Universities are becoming increasingly concerned that A level history students are so fascinated with 20th century dictators and events - such as Hitler and the Holocaust - that they are unprepared for broader historical study.

The survey, carried out by the magazine History Today, also found that university departments complained about a general decline in students' literacy and essay-writing skills.

But it showed that most of the universities questioned felt the courses they offered made up for any earlier deficiencies in students' knowledge.

Tutors' frustration

The results come as fewer students study early modern history at A level, and only a small proportion take medieval history.

There has been a rise in the popularity of A level syllabuses in mid-20th century history for some years.

Adolf Hitler: A popular A level topic

Publishing the results of its survey, History Today states: "Across the country, tutors are expressing a frustration that students tend to be unwilling to broaden their knowledge outside the modern and contemporary, preferring to play safe with what is familiar rather than expand into uncharted areas.

"History departments have to pick up the pieces and teach basic courses in order to fill in important gaps in students' knowledge."

More than 40 university history departments took part in the survey.

Reading University said that most students arriving to study history at university "seem to have studied the Third Reich several times over".

Staffing problems

Northumbria University said that "many students come to us with little knowledge of anything other than Hitler".

Course options focusing on the 20th century "and anything with the word Hitler in the title are immensely popular".

The results also suggested that students' preferences could lead to staffing difficulties.

The University of the West of England said: "International history of the 20th century is the most popular, linked to 20th century dictators.

"This has happened over the last five years, and now seriously complicates staffing."

Decline in mature applicants

And the response from Nottingham Trent University said that "intellectual inertia" had been imposed on students' minds, as to which periods were and were not important historically.

New students had "an inability to see history in terms of long-term changes and continuities", it said.

History was still a popular course at university, but the introduction of tuition fees had led to a decline in the number of mature students applying to read the subject.

History Today also voices concern that "the downgrading of history at primary school level in favour of maths, literacy and science", and the option for pupils to give up the subject at the age of 14 means that the "pool of potential historians may slowly dwindle".