Key Findings: Year 9 1 HGP Knowledge, Attitudinal & Behaviour Survey 2 (PRE Results) Jan 2015

Key findings: Year 9[1] HGP Knowledge, Attitudinal & Behaviour survey[2] (PRE results) Jan 2015.

51% of students rate their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust as good (46%) or excellent (5%).
83% of students recognise there are similar situations to the Holocaust or examples going on in the world today.
20% of students rate their knowledge and understanding of the other modern genocides as good (18%) or excellent (2%). Thus 80% rate it satisfactory (44%) or poor (36%).
80% of students are aware of RWBA’s HGP, 82% regard such a programme as necessary and important, 88% believe their knowledge, understanding and skills will be improved as a result of the programme. 93% of students feel they will benefit ‘as people’ from having participated in RWBA’s HGP.
75% of students strongly (32%) agree (43%) with the claim: ‘Study of the Holocaust and genocide impacts your attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes in a way that other topics don’t’.
64% of students strongly (28%) agree (36%) with the claim: ‘Study of the Holocaust and genocide impacts your behaviour and actions so you want to make a difference to the world and participate actively at a global level’.
85% of students strongly (44%) agree (41%) with the claim: ‘I am proud of the HGP work we do in school – it’s a bit depressing on one hand, but it’s important, inspirational and challenging and more schools should do it’. 1% strongly disagree.
66% of students aware of RWBA’s IOE ‘Beacon School’ status.
92% of students recognise hearing directly from a survivor would increase their knowledge and understanding. 78% of students believe ‘every survivor’s story is unique’. 52% have never heard from a survivor; 34% have heard from one, whilst 14% of students have heard from more than one survivor before.
¼ of students (26%) would be interested in events run extra-curricular, evening or other special events as part of the HGP. 28% of students have attended/participated in such an extra-curricular opportunity, evening or special event. 30% of students reports their parents or carer had attended and evening or HGP special event.
37% of students recognise Auschwitz-Birkenau/Treblinka as Death/extermination camps, rather than a Polish town, German town, transit camp, POW camp, concentration camp.
85% of students recognise that 6 million Jews in Europe were killed [as compared to 51% in UK, IOE survey]. 22% RWBA significantly underestimate the numbers murdered; 12% said 2 million, 7% 1 million.
76% of students know that as part of the Nazis’ attempts to purify German society and to create an ‘Aryan master race’ they condemned homosexuals as ‘socially abhorrent’ and that when they were in camps they were distinguished with the mark of a pink triangle.
58% of students incorrectly believe Hitler thought of the Jews as a religion and persecuted them because of this.
83% of students know that 10,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses were imprisoned in Nazi camps because they were pacifists and would not salute or ‘Heil Hitler’, 74% of students know that 200 German Jehovah’s Witnesses were tried by German courts and executed for refusing military service. 71% of students understand that 2,500-5,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses died in concentration camps and 70% know that they were distinguished in the camps by a purple triangle symbol.
80% think an ‘ordinary object’ can take on extraordinary meanings. (Barney’s toy, Hana’s suitcase, the shoe)
85% of students understand that ‘not all Germans were Nazi’s’.
54% of students believe ‘Jews were like sheep to the slaughter. They did not fight back’.
75% of students know that between 1933-1945 Sinti and Roma suffered greatly at hands of the Nazi regime as not part of the ‘master race’. 78% incorrectly said they were identified by green triangles in the camps (green triangles were for professional criminals).
72% of students aware that T-4 was the code name for the euthanasia programme the Nazis used on those deemed physically or mentally handicapped. 77% recognised some 200,000-250,000 people perished as a result of this programme.
¾ of students, 78% incorrectly identified Anne Frank’s Diary and Zlata’s Diary as depictions of teenage life during the Holocaust.
50% of students say Jewish prisoners did blow up one of the crematoria and gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau. 50% say this is a false claim.
85% recognised Elie Wiesel as a Holocaust survivor. (9% thought a Bosnian survivor)
47% consider Oskar Schindler a rescuer, 35% a perpetrator.
1/3 students, 37% correctly associated Richard Dimbleby with his Holocaust news coverage (26% said he was most associated with reporting on Bosnia, 22% in Rwanda).
44% of students know Sir Nicholas Winton is most closely associated with the Holocaust, and as a rescuer.
77% of students successfully able to define ‘victim’, 74% correctly defined ‘perpetrators’, 86% correctly defined ‘resistor’, 73% of students know the term ‘bystander’, 89% recognise ‘rescuer’, 64% know the term ‘collaborator’.
72% of students think there is a UK Holocaust Memorial (or expect there to be one) but do not know what it is, where it is, what form it takes.
34% of students think the Holocaust in some way directly impacts upon their lives; 36% say it might, 30% it has nothing to do with them.
