Survey shows half of Irish adults do not know six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust

JTA – Half of Irish adults don’t know that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, a new survey from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has found. 

Conducted from 25 October to 6 November, 2025, the online survey of 1 000 Irish adults also found that 8% of people in Ireland believe that the Holocaust is a myth and didn’t happen, while 17% believe the number of Jews killed was greatly exaggerated. 

The survey adds to a country-by-country series by the Claims Conference, which coordinates reparations for Holocaust survivors and sponsors Holocaust education programmes. The number of Irish adults who believe the death toll of the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated is slightly higher than the United States, at 15%, and the United Kingdom, at 11%, but far lower than in France, where the Claims Conference found that a third of adults believe the death toll hac been greatly exaggerated. 

The Irish survey also found lower reports of Holocaust distortion than in other countries. A quarter of Irish adults said they believed distortion was common in their country, compared to 49% of adults in the United States; 44% in France and Germany; and 47% in Hungary. 

The survey didn’t attempt to answer whether perceptions of Holocaust distortion in Ireland were accurate. 

The country, which has a Jewish population of about 2 700, has drawn allegations of antisemitism in recent years for its public criticism of Israel during the course of the war in Gaza. In December 2024, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin, citing “antisemitic rhetoric of the Irish government against Israel”. In October, the country elected a new president, Catherine Connolly, who has sharply criticised Israel in Parliament and faced backlash for comments defending Hamas. 

Late last year, a proposal to rename a park in Dublin named after Chaim Herzog, the son of the first Irish chief rabbi who became Israel’s sixth president in 1983, was decried by Irish, Jewish, and Israeli leaders over concern it would erase Irish Jewish history. The proposal was later tabled. 

Antisemitic incidents that don’t target Israel have also taken place in Ireland. Last month, a rural road in Ireland was defaced with graffiti reading “rat,” “Jew”, and “USA”, along with swastikas and Stars of David. 

The Claims Conference found that nine in 10 Irish adults believe that the Holocaust should be taught at school. 

“Half of Irish adults don’t know that six million Jews were murdered; one in five doubts the truth of the Holocaust; and half of young people are seeing denial online. Yet almost nine in 10 want it taught in school. This is not a lack of public will. It is a gap in our education system,” said Maurice Cohen, the chairperson of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. “The public overwhelmingly wants Holocaust education.” 

The survey was released as the Claims Conference released a new estimate of the Jewish Holocaust survivor population, saying the population had dropped from 220 000 to 196 600 over the past year. The median age of survivors is 87. Many prominent survivors – including Josef “Joe” Veselsky, a table tennis champion who was recognised as Ireland’s oldest man for more than a year before his death in December – have died in recent months. 

“As the Holocaust moves away from us in time, we must redouble our efforts to educate young minds to whom this legacy will be entrusted,” said Oliver Sears, the founder of Holocaust Awareness Ireland. “Combatting Holocaust denial and distortion on the internet and social media must be a priority.”