My parents fled the Nazis, arriving in New York in 1941. Born just four years after Germany’s surrender, I was keenly aware of the Holocaust, though my parents rarely shared details, wanting to face forward rather than look back. But, at school, I was puzzled that the Holocaust was barely mentioned in World War 2 history texts. As Germany was developing into an ally against Communism, it seemed that some wanted to downplay the regrettable “mistakes” of the past. Even to me, the systematic murder of six million Jews and other “undesirables” was impossible to comprehend, and seemed a little like ancient history.
Fast forward to the present day, and we see a disheartening trend, particularly among Millenials (now in their forties) and Generation Z (those born 1997-2012). In many ways, these generations are among the best-educated and most socially conscious, yet there is a disturbing lack of knowledge when it comes to the Holocaust.
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