AJC AMIA Survey Examines Argentine Attitudes Toward Jews and the Holocaust

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 11 July 2000

While a majority of Argentines favor keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, only one quarter can correctly answer any of four basic factual questions about the Holocaust, according to a new American Jewish Committee – AMIA survey.

AMIA is the central organization of the Jewish community of Argentina.

"Poor factual knowledge about the Holocaust in a country with the largest Jewish community in Latin America is deeply troubling," said David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee. "The desire to keep Holocaust memory alive needs to be translated into effective educational programs."

Only 22 percent of Argentines correctly identify Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka as concentration camps, while only 20 percent cite "yellow star" as the symbol Jews were forced to wear during World War II, according to the survey, Attitudes Toward Jews and the Holocaust in Argentina, released today at a news conference in Buenos Aires.

"The results of this study are of great importance," said Dr. Hugo Ostrower, president of AMIA. "Deeper knowledge about the Holocaust and the Jewish community here are key factors in reinforcing pluralism in Argentine society."

The AJC – AMIA survey, published in English and Spanish, covers such broad themes as factual knowledge about the Holocaust, feelings about Holocaust remembrance, attitudes toward Jews and other minorities, and views about the July 18, 1994, bombing of AMIA.

The survey, released on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the AMIA bombing, found that only 7 percent of Argentines believe the attack was aimed specifically at AMIA. Fifty-two percent think Jews generally were the target, while 31 percent believe the attack was aimed at all Argentines. The bombing, which resulted in 86 deaths, remains unsolved. The course of the investigation has been detailed in a series of AJC reports.

Attitudes Toward Jews and the Holocaust in Argentina is the latest in a series of AJC surveys dealing with knowledge and remembrance of the Holocaust in different countries. Argentina is the thirteenth country covered to date.

AJC Director of Research David Singer presented the survey results today at a news conference held at the rebuilt AMIA headquarters in Buenos Aires. AJC has a partnership agreement with AMIA, one of seven such partnerships worldwide.

Dr. Singer was joined by Jacob Kovadloff, AJC Consultant for Latin American Affairs; Dr. Hugo Ostrower, President of AMIA; Ana Weinstein, Director of AMIA's Jewish Documentation Center, and Marita Carballo, President of Gallup Argentina.

Among the survey's key findings are:

On remembrance and knowledge of the Holocaust, there is a strong desire to preserve Holocaust memory, including through schools, though the level of knowledge is the lowest among the 13 countries surveyed by AJC.

- 71 percent of Argentines feel that "we should keep the remembrance of the Nazi extermination of the Jews strong even after the passage of time," while 19 percent maintain that "50 years after the end of World War II it is time to put the memory of the Nazi extermination of the Jews behind us."
- 62 percent of Argentines deem it "essential" or "very important" that "all Argentines know about the Nazi extermination of the Jews," while 31 percent see it as "only somewhat important" or "not important."
- 65 percent of Argentines maintain that Holocaust education should be included in schools, while 24 percent disagree.
- 27 percent of Argentines "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" with the statement that "Jews are exploiting the memory of the Nazi extermination of the Jews for their own purposes," while 47 percent "strongly disagree" or "somewhat disagree."

Most Argentines agree that groups in the country espouse Nazi ideology, but a majority of Argentines maintain that such groups have little influence.

- 72 percent of Argentines agree that there are groups in the country that espouse Nazi ideology, while 10 percent disagree.
- Of those acknowledging the existence of such groups, 25 percent see this as a matter of "great concern," 40 percent as a matter of "considerable concern," 23 percent as a matter of "little concern," and 9 percent as a matter of "no concern."
- Of those acknowledging the existence of groups espousing Nazi ideology, 60 percent maintain that they have little or no influence in the country, while 31 percent believe they have great or considerable influence.

On attitudes toward Jews, Argentines generally hold favorable views.

- Compared to other groups in Argentina, Jews are viewed by 35 percent of Argentines as "equally integrated," by 33 percent as "more integrated," and by 22 percent as "less integrated."
- 75 percent of Argentines indicate that it "wouldn't make any difference" if they had Jews as neighbors, while 15 percent of Argentines would "prefer not" to have Jews as neighbors, and 8 percent would "like to have" Jews as neighbors.

The survey was conducted for the American Jewish Committee and AMIA by Gallup Argentina, a leading opinion-research organization based in Buenos Aires, between April 27 and May 3, 2000. The survey of 1,333 respondents, who were interviewed face to face, has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Since 1992, AJC has carried out public opinion polls on knowledge and remembrance of the Holocaust in the following countries, besides Argentina: United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Russia, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org