People in Germany sometimes have large gaps in their knowledge of the Nazi dictatorship and are increasingly unwilling to approach the Third Reich critically. For the first time, a relative majority of the population wants to draw a "line" under Germany's Nazi past in terms of memory culture, as shown by the new Memo study by the foundation "Remembrance Responsibility Future" ("Erinnerung Verantwortung Zukunft" (EVZ)). Only 42.8 percent of respondents said that it was important for them to keep the memory of the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship alive.
According to the results, 38.1 percent of respondents completely or somewhat agreed with the thesis that it is "time to remove a dividing line under the era of National Socialism (Nazi dictatorship)". 37.2% were partially or completely against this idea. Since 2018, this question has been asked in a similar way in four previous Foundation memo studies - but this time, for the first time, the majority of respondents expressed themselves differently.
Little willingness to deal with the Nazi period
Middle-aged people and AfD voters tended to agree with the statement "to remove the line". Younger and older people, as well as those with higher levels of education, tend to want the memory of the Nazi past to continue. However, a majority of 43.6 percent agree with the view that "we should focus on current problems".
In the survey, 44.8 percent of respondents said they were angry that "Germans are still blamed today for the crimes committed against the Jews." 28.2 percent disagreed with this statement. Statements such as "I don't understand why I should continue to examine the history of National Socialism today" and "It seems normal to me that future generations will no longer examine the era of National Socialism" were overwhelmingly rejected.
Researchers warn of loss of culture of memory
Only about a third (35.5%) of respondents were able to briefly explain what was meant by the term euthanasia, i.e. the deliberate killing of sick people, in the context of the Nazi era. About three-quarters of respondents could not give realistic estimates of the number of victims. This also concerned the number of Sinti and Roma killed or the number of forced laborers.
Veronika Hager, a researcher at the EVZ Foundation, described the result as a "turning point in the culture of memory." "For more and more people, Nazism is just another historical period, which no longer has anything to do with the present and a value orientation here and now," Hager said. This must be challenged.
Another conclusion of the study is that many people, especially young people, want to engage more in remembering Germany's Nazi past.
Critical results for the AfD
Current political issues also play a role in the study: six out of ten respondents (58.2 percent) consider the AfD unvotable in the elections given German history. Around 50 percent further said that the AfD was as threatening to German society as the NSDAP (Hitler's party) once was. 57.7 percent believed that it is fair to characterize the AfD as a far-right party.
In the study, 44.4 percent of respondents said they considered it their personal responsibility to show solidarity with Jews in Germany, 23.3 percent disagreed with this, and 32.1 percent answered somewhat/partially. 39.8 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that "Germany has a special obligation to Israel." This statement was approved by 28.5 percent of respondents.
The study is considered representative
The so-called Gedenkanstoß-Memo study is based on an online survey conducted in October 2024 among 3,000 people aged 18 and over who have permanent residence in Germany. The average age of the respondents was 52.6 years. The study is considered representative of the entire population. /DW (A2 Televizion)
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