How Dwight Eisenhower Fought Antisemitism

At the dawn of 2024, the United States is embroiled in a heated discussion over what constitutes antisemitism. In the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks launched by Hamas against targets in Israel and the subsequent retaliatory military actions Israel has undertaken, protests in cities, on college campuses, and in the halls of Congress have ranged from peaceful to blatantly antisemitic, with chants, vandalism, and threats of violence.

Perhaps just as troubling, these events come as recent surveys have found that 20 percent of Gen Z Americans believe the Holocaust is a myth (another 30 percent neither agreed nor disagreed). An earlier survey found that over 60 percent of the same generational cohort did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered during World War II. Such reports are both disturbing and are a warning to the American public about deficiencies in remembering a pivotal event of the 20th century.

JL

About the Author

Jason Lantzer

Jason Lantzer serves as the assistant director of the Butler University Honors Program and is a member of the Jack Miller Center’s network of scholars. He is the author of eight books, most recently Dwight Eisenhower and the Holocaust: A History.

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At the dawn of 2024, the United States is embroiled in a heated discussion over what constitutes antisemitism. In the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks launched by Hamas against targets in Israel and the subsequent retaliatory military actions Israel has undertaken, protests in cities, on college campuses, and in the halls of Congress have ranged from peaceful to blatantly antisemitic, with chants, vandalism, and threats of violence.

Perhaps just as troubling, these events come as recent surveys have found that 20 percent of Gen Z Americans believe the Holocaust is a myth (another 30 percent neither agreed nor disagreed). An earlier survey found that over 60 percent of the same generational cohort did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered during World War II. Such reports are both disturbing and are a warning to the American public about deficiencies in remembering a pivotal event of the 20th century.

JL

About the Author

Jason Lantzer

Jason Lantzer serves as the assistant director of the Butler University Honors Program and is a member of the Jack Miller Center’s network of scholars. He is the author of eight books, most recently Dwight Eisenhower and the Holocaust: A History.