Category: Factual & Arts TV

Date: 17.03.2005
Printable version

On 27 January 2005 Holocaust Memorial Day marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.

Last year, a BBC survey revealed shockingly low levels of awareness and understanding of Auschwitz.

Only 55% of the UK's population had ever even heard of the notorious Nazi camp, the survey suggested.

Amongst women and people aged under 35 the figure was even lower at around 40%.

Now a new BBC survey suggests that nearly everyone in the UK – 94% of the population – has heard of Auschwitz.

Awareness levels among young people have more than doubled to 86% of those aged under 35 and 92% of women have now heard of the camp.

And this awareness is not just superficial with half of the UK population feeling that they now know quite a lot about the subject, compared to only 30% last year.

The dramatic shift in understanding and awareness may be due to the commemorations surrounding Holocaust Memorial Day in January.

The 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was marked through exhibitions, talks and events throughout the UK.

Westminster Hall hosted the biggest ever assembly of British-based survivors of the camps and ghettos of Nazi Europe at an event attended by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by the HRH Duke of Edinburgh, and major political leaders.

The BBC showed a range of television, radio and online programming to mark the anniversary including the acclaimed television series Auschwitz: The Nazis & The 'Final Solution' on BBC TWO which more than one third of the population claim to have watched at some point.

It was written and produced by Laurence Rees.

He says: "We were shocked by the results of our original audience research last year which revealed so few people in the UK were aware of the horrors that unfolded at Auschwitz.

"So it's heartening to see that awareness has changed so much."

Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Dr Stephen Smith, says: "Holocaust survivors were distressed by the original BBC survey results before the 60th anniversary.

"The vast improvement in awareness levels of Auschwitz and the atrocities of the Holocaust after Holocaust Memorial Day 2005 will do much to alleviate that.

"We need to make sure that this awareness stays at current levels.

"Knowing about what happened during the Holocaust is a reminder that the lessons of the Holocaust - to challenge racism and intolerance head on - are relevant to everyone in the UK today."

Notes to Editors

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the BBC showed a range of programmes including the six-part series Auschwitz: The Nazis & The 'Final Solution'; Holocaust – A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz and Holocaust Memorial Day on BBC TWO and the BBC ONE documentary Grandchild of the Holocaust.

There were also special editions of regular programmes such as Songs of Praise on BBC ONE and Sunday Worship on Radio 4.

The BBC poll was conducted in the last weekend of January 2005 and asked the same questions as the BBC poll in February 2004.

The research findings were based on a nationally representative postal survey of 4,000 adults aged 16+ conducted by IPSOS RSL as part of their weekly Quest survey.

All respondents recruited were mailed a questionnaire to complete covering a number of topics, with quota controls imposed, within region, by age within sex and social class.

www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/genocide