-E
A-F
A-G
A-G
A-I
"DN = double negative; A = alternative. Letters after dash reference items listed in
Table 11.
b
Range is accounted for by 0.9% coded in the unread category "Yes, took place, but
not millions."
50
Table 13
Knowledge about the Holocaust and Holocaust Denial
Definitely
happened
Didn't occur
+ unsure
A. Gallup 1/941
Knows what Holocaust was
Doesn't know
90.0%
37.4
0.5%
22.7
B. Gallup 1/94II
Knows what Holocaust was
Doesn't know
88.9
33.9
0.6
20.6
Certain it
happened
Not certain
+ don't know
C. Roper 4/94
Holocaust explanation
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
Subtotal
Not correct
General
Don't know
98.6%
100.0
98.0
98.6
1.4%
0.0
2.0
1.4
88.3
61.4
11.7
38.6
30.6
71.2
92.7
98.3
99.6
98.4
69.4
28.8
7.3
1.7
0.4
1.6
Number of factual answers correct
0
1
2
3
4
5
(cont'd.)
51
Table 11 (cont'd.)
Took
place
Did not take
place + don't know
D. CBS 1/94
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
Subtotal
95.6%
96.0
95.5
95.7
Not correct
General
Don't know
87.6
65.1
52
2.7%
2.7
4.5
2.9
9.3
34.1
Table 14
Awareness of Holocaust Denial
A. Some people claim that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened. Have you ever
heard this claim, or not?
Roper
Roper
1992
1994
Yes
No
Don't know
38%
54
8
49%
47
7
14
59
5
37
4
2
14
12
2
2
5
9
71
5
35
6
2
15
10
3
1
4
IF YES: Where did you hear this?
Books
Television
The movies
Newspaper and magazine articles
School
Churches/synagogues
People I know
From neo-Nazi groups
Radio
Other
Don't know
B. By country (% aware of denial claims)
United States (1992)
United States (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
Germany (1994)
38
49
50
67
60
53
Table 15
The Holocaust in Historical Perspective
Yankelovich (1991): Here are some historical events that have occurred throughout history.
For each event, I would like you to rate its historical significance on a five point scale where S
means the event was one of the most significant events in history and 1 means the event was not
significant.
Not
5
4
3
2
1
sure
Mean
Slavery in America
The Holocaust
American treatment
of Indians or
Native Americans
Apartheid in South
Africa
Khmer Rouge treatment of the Cambodian people
61%
55%
17
18
10
11
4
5
5
8
3
3
4.3
4.1
36%
22
24
7
8
3
3.8
29%
19
23
12
10
7
3.5
17%
17
25
15
13
13
3.1
If you had to choose, which one of these would you say was the worst tragedy in history.
The Holocaust
Slavery in America
American treatment of Indians or
Native Americans
Apartheid in South Africa
Khmer Rouge treatment of the
Cambodian people
All of them
None of them
Not sure
54
51%
22
12
2
2
7
1
1
Table 16
Contemporary Relevancy of the Holocaust by Country
A. Four countries
Please tell me whether you strongly agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or strongly disagree:
The Holocaust is not relevant today because it happened almost 50 years ago.
Strongly
agree
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
Germany (1994)
8%
8%
5%
8%
11%
Mostly
agree
13
13
13
12
26
Mostly
disagree
17
17
20
15
33
Strongly
disagree
46
48
53
64
20
DK/NA
15
14
9
1
10
In your view, how important is it for [Germans/the French/the British/all Americans] to know
about and understand the Holocaust—is it essential, very important, only somewhat important,
or not important?
Very
Only
Not
Essenimporsomewhat
importial
tant
important
tant
DK/NA
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
Germany (1994)
33%
39%
33%
45%
18%
39
37
39
43
50
13
12
20
11
19
2
2
4
1
7
13
11
4
0
7
(cont'd.)
55
Table 11 (cont'd.)
B. Three countries (without Germany)
For each of the following, Please tell me if you think it is a lesson to be learned from the
Holocaust or n o t . . .
Yes
No
DK
Firm steps need to be
taken to protect the
rights of minorities.
