Auschwitz, nie davon gehört?: Erinnern und Vergessen in Deutschland
- ISBN-10
- 3871343374
- ISBN-13
- 9783871343377
- Pages
- 237
- Language
- German
- Published
- 2000
- Publisher
- Rowohlt
- Authors
- Alphons Silbermann, Manfred Stoffers
Description
Discusses changes in the conception of "Auschwitz" in German consciousness, based on a survey carried out in May 1997 comprising interviews with 2,197 persons between the ages of 17-50. Among the questions were: "Do you know what Auschwitz was? Do you know about additional concentration camps? Do you know how many people were transported to Auschwitz? What methods of killing were used? How many persons were killed in concentration camps?" 20% of the interviewees aged 14-17, and 4.3% of all those interviewed, did not know what Auschwitz was. 69% of the interviewees associated the name Auschwitz with concentration camps. Only 20% knew names of other concentration camps, and 20% were not able to situate the Nazi period historically. 14.8% of all those questioned, and 17.9% of the older interviewees, considered reports on the events in concentration camps exaggerated. The study also uncovered Holocaust denial. The authors criticize historical revisionism, self-deceit, and the minimizing of Nazi crimes in Germany. Appendix I contains the 23 questions presented to the respondents. Appendix II presents tables with the results and accompanying commentary.
