US marks 25 years since 9/11 — how are young Americans taught about it today
As the US approaches the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, an estimated 100 million Americans — nearly a third of the population — were either not yet born or too young to remember that day, raising questions about how the event is taught to younger generations.
On September 11, 2026, the United States marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that shook the country in 2001 and reshaped its subsequent history. According to estimates, nearly a third of the US population — around 100 million people — were either not yet born or were too young at the time to have any personal memory of the attacks.
This means a large share of today's young Americans know about the September 11 attacks only through stories, textbooks and media coverage rather than firsthand experience. France 24 journalist Douglas Herbert examined how the events of that day are being taught in schools and discussed in wider society today, as well as what consequences this has for the younger generation's understanding of history.
A generational divide in understanding
The question of how to convey tragic, nationally significant events to those who did not live through them becomes more pressing with each passing year. As time goes on, more and more people know 9/11 only as a historical fact rather than a personal memory, posing challenges for education systems and for preserving a shared collective memory of the day.
The report looks at how this experience gap shapes the way the attacks are interpreted and presented to younger generations, and what it means for the legacy of 9/11 in American society today.