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
83%
76%
89%
87%
6
13
3
10
11
10
8
3
21%
18%
34%
38%
67
73
51
57
13
9
15
5
84%
81%
92%
92%
4
9
2
6
12
10
6
2
29%
22%
29%
57%
55
66
48
35
16
13
23
8
There is no hope for
the human race.
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
People must speak out
against oppression so
that another Holocaust
will not happen.
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
In relations between people
and countries, what counts is
power and not morality.
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
(cont'd.)
56
Table 16 (cont'd.)
It is important to stand
by what we think is right
instead of going along with
everyone else.
US (1992)
US (1994)
Britain (1993)
France (1993)
4
7
1
18
85%
84%
94%
76%
11
9
5
6
C. Germany only
With the opening of a new chapter in German history, 45 years after the end of the Second
World War, it is time to put the memory of the Holocaust behind us.
1990
Agree strongly
Agree somewhat
Disagree somewhat
Disagree strongly
DK/NA
30%
28
20
14
8
Recently someone said, "Today, in the aftermath of German unification, we should not talk so
much about the Holocaust, but should rather draw a line under the past." Would you say this is
correct or incorrect?
1994
Correct
Incorrect
DK/NA
52%
34
14
D. United States only
Yankelovich (1991): In your view, how much relevance do the lessons of the Holocaust have
for the way Americans face moral choices today?
A great deal
A fair amount
Only a little
No relevance at all
Not sure
26%
38
26
6
4
(cont'd.)
57
Table 16 (cont'd.)
And how much relevance do you think the lessons of the Holocaust have for American policy
makers when they make decisions regarding human rights policy?
A great deal
A fair amount
Only a little
No relevance at all
Not sure
20%
34
34
7
5
Yankelovich (1991): In your view, how important is it for all Americans to know about and
understand the Holocaust—is it essential, very important, only somewhat important, or not
important?
Essential
Very important
Only somewhat important
Not important
Not sure
28%
48
19
3
2
Yankelovich (1991): Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree:
The Holocaust is a reminder that human rights and values are easily threatened.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Not sure
30%
59
8
1
2
All people, not only Jews, should be concerned about the Holocaust.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Not sure
27%
63
8
1
1
The Holocaust is not relevant to America because it happened in Europe.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Not sure
2%
12
58
25
2
(cont'd.)
58
Table 11 (cont'd.)
The Holocaust is not relevant today because it happened almost SO years ago.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Not sure
7%
21
47
23
2
59
Table 17
Holocaust Knowledge and Denial by Contemporary Relevancy
A. Knowledge of what Holocaust was
Strongly
disagree,
not relevant
Essential
Lesson:
firm
steps
Lesson:
speak
out
Lesson:
stand
by
Roper 1992
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
59.7%
44.3
48.6
44.2%
29.5
47.1
90.3%
86.9
97.1
94.4%
83.6
92.9
93.3%
93.4
95.7
Not correct
General
Don't know
35.7
20.4
26.2
10.2
85.7
62.3
95.2
58.5
95.2
62.0
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
59.6
46.2
48.3
48.3
39.8
36.7
84.2
83.3
66.9
88.7
92.3
76.3
91.2
85.0
86.7
Not correct
General
Don't know
42.5
12.8
22.7
10.6
68.7
51.6
77.3
53.7
86.4
58.5
Roper 1994
CBS 1994
Should be taught
Correct
Complete
Partial
Relevant
77.4%
73.9
74.3
Not correct
General
Don't know
70.5
60.4
(cont'd.)
60
Table 11 (cont'd.)
B. Number of correct answers to factual items
Strongly
disagree,
not relevant
Essential
Lesson:
firm
steps
Lesson:
speak
out
Lesson:
stand
by
5.2%
20.8
32.1
44.4
58.2
74.7
2.1%
11.1
17.4
30.9
46.4
58.1
37.5%
77.8
82.1
90.1
88.2
90.9
31.3%
77.8
79.3
90.1
92.7
96.5
37.5?
