Research: Antisemitism in Germany is still deeply rooted

New research shows the extent of entrenched
antisemitic attitudes still held by Germans. 15 percent of respondents believe
that Jews have too much influence in the country, 49 percent do not want to
hear anything about the Holocaust. Even Israel is strongly criticized.

70 years ago today, the Nazi death camp,
Auschwitz, was liberated. However, new research shows that even today, antisemitism
is still deeply rooted in the German population.

According to the new study 18% of Germans
think that Jews are responsible for their persecution because of their
behavior. The survey was published on Tuesday in Bielefeld, by the Institute
for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (ICG) at the University
of Bielefeld.

15% of respondents believe that Jews have
too much influence in Germany. Among respondents over the age of 60, this figure
was 23%. More than half of respondents (55 percent) are angry that Germans are
still accused of crimes against the Jews. 49 percent are “tired of hearing
over and over again on German crimes against the Jews.”

The researchers further said that the demonstrations
against the war in Gaza last summer “frighteningly revived antisemitism”.
According to the study 28% “can understand why people do not like the Jews,
considering Israel’s policy”.

Comparative criticism between the Nazis and
Israel is also most common: 40% speak of “a war of extermination against
the Palestinians” and for 27% “Israeli policy toward the Palestinians
is not different from what the Nazis did to the Jews in the Third Reich”.
The study examined, for the past 12 years, the hatred for certain population
groups in Germany. To this end, they researched 500 German.

For more information, see the website of the
Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence: www.uni-bielefeld.de/ikg