SOME schoolchildren believe Auschwitz is the name of a type of beer or a religious festival, rather than the Nazi extermination camp, research published today reveals.

About 1.3 million people perished in the death camp during the Second World War, but a survey of more than 1,000 pupils aged 11-16 in secondary school revealed that a quarter still did not know its purpose.

About 10 per cent were not sure what it was, 8 per cent thought it was a country bordering Germany, 2 per cent thought it was a beer, the same proportion said it was a religious festival and a further 1 per cent said it was a type of bread.

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