76.4
82.6
90.6
92.7
96.5
5.3
14.1
33.4
44.8
64.0
65.8
4.2
11.1
25.2
35.7
49.0
57.5
28.5
57.7
77.4
84.4
83.8
80.2
20.1
63.1
86.0
87.9
90.4
85.5
30.2
64.5
86.8
89.3
92.9
89.8
Roper 1992
0
1
2
3
4
5
Roper 1994
0
1
2
3
4
5
C. Denial of Holocaust
Roper 1994
Didn't happen
Don't know
Happened
(43.4)%
2.7
52.0
(34.9)%
2.7
41.9
(54.5)%
33.9
80.3
(62.3)%
28.7
85.9
(54.5)%*
37.0
88.5
CBS 1994
Should be taught
Took place
Exaggerated
Probably/might
Don't know
75.9%
(36.8)'
43.6
30.5
'Based on only 11 cases.
61
Appendix
Survey Data
Questions on Holocaust denial and/or ignorance have been asked in nine national samples of
the adult population of the United States and in three student samples (Table Al). Data files
were available from (1) the 1992 and 1994 adult samples and the 1992 student sample by
AJC/Roper, (2) the two 1994 Gallup surveys, and (3) the 1994 CBS survey. Unpublished data
runs were provided by Roper for the Bruskin and 1993 Roper surveys and by Yankelovich for
the ADL/Yankelovich survey. Results from the SRC study were supplied by Katherine
Bischoping. Results from the 19S6 and 1988 National Assessments of History are published in
Ravitch and Finn, 1987, and Hammack et al., 1990.
Data on the representativeness of the adult samples are presented in Table A2. In general
these seem to be adequately representative samples of adults living in the United States
although sampling information and demographic data are incomplete in some cases.
International data have been collected under the auspices of the AJC in Britain, France,
and Germany and are reported on in Golub and Cohen, 1993a, 1993b; and Golub, 1994.
Other survey data are referenced in the text.
62
Table A-l
Surveys with Holocaust Questions
Date
Survey
organization
A. Adults
11/1990
11/1992
4-5/1993
5/1993
1/1994
1/19941
1/1994II
Sum./1992
4/1994
Yankelovich
Roper
Bruskin
Roper
CBS
Gallup
Gallup
SRC
Roper
ADL
AJC
Roper
B. Students
1986
1988
11/1992
ETS
ETS
Roper
Survey"
sponsor
Sample
size
Method
AJC
885
993
1,011
2,004
1,210
1,023
1,010
487
991
Telephone
Personal
Telephone
Personal
Telephone
Telephone
Telephone
Telephone
Personal
NAEP
NAEP
AJC
7,812
2,349
506
Written test
Written test
Personal
...
...
...
...
...
Note: ADL = Anti-Defamation League; SRC = Survey Research Center, University of
Michigan; ETS = Educational Testing Service; NAEP = National Assessment of Educational
Progress.
*Questions asked without an external sponsor are indicated by three dashes (—).
63
Table A-2
Representativeness of Holocaust Surveys
Male
Black
Less than
high school
Age
18-34
A. Reference surveys
Current Population Survey, 1991
General Social Surveys, 1990-93
(Households with phones only)
47.9%
11.3%
20.6%
37.2%.
46.6
11.2
19.1
35.8
Yankelovich 11/1990 (phone)
Weighted (probably)
48
11
18
38
Roper 11/1992 (personal)
Weighted
Unweighted
47.5
48.0
11.1
14.6
19.0
20.0
36.4
32.1
Bruskin 4-5/1993 (phone)
Weighted
Unweighted
46.8
48.1
NA
NA
NA
NA
36.8
37.0
Roper 5/1993 (personal)
Weighted
Unweighted
47.5
47.2
11.4
11.4
19.6
20.0
NA
NA
CBS 1/1994 (phone)
Weighted
Unweighted
48.1
46.6
11.9
8.0
16.2
10.4
36.6
31.5
Gallup 1/19941 (phone)
Weighted
Unweighted
48.0
50.3
9.7
7.7
15.2
9.4
34.0
33.7
Gallup 1/1994II (phone)
Weighted
Unweighted
47.6
50.6
10.0
8.2
15.9
8.7
32.7
29.4
Roper 4/1994 (personal)
Weighted
Unweighted
47.6
418
9.4
9A
16.9
1^8
34.6
35.0
B. Holocaust surveys
Note: % with less than a high school education is based on the population ages 25+ for the
CPS, GSS, Gallup, 1992 and 1994 Roper, and CBS surveys. The education figures for rest of
the surveys are are based on the population 18+ as are all figures for gender, age, and race.
NA = not available.
64
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