You read that right. For a party that has spent the better part of a decade warning about Nazism in America, finding that one in 10 Democrats view Adolf Hitler favorably is rather awkward.

According to a YouGov survey conducted earlier this year, 10 percent of Democrats held a favorable view of Hitler, twice the share of Republicans and independents.

Among Democrats, two percent viewed Hitler very favorably and eight percent somewhat favorably. Among Republicans and independents, the figures were identical: one percent very favorably and four percent somewhat favorably, for a combined five percent in each group. 

The age divide, however, was even more pronounced and slightly concerning. Among the younger Americans surveyed (18-29), 14 percent viewed Hitler favorably, while nine percent viewed him somewhat unfavorably and 66 percent viewed him very unfavorably. Among the older Americans surveyed (65+), just two percent held a favorable view, compared with 94 percent who viewed him very unfavorably.

The poll surveyed 1,113 U.S. adults from March 11-13 of this year through YouGov’s opt-in online panel. Participants completed the survey online. The results were weighted to reflect a 2024 presidential vote split of approximately 48 percent for Harris and 50 percent for Trump. Party identification was weighted using a baseline from around November 2024, of roughly 31 percent Democratic and 32 percent Republican. 

The survey results point to a couple of concerning trends. First, for all of Tucker Carlson’s grift, the findings hardly suggest Republicans are broadly embracing Hitler, a low bar, but a welcome one. 

Democrats’ higher favorability, meanwhile, is awkward for a party that has spent a decade casting itself as America’s last line of defense against fascism. Whether that reflects anti-Israel sentiment on the left is a question this poll cannot answer, but remains likely.

Still, the most alarming finding is the age divide. Any openness toward Hitler should be unacceptable in a country whose founding principles stand in direct opposition to fascism. As with younger generations’ willingness to entertain communism, it raises an uncomfortable question: Are younger Americans even learning what happened in the 1940s, truly understanding it, or simply choosing to decide it no longer matters? 

The further those horrors recede from living memory, the easier it becomes to sanitize the ideologies behind them.