13% of students know that in 1933, the Jewish population in Germany accounted for 1%. [as compared to 6% in UK, IOE survey]
43% of students know that Poland was the country where the largest number of Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust came from. [as compared to 38% in UK, IOE survey]
48% of students know that Poland was the country where the largest number of killings of Jewish people took place. [as compared to 36% in UK, IOE survey]
8% of students know that the organised mass killings of Jews began immediately after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. [as compared to 6% in UK, IOE survey]
20% of students know that if a member of the military or police refused an instruction to kill Jewish people, it was most likely that they would be given another duty. [as compared to 5% in UK, IOE survey]
17% of students understand that the when the British government knew about the mass murder of Jews their response was to vow to punish the killers. [as compared to 6% in UK, IOE survey]
43% of students understand that the Nazi’s organised mass killing of Jews ended as a result of Allied armies liberating lands/camps. [as compared to 41% in UK, IOE survey]
50% of students have read ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ [as compared to 32% in UK, IOE survey], whilst 53% had seen the film version. [as compared to 63% in UK, IOE survey].
26% of students have read ‘Anne Frank’s Diary’. [as compared to 27% in UK, IOE survey]
20% of students have read of seen ‘Hana’s Suitcase’/’Inside Hana’s suitcase’ [as compared to 2% in UK, IOE survey]
18% of students have seen the film ‘Schindler’s List’. [as compared to 22% in UK, IOE survey]
10% of students have seen the film ‘Defiance’. [as compared to 5% in UK, IOE survey]
80% of students recognise the truth of approximately 1 million men, women and children were slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide in less than 100 days. 65% know that the Hutus forced out 200,000 Tutsis from their country to become refugees during the early 1990s.
82% of students are aware that at least 7,500 men and boys over 13 were killed in the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. 48% of students recognise Srebrenica as the site of a massacre in Bosnia.
67% of students know that the US congress recognised what was/is going on in Darfur as genocide.
51% of students recognised Kemal Pervanic as a Bosnian survivor. (24% thought a Holocaust survivor)
49% recognised Paul Ruseabagina as a Rwandan survivor. (24% thought a Bosnian survivor)
38% regard DrazenErdemovic a convicted war criminal, 31% a victim of the system, 21% a dutiful soldier.
¼ students, 27% correctly associated Martin Bell OBE with his Bosnian news coverage (36% said he was most associated with reporting on the Holocaust, 24% in Rwanda).
¼ students, 28% correctly associated Fergal Keane with his Rwandan news coverage (35% said he was most associated with reporting on the Holocaust, 23% in Rwanda, 24% Darfur).
22% of students know Carl Wilkens is most closely associated with the genocide in Rwanda.
22% of students know MukeshKapila is most closely associated with the genocide in Darfur/Sudan.
28% of students know George Clooney is most closely associated with the genocide in Darfur/Sudan.
77% of students know Malala Yousafzai is most closely associated with human rights campaigning, especially for education and girls.
26% of students know Zoya Phan is most closely associated with human rights abuses in Burma.
28% of students know Angelina Jolie is a champion or campaigner for raising awareness of sexual violence used as a weapon of war.
27% of students know Gen Romeo Dallaire now known as champion or campaigner for raising awareness of child soldiers.
78% of students think ‘genocide is preventable’.
86% of students reject as false the claim that ‘genocide is God’s fault, he should prevent it’. Rather 87% of students agree that ‘genocide is human beings fault’.
67% of students agree that ‘the UN, international community and world leaders could prevent genocide and do more if they wanted to’.
70% of students feel ‘an individual can do something to champion human rights and prevent genocide’; whilst 30% feel they are powerless and cannot affect change.
83% of students say it is essential (33%) or very important (50%) for British people to know about and understand the Holocaust and the Nazi system, 2% consider it not important.
90% of students strongly (39%) or mostly agree (51%) that the Holocaust should be taught alongside other modern genocides.
82% of students agree we should ‘keep remembrance of the extermination of the Jews strong’, whilst 18% argue we should ‘Put memory of the extermination of the Jews behind us’.
64% of students support the existence of HMD in UK, whilst 11% oppose it. 39% of students believe ‘it is right that the main focus of the HMD should be to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution’, 53% think ‘the day should be renamed ‘Genocide Day’ and be used to commemorate the victims of all such persecution around the world’, 8% feel such a day is ‘wrong and should be abandoned’.
43% of students had heard Holocaust denial claims such as those made by former President of Iran, or David Irving. 1/3 students (38%) said it was possible that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened. Whilst 62% considered such claims as impossible. ¾ of students (74%) felt they were certain that the Holocaust had happened.
82% of students strongly (52%) or mostly disagreed (30%) with the claim that the Holocaust is not relevant today because it happened so many years ago.
16% of students believe the UK should institute a Holocaust Denial Law, 40% think it should not be brought in, 45% unsure if such a law is needed.
