THE shocking statistics showing that one in 20 people in the UK don’t believe the Holocaust really happened have been raised in the Assembly by Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies.

Mr Davies, who is also the Welsh Conservative Leader, quizzed First Minister Mark Drakeford on the subject yesterday, January 29.

The research from the Holocaust Memorial Trust coupled with further statistics from the Anti-Semitism Policy Trust show that Wales is falling behind when it comes to awareness of the Holocaust, as well as tolerance of different races and religions.

Mr Davies asked Mark Drakeford how far the government’s new guidelines for schools will go to address the education of young people on this vital topic.

He asked: “Are you confident that learning about the Holocaust and the consequences of religious or ethnic genocide are given enough emphasis in Wales’ new curriculum?”

He went on to push for “appropriate” resources to be made available for commemoration events, now and in the future.

The First Minister replied by thanking Mr Davies for raising the subject in the wake of Holocaust Memorial Day, held last Sunday, January 27.

Speaking outside the chamber, Mr Davies said: “We have an opportunity with the new curriculum to stamp out anti-Semitism in Wales.

“The recent survey by the Holocaust Memorial Trust is a real eye-opener for the challenge that remains ahead of us, and the results were nothing less than frightening.

“It’s time we educate our children on the importance and dangers of religious and ethnic genocide so that they can learn from the faults of our world history.

“The Welsh Government can lead on this. It’s our duty to learn from mistakes of the past, and to ensure that they’re never repeated.”

Last year, pupils from Pembrokeshire visited the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz as part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project.

Reports of that visit may be seen here and here.