Two recent surveys demonstrate that 16- to 25-year-olds are heavily influenced by National Socialism. They frequently allude to the present, but rarely to their relatives.
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| [Berlin, Germany] |
How interested are young people in the Nazi era and the Holocaust 80 years after the Wannsee Conference and 77 years after the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp? At the very least, more than their parents. This is supported by two studies delivered on Tuesday by the relevant researchers.
Not only do the 16 to 25 year olds show more interest in the issue of Nazi persecution than the 40 to 60 year old comparative group (75 to 66 percent). They also agree more frequently with the assertion that their generation should deal with the problem more (73 to 68 percent) and that it is important for the present and future (73 to 68 percent) (78 to 71 percent). According to a qualitative-psychological and quantitative-representative study conducted on behalf of the Arlosen Archives by the rheingold Institute, Generation Z is very sensitive to the Nazi rule.
At the same time, National Socialism has an eerie attraction on young people, according to psychologist Stephan Grünewald. Many people would approach the Holocaust in the manner of a true crime documentary. For young individuals, it is equally crucial to consider how they have acted in the past.
According to the experts involved, the unusually high degree of interest can be attributed to a variety of factors, including Generation Z's unique living environment. The Nazi period, with its nationally defined categories, is perceived as a mirror reflection of one's current existence in a "multi-optional culture of availability," according to this.
However, the interviews consider more than only the difference between then and today. Parallels to the present are frequently explored, including racism, discrimination, and fake news. "Today's generation has seen how democracies may be jeopardized." "I find it very reasonable that for her, recollection is related to gazing into her own society, in which populist, authoritarian, and intolerant voices are becoming increasingly stronger," says Floriane Azoulay, director of the Arolsen Archives.
However, most people are unaware that anti-Semitism was at the heart of the Nazi regime. There is a need for educational catch-up in terms of the details of anti-Jewish prejudice. However, it is to be welcomed that Generation Z is far more troubled by daily racism than the elder comparator group. Racism is one of the most critical concerns for 39 percent of 16 to 24 year olds, but just 14 percent of 40 to 60 year olds.
The rising historicity is a key cause for the younger generation to engage more intimately with the issue of National Socialism, as paradoxical as it may appear. Because the vision is less self-conscious the more the incident is away from the present. "There is a sense of relief from personal guilt." "Almost no one knows anybody else who was involved, and there is no longer a clear link to the offenders' age," says Stephan Grünewald. The core attitude is that you can't change what happened yesterday, but you are accountable for what happens tomorrow.
The Foundation Memory, Past, Future (EVZrepresentative )'s memo youth research, unveiled on Tuesday, likewise concludes that personal references have a little part in dealing with the Nazi rule.
According to a poll conducted together with the University of Bielefeld on 3,485 representative young people, there is a high degree of interest in a sociological analysis of the Nazi history among today's 16 to 25-year-olds. Looking into the past is valuable to more than three-quarters of those polled (76.5 percent), and therefore more than the broader German population. At the same time, over half say they deal with family connections "very little" or "not at all." As a result, many people were unable to identify their ancestors' involvement in the murders.
The value, however, is affected by the fact that many of the respondents have a history of migration. In the Nazi state, their forefathers were rarely seen as offenders. More than 20% of participants drew indiscriminate analogies between Nazi tyranny and the restriction of fundamental rights in the current epidemic, according to those in charge of the survey.
Andrea Despot, Chairwoman of the EVZ Foundation, said that historical-political education still has a lot of work to do. Young people must be educated about historical revisionist narratives.
The new "Education Agenda NS-Unrecht," sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Finance, was presented on Tuesday, along with the memo research. Selected initiatives for "historically conscientious and active remembering" will be sponsored with a budget of nine million euros in the next years.