The insidious effort to reduce the victims of the Holocaust Jews

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“Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. “This is the name of an exhibition currently exposed to Royal Ontario Museum, which strongly documents the history of the death camp.

In January 1942, the Nazi leaders met to plan the “final solution to the Jewish question”. Auschwitz was to play a key role in this regard. At least 1.1 million people were killed in the extermination camp, including almost one million Jews. During the Holocaust, six million Jews were systematically killed by the Nazis and their collaborators.

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However, it seems that for too many people, the atrocities committed by the Nazis took place too long ago and too far. Recent polls reveal a very accentuated increase in the percentage of Canadians who are not sure about the number of Jews who were killed during the Holocaust.

This is especially for young people, as illustrated in a 2019 survey conducted by Leger for the association of Canadian studies, which found that about one in 10 Canadians (11.7 percent) between the ages of 18 and 24 believes that less than six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. In 2024, just over one in four (27 percent) of the Canadians in that age group believed the same.

A Recently launched survey In the United States they found that almost one third of all Americans also believe that less than six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

What could account for the recent decline of knowledge about Holocaust? Many observers will say that it is due to the lack of historical education. But only this cannot explain such a significant erosion in awareness in such a short period of time.

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Others will indicate a significant increase in the spread of politically motivated misinformation that supplies distortions and direct denial of the Holocaust and the substantial increase of such a rhetoric on socializing platforms following the terrorist attacks of October 7 in Israel.

Another consideration is how the holocaust is learned in some universities. It has become fashionable for academics to insist that history should be understood by the lens of colonialism. Describing the Holocaust as a single colonial genocide among many, some academics conclude that it was not unique, while others overcome the fact that Jews were not the only victims.

Such a gross simplification of one of the darkest chapters in history makes a disarfing to learn about the Holocaust. It serves to decrease knowledge and analysis of the uniqueness of the Holocaust.

Perhaps ironically, another challenge in combating the decline in the awareness of the Holocaust comes from efforts to present a more inclusive version of the past. For example, on this year’s international Holocaust memory, Canada’s head of state, Governor General Mary Simon, underlined This, “more than one million people were sent to their death at the camp (concentration of auschwitz-birkenau) during the Holocaust.”

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It may have been observed something that is not included in her statement: the Jews are not mentioned. This, despite the United Nations that designates the International Day of Holocaust’s memory to remember the victims of the six million Holocaust Jews and the other victims of Nazi persecution. Even if it is well -motivated, the clear omission of the Jews with reference to the Holocaust by our head of state is equivalent to discussing mass murder, without mentioning its main victims.

Simon is not alone among the global leaders in talking about the Holocaust with the mention of the Jews.

On the same day, the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Rayner, posted a picture with herself on social networks, illuminating a candle accompanied by the message: “Tonight, we light a candle to remind all those who were killed only to be who were and to stay against today. Never. “Rayner needs a reminder that it is good to mention that the Jews were killed precisely because they were Jews (full disclosure: my maternal grandparents were among those killed at Auschwitz because they were Jews).

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The reference to the Holocaust without mentioning the Jews does a serious harm to our ability to understand one of the darkest of chapters in history.

If we do not refer to the main victims of the final solution of the Nazis, we cannot properly understand what happened, why it happened and the lessons we need to learn to help prevent to happen again. We raise to allow the influences that would have thought that these horrible tragedies took place too long ago and too far.

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Jack Jedwab is the president of the Association for Canadian Studies.

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