Auschwitz survivors warn of rising hatred

[struggle4progress]

4. We Forget the Lessons at Our Peril

... there has been a rise in Holocaust denial and distortion globally. And since then, it has exploded along with various other forms of antisemitism online, on campuses, and in cities worldwide. That antisemitism is widespread is not new. What's new is the accelerant—social media and larger societal issues, such as polarization, assaults on truth, rampant conspiracy theories, a decline in history and civics education, a loss of trust in institutions, and the rise of the far right and far left, all of which create an environment where antisemitism easily flourishes.

Today, the organization responsible for Holocaust reparations, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) released its eight-country (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, United States) Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Index, conducted in November/ December 2023, in which 76 percent of respondents believe something like the Holocaust could happen again today. When the same question was asked in another Claims Conference survey conducted almost seven years ago, the answer was 58 percent.

Nearly one-third of respondents in each country have seen Holocaust denial on Facebook. Across countries, when asked if they had encountered Holocaust denial or distortion while on social media, nearly half (47 percent) of Polish adults said, "yes." In Austria and Hungary this number was 38 percent, in Germany it was 37 percent, in the U.S. 33 percent, in Romania 25 percent, in the U.K. 23 percent, and in France 20 percent ...

https://www.newsweek.com/80-years-later-we-forget-lessons-auschwitz-our-peril-opinion-2020373