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>Joseph Goebbels, 1935 So be like the Nazis (because that worked so well for them).

• cocacola1 4y ago
  I think it's more the fact that treating the Nazi's well and trying to avoid a violent conflict didn't mean that they would try to avoid it on their end. Cede them an inch and they'll commit genocide.
  • bentley 4y ago
    What you describe is not really an accurate description of the political situation that resulted in 1930s Germany.
    • brazzy 4y ago
      It is in fact a very accurate description. Goebbels spelled it out quite explicitly. Another quote from him in 1928: "We enter the Reichstag to arm ourselves with democracy’s weapons. If democracy is foolish enough to give us free railway passes and salaries, that is its problem. [...] We are coming neither as friends or neutrals. We come as enemies! As the wolf attacks the sheep, so come we. You are not among your friends any longer. You will not enjoy having us among you."
      • bentley 4y ago
        Goebbels is an unreliable narrator who had strong incentive to promote the idea that freedom of speech makes a nation weak. The problem is not that the Nazis were allowed to speak (in fact, hate speech against Jews was often punishable under German law and Goebbels was imprisoned twice for it), but that they were allowed to be violent with no real consequences. Hitler only served eight months for his violent coup attempt in 1923.