How Widespread Is Holocaust Denialism?

On January 27, 1945 - 80 years ago today - the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by Soviet forces. At this milestone, with adult survivors of the Holocaust approaching 100 years of age, Holocaust remembrance is at a crossroads, as the generation which bore witness to the horrors of the Shoah is shrinking in size and forces denying or diminishing it grow more fierce.

A new survey by the Anti-Defamation League shows that 4 percent globally deny today that the Holocaust happened. This number was 5 percent among men and 5 percent among people between the ages of 18 and 49. While in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, rates of Holocaust denialism were average, they were elevated in North Africa and the Middle East. They were at below-average rates in Western Europe (1 percent of respondents). However, many more respondents said they believed that the number of victims of the Holocaust had been greatly exaggerated. This reached as high as a third of respondents in North Africa and the Middle East, 18 percent in Asia, 16 percent each in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa and even 15 percent in the Americas.

The survey also asked respondents if they agreed with any out of 11 stereotypes about Jewish people and asked questions about the acceptance or rejection of Israel. It found that people had especially strong antisemitic beliefs in the Magreb states and the Middle East, but also in Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey. The survey found that younger people were more likely to show antisemitic attitudes. While the average country scored 26 out of 100 points in the survey in 2014 (with 100 being the worst result), this had changed to an average score of 46 out of 100 in 2024.