According to a study commissioned by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, 22% of French people say they have never heard of the terms “Holocaust” or “Shoah”This proportion even reaches 46% among 18-29 year-olds.
These results are worrying because they reveal a significant lack of knowledge about the history of the Second World War and Nazi crimes. The president of the NGO, Gideon Taylor, stresses the importance of education and awareness of the Holocaust to avoid "the consequences of uncontrolled hatred and fanaticism."
Other studies corroborate these findings. For example, an Ifop survey for the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, conducted in December 2018, indicated that 10% of French people had never heard of the Holocaust, a figure that reached 19% among 18-34 year-olds.
These gaps in knowledge of the Holocaust highlight the need to strengthen the teaching of this historical period, particularly among younger generations, in order to preserve collective memory and prevent the resurgence of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
