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No class or group or party in Germany could escape its share of responsibility for the abandonment of the democratic Republic and the advent of Adolf Hitler. The cardinal error of the Germans who opposed Nazism was their failure to unite against it.
William L. Shirer
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the collective responsibility of the German people in allowing the rise of Nazism due to disunity among those who opposed it.

William L. Shirer emphasizes that the downfall of democracy in Germany was not solely the fault of a single entity, but rather a collective failure of various groups and individuals to band together against the threatening force of Nazism. He argues that this disunity among the opposition led to the tragic consequences of Hitler's rise to power, highlighting the importance of solidarity in the face of tyranny.

Themes

GermanyNazismDemocracyUnityResponsibility

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be shared in a discussion about the dangers of political disunity during a community meeting.

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Until we go through it ourselves, until our people cower in the shelters of New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere while the buildings collapse overhead and burst into flames, and dead bodies hurtle about and, when it is over for the day or the night, emerge in the rubble to find some of their dear ones mangled, their homes gone, their hospitals, churches, schools demolished - only after that gruesome experience will we realize what we are inflicting on the people of Indochina.
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In our new age of terrifying, lethal gadgets, which supplanted so swiftly the old one, the first great aggressive war, if it should come, will be launched by suicidal little madmen pressing an electronic button. Such a war will not last long and none will ever follow it. There will be no conquerors and no conquests, but only the charred bones of the dead on and uninhabited planet.
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