Measuring Holocaust Knowledge and Its Relationship to Attitudes towards Diversity in Spain, Canada, Germany, and the United States

Abstract

This chapter examines the degree of self-assessed knowledge about the Holocaust among people in Canada, the United States, Germany, and Spain. National public opinion surveys in these four countries provide insights into the relationship between each population’s knowledge of the Holocaust and concerns over anti-Semitism and racism as well as individuals’ degree of openness to diversity. Results of these detailed national surveys reveal that persons who self-assessed a strong knowledge about the Holocaust showed greater concern with societal anti-Semitism. People who claimed more Holocaust knowledge were also more likely to value a diverse population. However, such knowledge did not give rise to greater support for immigrants’ retaining elements of their cultures of origin. Contemporary debates about immigration remain complex and that possessing knowledge about the Holocaust is not a reliable predictor of public attitudes on such matters. Further research is needed about the extent to which Holocaust knowledge contributes to the goals of multicultural education.

Appendix: Information on Research Methods

The Association for Canadian Studies commissioned public opinion surveys in four countries in August and September of 2010. In the United States, the survey was carried out by the firm Caravan via web panel (ACS-Caravan 2010); 1,048 people responded on 30 August and 31 August. An equivalent telephone survey would have a margin of error of 3.9 points, 19 times out of 20. In Germany, the survey was conducted by Produkt + Market Marketing ACS-Produkt Market (2010), a member of the Arbeitskreis Deutscher Markt- und Sozialforschungsinstitute (ADM/Federation of German Market and Social Research Institutes). It contacted 1,000 respondents between 4 September and 10 September. The margin of error was between 1 and 5%.

In Spain, the survey was conducted by ACS-TNS Global (Spain 2010), and reached 1,052 respondents, between 16 September and 20 September. The margin of error statistics are: the mean was not more than 3.5%, and the error variance was 0.039. In Canada, the survey was conducted by the firm Leger Marketing via web panel (ACS-Leger 2010). The 1,707 respondents were surveyed between 4 September and 7 September, 2010. An equivalent telephone survey would have a margin of error of 2.9 points, 19 times out of 20.