Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
The Daily Telegraph Friday 6 November 2009
One in twenty schoolchildren thinks Adolf Hitler coached the German football team, according to a survey.
A similar proportion said The Holocaust was a celebration at the end of the Second World War while one in six youngsters said Auschwitz was a theme park.
The survey for Erskine, a war veterans charity in Scotland, also found that one in ten thought SS stood for Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and one in twelve believed the Blitz was a European clean-up operation following the Second World War.
The charity said it would now take part in a nationwide scheme to educate schoolchildren about the two world wars. The survey of 2,000 children between the ages of 9 and 15 found a quarter said they did not think about the soldiers who were killed; 40% said they did not know when Remembrance Sunday was but 70% said they wanted to learn more.
Major Jim Panton, Chief Executive of Erskine said "Some of the answers have shocked us and it has shown that Erskine, among others, has a part to play, not just in caring for veterans but in educating society as a whole."
"As we approach Remembrance Sunday, it is hard to believe that 40% of our children do not know when it is. Schoolchildren are the future of the country and it is important that we help them to learn about our history."
The charity said it wanted its veterans to share their experiences of war with younger generations.
Andrew Salmond of Their Past Your Future, a partnership that will work with Erskine said "This initiative offers a fantastic opportunity. Some will convey wartime loss and suffering, others will speak of daring and inspiration. However, all will be of great educational value."
One in twenty schoolchildren thinks Adolf Hitler coached the German football team, according to a survey.
A similar proportion said The Holocaust was a celebration at the end of the Second World War while one in six youngsters said Auschwitz was a theme park.
The survey for Erskine, a war veterans charity in Scotland, also found that one in ten thought SS stood for Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and one in twelve believed the Blitz was a European clean-up operation following the Second World War.
The charity said it would now take part in a nationwide scheme to educate schoolchildren about the two world wars. The survey of 2,000 children between the ages of 9 and 15 found a quarter said they did not think about the soldiers who were killed; 40% said they did not know when Remembrance Sunday was but 70% said they wanted to learn more.
Major Jim Panton, Chief Executive of Erskine said "Some of the answers have shocked us and it has shown that Erskine, among others, has a part to play, not just in caring for veterans but in educating society as a whole."
"As we approach Remembrance Sunday, it is hard to believe that 40% of our children do not know when it is. Schoolchildren are the future of the country and it is important that we help them to learn about our history."
The charity said it wanted its veterans to share their experiences of war with younger generations.
Andrew Salmond of Their Past Your Future, a partnership that will work with Erskine said "This initiative offers a fantastic opportunity. Some will convey wartime loss and suffering, others will speak of daring and inspiration. However, all will be of great educational value."
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