Hatred against Jews in Germany has reached alarming levels during the COVID-19-pandemic. According to a survey commissioned by Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), one in five of all adult Germans espouses antisemitic attitudes. Among 18 to 29-year-olds, the number grows to one in three.
“The results are alarming. They show the extent of hatred and resentment toward Jews, especially amongst young Germans. It is disturbing to see how widespread conspiracies and anti-Jewish prejudice are”, said WJC President Lauder. “At the same time, knowledge about the Holocaust is dwindling. The pandemic is acting as a catalyst: people are trivially comparing the Holocaust to vaccinations. Under the guise of supposed criticism of coronavirus measures, antisemitism has become even more socially acceptable and thus even more dangerous.”
Main results of the 2022 WJC survey on antisemitism:
- Antisemitism is omnipresent: One fifth of all respondents said at least once that Jews had too much influence in the areas of finance, politics, media or in conflicts and wars compared to other groups in society. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, one third of participants shared such anti-Jewish attitudes.
- COVID conspiracies fuel hatred of Jews and vice versa: Many myths surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic build on antisemitic prejudices: About one-fifth of all respondents think that Jews received a better vaccine and benefitted economically from the pandemic. Among 18- to 29-year-olds the figure is as high as one in three. Young people who also express antisemitic attitudes in other ways are particularly susceptible to COVID conspiracy theories: around three quarters of antisemitic 18-to 29-year-olds believe COVID-19 was produced in a laboratory and that the pandemic was planned by a group of elites.
- Holocaust knowledge in decline: 30 percent of respondents think that Jews use the Holocaust to advance their “own agenda.” 40 percent think that Jews talk too much about the Holocaust. Half of the surveyed population thinks that Germany has done enough to make amends for the killing of Jews. At the same time, a growing majority of Germans lack basic knowledge about the Holocaust. 60 percent cannot correctly say that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. In 2019 the figure was 54 percent. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 71 percent now lack this basic knowledge.
“On January 27, we commemorate the six million victims of the Holocaust. Yet today, Jews and other minorities in Germany are constantly exposed to the danger of violence, prejudice and hate speech”, says WJC president Lauder. “It is striking that young people are less aware of the dangers of anti-Semitism than older adults. They are even more likely to hold anti-Semitic views. Prejudice and hatred against Jews in the minds of young people, as well as Islamophobia and racism, threaten the future of democratic society in Germany.”
The WJC President commends the ambition of the new Federal Government to fight anti-Semitism and foster diversity and equality. “I expect those bearing responsibility in Germany to be relentless in their efforts. Every child should learn about Jewish life and history at school. Germany has laws to combat hate speech online, but illegal and harmful content continues to proliferate on many online platforms, with nefarious activity in Telegram groups being a growing challenge”, Lauder said. “As an international organization, the WJC offers its full support to governments in Germany, Europe and globally to tackle this problem.”
