(Photos) BBC poll: Nearly half of Britons never heard of Auschwitz

haaretz.com ^

[zyaakov]

BBC poll: Nearly half of Britons never heard of Auschwitz

By Reuters

LONDON - Nearly half of Britons in a poll said they had never heard of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in southern Poland that became a symbol of the Holocaust and the attempted genocide of the Jews.

The results of the survey conducted by the BBC were released Thursday, as Britain's public broadcaster announced it will show a new series next January to mark the 60th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation.

"We were amazed by the results of our audience research," said Laurence Rees, a producer on the series, "Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution."

"It's easy to presume that the horrors of Auschwitz are engrained in the nation's collective memory, but obviously this is not the case," Rees said.

The survey found that 45 percent of those surveyed had not heard of Auschwitz. Historians estimate that anywhere from one million to three million people, about 90 percent of them Jews, were killed there.

Among women and people younger than 35, 60 percent had never heard of Auschwitz, despite the recent popularity of films such as "Schindler's List," "Life is Beautiful" and "The Pianist," which depict the atrocities of the Holocaust.

"The name Auschwitz is quite rightly a byword for horror, but the problem with thinking about horror is that we naturally turn away from it," Rees said.

The BBC said the research was based on a nationally representative postal survey of 4,000 adults 16 and older.

The broadcaster is marking Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, with a variety of television and radio programs.

The Auschwitz series for BBC2 is based on nearly 100 interviews with survivors and perpetrators and is the result of three years of research with the assistance of professors Ian Kershaw and David Cesarani.

[mlbford2]

They shouldn't feel too bad. After all our Democratic presidential nominee thought Treblinka was a KGB headquarters.

[bushisdamanin04]

I used to respect the British. Then they put on that spectacle when Lady Ho died and I lost all respect for them. And Monty was a weak commander!

[JesseJane]

OMG.






:(

[FauxBlonde]

My first thought was that's pretty appalling. Then I got to thinking, would Americans fair any better? We've got our share of dim bulbs, too, unfortunately.

[processing please hold]

You're just kidding, right?

sKerry thought Treblinka was KGB?

[paudio]

It was during the debate. I think he meant red-squre in Moscow.

[mlbford2]

Debate #3, or was it #2.

[dr_who_2]

ANNOUNCER: We asked Mrs. Nesbit of 106 Kleepshorpe on Spittleshire whether or not she had heard of "Auschwitz".

MRS. NESBIT: Aushbitch? Why, that's something that cows get after they've had unprotected sex, isn't it? It's amazing what you can learn just from watchin' the telly!

[FreedomCalls]

sKerry thought Treblinka was KGB?

Yeah he did! He confused Treblinka with Lubyanka in the debates.

[SteveMcKing]

I wonder which half. Seriously.

[Luke]

Having lived in England for two years in the mid-50s I find this hard to believe. But then again, at that time, they didn't have any hamburger stands, super markets, or drive-in theaters, and the only thing you could get on TV was BBC. The British Pound was equal to $3.60. And you could buy a British made Ford for $1500.

Both US and British moral values have gone to pot since that time. Frankly I'd rather have 1950s moral values and economic standards back.

[clyde asbury]

It's here.

"He also misspoke when he referred to looking at KGB records in Treblinka Square in a visit to Russia. Treblinka was a Nazi death camp. He meant Lubyanka Square."

[satchmodog9]

already posted

[jwalsh07]

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Half of America is ignorant of the mass graves in Iraq.

[Fiddlstix]

I am shocked. I really am. Everyone and especially the Brits should know about Auschwitz, Treblinka, etc.
It should Never be forgotten.