85% of Americans concerned young people don’t know enough about Holocaust or learning lessons of how to confront evil, finds new poll.

March 21, 2014 By in Epicenter

MEME-HolocaustEducation>> Who were the four real heroes whose lives inspired The Auschwitz Escape?

(Lynchburg, Virginia) — “To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it.” As readers of this blog know, this has been a theme of many of my books over the years.

Now comes a fascinating piece of data. A surprisingly large majority of the U.S. population is deeply concerned that Americans are not being taught enough about the Holocaust or learning how to confront evil in our time. They especially concerned that young people aren’t being effectively taught what can happen when evil rises and we do not take decisive action to stop it.

These are among the findings of an exclusive new poll Tyndale House Publishers and I commissioned as we prepared to release The Auschwitz Escape.

McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-respected polling firm, conducted the survey for us. We asked 1,000 likely U.S. voters the following question: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘It has been almost 70 years since the end of World War II and the liberation of the Nazi death camps like Auschwitz, but I am concerned that Americans generally — and young people in particular — don’t know enough about the history and horrors of the Holocaust and aren’t learning the lessons of what can happen when evil rises and America does not take decisive action to stop it’?”

  • 85.3% agree
  • 13.0% disagree
  • 1.8% don’t know

Let us consider, therefore, how we can do a better job reaching all Americans — and especially young people — with the history and lessons of the Holocaust. After all, darkness is falling. We are facing rising evil all over the world and Americans are going to have to make hard choices very soon on how to deal with such evil.

In this context, it was an honor and a deeply moving experience today to be able to address 10,000 students at Liberty University today about The Auschwitz Escape and the true stories that inspired the novel. It was webcast live. As soon as the program is archived, I will post a link.

I especially grateful for the invitation from Liberty because I know they have demonstrated a long-standing love for Israel and the Jewish people. They are actively seeking to educate young people about the horrors of the Holocaust and what lessons Christians should draw from World War II. They are also encouraging young people to identify with the persecuted Church and decide how to live more faithfully and courageously for Christ as evil rises in our time. Just last month, they had Holocaust survivor Irving Roth deliver a very moving address to the students. I was also encouraged that that Liberty had an Iraqi pastor from Baghdad share with the students before I spoke about the challenges of living for Christ in the midst of intense persecution. Indeed, this brother, Pastor Ghassan Thomas, said he is praying that America wakes up and lives for Christ more boldly as he said he has observed a decline in faith in the U.S. over the years he has visited and spoken here. 

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