One-quarter of Canadians believe the Holocaust is exaggerated: poll

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There is rising Holocaust skepticism in Canada, especially among young people, according to a new national poll.

The new poll, which was conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, comes amidst rising rates of antisemitism in Canada following the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the nation’s subsequent war against Hamas.

In November 2019, pollsters found just 17 per cent of Canadians said that fewer than six million Jews perished in the Holocaust. By May 2024, that number had jumped to 24 per cent.

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Even looking at shorter time periods, such as between late February 2024 and mid-May 2024, there was an uptick in the number of Canadians who believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated. In February, pollsters found that only five per cent of Canadians believed the Holocaust was exaggerated. By May, that had jumped to nine per cent. That view more than doubled between those aged 45 to 54, from four per cent to 11 per cent, and nearly doubled in those aged 25 to 34, from eight per cent to 15 per cent.

“The increase in agreement that ‘the Holocaust is exaggerated’ from five to nine per cent in the space of just a few months may be regarded by some as modest but it is indicative of a worrisome trend, especially amongst millennials,” said Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, in an email. “It raises serious questions as to how and by whom such skepticism about the Holocaust is being driven.”

Canadians between the ages of 25 and 34 were most likely (31 per cent) to doubt the official death toll of the Holocaust, followed by 27 per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 24. Among those 35 and older, a little more than one-fifth also held inaccurate views about the death toll of Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution.”

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“(This) is all the more troubling given the increased opportunities for Gen Zers and Millennials to readily find the facts through schools, museums, books and film,” Jedwab said. “It suggests that the increasing tendency to acquire information via the internet/social media platforms and to how and by whom it gets interpreted is contributing to rising misinformation.”

Snapchat and Telegram users were the most likely to have inaccurate beliefs about how many Jews perished in the Holocaust, the poll found.

Nearly 52 per cent of users of Telegram, an instant-messaging service, said that fewer than six million Jews were killed by Hitler’s Nazi regime. Thirty-one per cent of users of Snapchat, a photo-messaging app, held similar beliefs.

The users of X, formerly Twitter, were most likely to accurately identify how many Jews — six million — died in the Holocaust, at nearly 67 per cent. They were followed by LinkedIn users, 50 per cent of whom knew how many Jews died. Forty-eight per cent of YouTube users, 47 per cent of TikTok and Facebook users, and 46 per cent of Instagram users also said six-million Jews died.

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The polling delves into the reasons why people believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated.

About one fifth said it seems to be exaggerated or overly publicized in the media, cinema and books. Six per cent said it’s “not the worst event in history.” Seven per cent questioned the figures, saying it’s difficult to know. Eight per cent said they believe the Holocaust is exaggerated because there’s a need for unbiased history.

Just four per cent said it’s time for the world to move on. Only one per cent of Canadians said it’s exaggerated to overshadow Israel’s war on Gaza. Five per cent said it’s exaggerated to garner sympathy for Jewish people.

Those who believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated are most likely to not know an accurate death count. Twenty-six per cent of those people believe between one and three million Jews were killed. Fifty per cent of those who say the Holocaust is not exaggerated accurately identified six million as the number of Jews killed, compared to roughly 16 per cent who picked that figure while simultaneously believing the Holocaust is exaggerated.

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“It is likely that the increase in Holocaust skepticism is attributable to some politically motivated influencers seeking to diminish or distort the Holocaust and/or describing it as one historic injustice amongst others,” said Jedwab. 

The polling also asked about whether respondents were more likely to believe information if it goes “viral” online. It found, for example, that 19 per cent of those who believe one to three million Jews perished were more likely to believe viral information.

“Skeptics were far more trusting of information when it goes viral and when the source has a large following. This suggests that there is a growing risk of exposure to misinformation and/or outright revisionism amongst what appear to be a rising number of skeptics,” said Jedwab. 

Unsurprisingly, 36 per cent of those who held “very negative” views of Jews believe the Holocaust is exaggerated, compared to just five per cent who believe it’s exaggerated but have “very positive” views of Jews. Thirty-seven per cent of those with “very negative” views of Jews accurately identified the death toll of the Holocaust, whereas 64 per cent of those with “very positive” views got the number correct.

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Additionally, Canadians who said they have never had contact with a Jewish person were more likely to believe the Holocaust is exaggerated: 20 per cent who said they have “never” interacted with a Jewish person said the Holocaust is exaggerated; 94 per cent who said they “often” interact with Jews do not believe the Holocaust is exaggerated.

The polling was conducted between May 17 and May 20. It sought opinions from 1,519 Canadians via an online panel. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes. A probability sample of 1,519 respondents would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20​.

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