Memories of World War Two still live on

This year represents the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 61st anniversary of D-Day. Harris Interactive, working with IMAS International, recently conducted a survey of over 20,000 adults in 13 countries to gauge their knowledge and attitudes about World War II.

The survey found a fair amount of uniformity in responses though there are some interesting differences in opinion especially when comparing the United States and Western European responses against German, Russian and Eastern European responses.

The most significant differences included:

• People in Russia (64%) and Ukraine (60%) are much more inclined than people in other countries to say that they have had close relatives who lost their lives in the war. Unsurprisingly, adults in Germany (39%), Austria (38%) and Poland (34%) also said they lost close relatives in the war.
• Majorities in each of the countries surveyed say they can roughly identify leaders during the War such as Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, de Gaulle, and Mussolini, and are aware of their role in history. Identification of other leaders was less consistent among the countries surveyed.
• Majorities in most countries, except in Austria, Hungary, Spain and the United States, say that they are quite or very well informed about events before 1945.

On the sensitive issue of whether present-day Germans should somehow accept responsibility for the extermination of Jewish people during World War II, majorities across the countries surveyed say the Germans should not feel jointly responsible. However, higher percentages of those in Russia, Poland and Ukraine, than in other countries, say today's Germans should feel jointly responsible for those atrocities.

The interviews were conducted among nationally representative samples of adults either online or face-to-face (depending on the country). In summary, in the United States 2,322 adults aged 18 and over, in Western Europe (Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain) 8,584 adults aged 16 and over, and in Eastern Europe (Germany, Russia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Ukraine) 11,689 adults aged 16 and over were interviewed between January 15 and May 16, 2005.

To find out more about the survey, visit the Harris Interactive website at www.harrisinteractive.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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