49% of students think we should forbid Holocaust deniers statements. 51% think we should allow them as part of free speech (so long as not inciting racial hatred)
84% believe that teaching about the Nazi Holocaust should be required in British school. 60% of students think it should best be taught aged 14-16; 33% 11-14.
66% of students think that the Holocaust should not only be taught in History. 70% think the Holocaust should not only be taught in RE. 79% of students believe the Holocaust and more recent genocides should be taught across the school, where appropriate, so different aspects and approaches can be introduced.
76% of students believe that the Holocaust and more recent genocides should be taught in and out of school so teach everyone the lessons of the past and ensure we are all more informed, better, active global citizens.
90% of students think the Holocaust should be taught so we ‘learn the lessons’.
32% of students have visited the Imperial War Museum, including its permanent Holocaust Exhibition.
2% of students have visited Israel.
9% of students have visited a Nazi death/extermination, concentration or work/transit camp. 51% state they would like the opportunity to visit such a site.
76% of students strongly (40%) or mostly disagree (36%) with the view that it is time to put memory of the Holocaust behind us.
61% of students state they strongly (8%) or mostly agree (53%) with the claim that ‘The Holocaust makes clear the need for a Jewish homeland or refuge’, 39% strongly or mostly disagree.
35% of students strongly (6%) or mostly agree (29%) that Jews are exploiting the memory of the Nazi extermination of Jews for their own purposes.
40% of students strongly (7%) or somewhat (33%) agree that ‘Now, as in the past, Jews exert too much influence in world events’.
30% of students describe their feelings towards Jews as neutral; (23% very sympathetic, 38% somewhat sympathetic, 2% very unsympathetic)
11% of students consider it very likely that Jewish people could be subject to another genocide or significant persecution; 48% somewhat likely, 41% not very likely. [in light of rising anti-Semitism, something to consider]
17% think anti-Semitism in UK is ‘not a problem at all’; 62% somewhat of a problem, 21% a very serious problem.
18% of students consider it very likely that Muslim people could be subject to genocide or significant persecution; 62% somewhat likely, 20% not very likely. [in light of rising Islamophobia, something to consider]
13% think Islamophobia in UK is ‘not a problem at all’; 58% somewhat of a problem, 29% a very serious problem.
8% of students consider homophobia and the stereotyping and prejudices against travelling communities, the disabled and other minorities in Britain to be ‘not a problem at all’; 52% somewhat of a problem, 40% a very serious problem.
61% of students think that those accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity should be prosecuted not matter how old they may be.
86% correctly identify the definition of ‘racism’. [as compared to 90% in UK, IOE survey]
70% correctly identify the definition of ‘anti-Semitism’. [as compared to 31% in UK, IOE survey]
77% correctly identify the definition of ‘Islamophobia’. [as compared to 53% in UK, IOE survey]
86% correctly identify the definition of ‘homophobia’. [as compared to 87% in UK, IOE survey]
79% correctly identify the definition of ‘genocide’. [as compared to 46% in UK, IOE survey]
86% correctly identify the definition of ‘sexism’.
43% correctly identify the definition of ‘xenophobia’.
72% correctly identify the definition of ‘discrimination’.
76% correctly identify the definition of ‘prejudice’.
69% correctly identify the definition of ‘freedom of speech’.
70% correctly identify the definition of ‘religious freedom’.
79% correctly identify the definition of ‘tolerance’. 74% correctly understand the term ‘intolerance’.
75% correctly understand the term and concept of ‘empathy’.
55% correctly identify the definition of ‘censorship’. However, 8% think it means ‘to talk over someone else when they are talking’.
51% correctly identify the definition of ‘blasphemy’. However, 27% think it is the same as ‘censorship’.
74% of students do not understand what incitement to racial hatred is or the boundaries of ‘casual’ racism or homophobia/banter.
74% of students do not correctly understand or apply the use of term ‘extremist’ and interlink this with ‘terror’
62% of students correctly identify the definition of ‘refugee’.
73% of students incorrectly identify or understand the term ‘asylum seeker’.
83% of students incorrectly identify or understand the term ‘immigrant’.
43% of students never read a newspaper. 24% do so daily.
17% of students never watch the news on TV. 20% do so daily.
29% of students never access the news via the web, mobile devices etc. 17% do so daily.
28% of students never hear the news via the radio. 17% do so daily.
30% of students never discuss the news (world, national or local) with parents/carers or in out of school context. 6% do so daily, 28% sometimes, 36% occasionally.
17% of students’ state they do not feel able to speak out about injustice or prejudice when they see it as they are too scared to do so. 12% they always speak out, 33% sometimes, 38% feel able to speak out but don’t usually bother.

[1] Year 9 cohort of 292 students who completed online survey. 155 female/137 male students in 11 tutor groups.

[2] All survey questions were multiple choice.