The Failure of American Holocaust Education

For decades, the U.S. Jewish community has invested heavily in trying to raise awareness of the Shoah, and make its history part of Jewish and general educations. Non-Jewish educators and leaders have been largely receptive to these efforts, and often embraced them wholeheartedly. Yet, according to a new in-depth survey, 23 percent of American ages eighteen through thirty-nine think it possible or likely that the Holocaust didn’t happen, or has been greatly exaggerated. And 12 percent of respondents stated that either they were not aware of the Holocaust, or weren’t sure if they had ever learned about it. Even in New York state, the results are disheartening, writes Elizabeth Rosner: