Researchshows gaps in pupils’ Shoah studies

A NEW survey has revealed worrying gaps in knowledge about the Holocaust among secondary school pupils.

The Centre for Education carried out research among almost 10,000 11-18 year-olds at 74 schools across England — the largest such study every undertaken. All the pupils had had lessons on the Holocaust as part of the national curriculum.

Preliminary results revealed that only 31.8 per cent of pupils had heard of the term “antisemitism”, a finding Professor Stuart Foster, the centre’s executive director, described as “a potential cause for serious concern for teachers”.

Thirty-four per cent of students believed two million or fewer Jews had been killed by the Nazis. Less than half of Year 7-9 pupils knew that six million was the correct figure.

Many of the pupils believed that most Holocaust victims came from Germany rather than Poland, another “potential concern”, according to Prof Foster.

Pupils also grossly overestimated the size of the Jewish community in Germany in the 1930s, with some putting it as high as 30 per cent of the population rather than one per cent.

But 83 per cent of pupils agreed that they should be taught about the Holocaust and 81 per cent said their lessons on the subject were interesting.

Small focus groups on the impact of survivor testimony revealed that pupils thought that meeting survivors and hearing their stories “made the Holocaust seem more real” .

The Holocaust has been taught part of the national curriculum since 1991. On average, pupils receive six hours of teaching on the subject in a year.

Prof Stuart unveiled the findings at Sunday’s Holocaust Generations Conference, organised by the Association of Jewish Refugees, the Kindertransport Association and the Second Generation Network. The full report will be published in April.