Half of all West Germans still harbor anti-Semitic feelings of varying intensity, according to a study by Cologne University based on a sampling of 2,000 adults. The study showed that only 24 percent of the population fully rejects anti-Semitism.
The implication of the study is that very few Germans have changed their minds about Jews despite the widespread publicity given the massacre of Jews during the Nazi era, including the Americanmade Holocaust television series which appeared on national television here several years ago.
The Cologne inquiry found that persons of low income and little education are more anti-Semitic than academics and office holders. Anti-Semitic feelings are more intense among older Germans, those who lived during the Nazi era. Anti-Semitic sentiments were found in up to 88 percent of people living in small towns and villages, compared to 48 percent in large urban areas. There are, at present, about 30,000 Jews in the Federal Republic.
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