The house where German SS officer and commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp Rudolf Höss lived with his family will open to the public for the first time today, to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.
Through the efforts of the American non-profit Counter Extremism Project, in coordination with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the Polish foreign ministry and UNESCO, the villa will become the home of the ‘Auschwitz Research Centre on Hate, Extremism and Radicalisation’.
The New York-based NGO’s mission since 2014 is to “combat the growing threat posed by extremist ideologies”.
Commandant Höss lived at the villa with his wife Hedwig and their five children for four years, a home which stood immediately next to the concentration camp, with their garden wall and the wall of the camp being one and the same.
This is the same house the was immortalized in Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-winning film, The Zone of Interest, in which we observe the everyday domesticity of the family in the living space built next to a dying one.
In 1942, Höss established and helmed the plans for the Auschwitz gas chambers and crematoriums, including the use of Zyklon B gas.
Höss was arrested in 1946, tried by a Polish court and hanged in Auschwitz the following year.
House 88 – named after its address 88 Legionow Street – was bought by a Polish family and it was only last year that the NGO Counter Extremism Project persuaded them to sell the property to transform it into centre to combat hate.
The opening of House 88 coincides with an alarming international survey examining Holocaust knowledge and awareness.
The Claims Conference conducted eight surveys across 10 countries – including the US, UK, France, Germany, Poland and Hungary – and while overall awareness about the Holocaust is high, Holocaust distortion is also alarmingly widespread.
“Overall, a majority of all populations surveyed did not know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust,” stated the research, adding that 20% or more respondents in seven out of the eight countries surveyed believe 2 million or fewer Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.
Shockingly, many adults surveyed said that they had not heard or weren’t sure if they had heard of the Holocaust prior to taking the survey.
“This is amplified among young adults ages 18-29 who are the most recent reflection of local education systems; when surveyed, they indicated that they had not heard or weren’t sure if they had heard of the Holocaust (Shoah): France (46%), Romania (15%), Austria (14%) and Germany (12%).”
The survey results also flagged up that while Auschwitz-Birkenau is the most well-known death camp, nearly half (48%) of Americans surveyed are unable to name a single camp or ghetto established by the Nazis during World War II.
The majority of respondents in each country, except Romania, believe something like the Holocaust could happen again today, and Americans and Hungarians are most likely to report that Holocaust denial is common in their countries.
In Hungary, 45% of all survey participants stated that denial is common in their country. This is followed by 44% in the US, 38% in France, 34% in Germany, 27% in Austria, 24% in the UK and Romania, and 20% in Poland.
Additionally, the research show that nearly half of adults in the US (49%), Hungary (47%), France (44%) and Germany (44%) report that Holocaust distortion is common in their country – especially on social media.
“The alarming gaps in knowledge, particularly among younger generations, highlight an urgent need for more effective Holocaust education,” says Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference. “The fact that a significant number of adults cannot identify basic facts - such as the 6 million Jews who perished - is deeply concerning.”
Equally troubling is the widespread belief that something like the Holocaust could happen again, underscoring the critical importance of educating people about the consequences of unchecked hatred and bigotry,” added Taylor. “We are proud of the progress made by our partners worldwide, but this Index makes it clear: there is still much more work to be done.”
The progress referred to is support for Holocaust education. Across all countries surveyed, nine-in-10 or more adults believe it is important to continue teaching about the Holocaust - “in part, so it does not happen again”.
Comments
Leave a Comment