New polling data published by YouGov and the Economist on December 7th revealed a shocking discovery: More and more young Americans believe that the Holocaust of the Jewish people perpetrated by Nazi Germany during the Second World War is a myth.
One-fifth of young Americans believe Holocaust is a myth. According to the polling results, young Americans hold more anti-Jewish sentiment than any other group. https://t.co/rR57gddsRP
— Howard Lovy (@Howard_Lovy) December 11, 2023
The poll surveyed 1,500 adults in the United States and asked respondents about their thoughts on a wide range of issues, such as the Jewish people, Israel, and the Holocaust. It also recorded how the respondents answered the questions based on age, gender, race, income level, and political affiliation.
Of the various categories that revealed the most striking differences between the demographic groups the poll surveyed, the most surprising was regarding belief among the age groups, especially about the Holocaust.
Nearly three-fourths (72%) of the respondents said that Jews in the United States face “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of discrimination in America today. But this number fell to 61% among respondents within the youngest age bracket (18-29).
One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, according to our new polling https://t.co/bO1p43uUAF ⬇️
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 11, 2023
The exact age bracket was on par with the general sentiment regarding discrimination against Muslims in the United States, as 72% of the respondents aged 18 to 29 years old said Muslims face “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of discrimination in the United States today, similar to 73% of the overall population who said the same.
When asked how serious of a problem hate crimes against Jews in the US are, almost two-thirds, or 65%, of the respondents said that it was “very serious” or “somewhat serious.” In contrast, only 56% of the youngest cohort answered likewise.
In response to the question of how serious a problem antisemitism is in the US, the younger generation was closer to being in step with the general population than other cohorts. Around 63% of all respondents believed it was a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” problem, while 60% of the youngest respondents agreed.
One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, according to our new polling https://t.co/bO1p43uUAF ⬇️
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 11, 2023
Showing a significant increase, 64% of Americans aged 18-29 years old said that discrimination against Muslims was a “very serious” or a “somewhat serious” problem, compared to only 56% of the aggregated total.
Regarding whether opposing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians was antisemitic, most respondents said it was either not antisemitic (around 40%) or were not sure (40%). A further 30% said it was not antisemitic to boycott Israeli products in protest of the Israeli government policy, while 33% said it was, and the remaining 37% said they were not sure.
One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, according to our new polling https://t.co/bO1p43uUAF ⬇️
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 11, 2023
In addition, less than half (46%) of Americans aged 18-29 agree that it’s antisemitic to deny that the Holocaust happened, while 17% said it was not. The rest were unsure, compared to 67% of the general population who said it was antisemitic to deny the Holocaust and 9% who said it wasn’t.
However, there was one area that was reversed, where the youngest age bracket was slightly more likely than the aggregated total (38% to 34%) to believe that it was antisemitic to accuse American Jews of being more loyal to Israel than they are to the US.
One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, according to our new polling https://t.co/bO1p43uUAF ⬇️
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 11, 2023
But in a subsection titled “Agreement with Statements about Israel,” while 7% of the total population said that the Holocaust was a myth, almost three times as many of the respondents aged 18-29 years old, or 20% of them, said the same thing.
Compared to more than 77% of the general population who disagreed with the statement “the Holocaust is a myth,” only a little more than half (51%) of the youngest age bracket answered likewise, while slightly larger proportions of the general population and 18-29-year-old bracket (9% and 23% respectively) said they believed the Holocaust was exaggerated.
One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, according to our new polling https://t.co/bO1p43uUAF ⬇️
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 11, 2023
The youngest age bracket was also more likely than the general population to answer affirmatively to a wide range of statements considered antisemitic, such as “Jews have too much power in America,” “People should boycott Israeli goods and products,” “Israel exploits Holocaust victimhood for its own purposes,” “Israel has too much control over global affairs,” and “the interests of Israelis are at odds with the interests of the rest of the world.”
They also had the largest proportion of respondents who disagreed that Israel should exist.
Disclaimer: This article was previously published on Atheist Republic blog.