--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact is that many people did not –…" description: "\"“The fact is that many people did not – and still do not – understand that many Germans were held in the concentration camps from 1933 onwards. The cam..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg" --- # The fact is that many people did not – and still do not –… ![“The fact is that many people did not – and still do not – understand that many Germans were held in the concentration camps from 1933 onwards. The camps were not just for Jews or other ‘non-people’, but also for any German who had made some remark about the Nazis, or who would not follow the Nazi…” quote by Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg) > ““The fact is that many people did not – and still do not – understand that many Germans were held in the concentration camps from 1933 onwards. The camps were not just for Jews or other ‘non-people’, but also for any German who had made some remark about the Nazis, or who would not follow the Nazi rules.”” [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many Germans were imprisoned for dissent, not just Jews, highlighting broader Nazi repression. **In simple terms:** Germans also suffered under Nazis. Key Takeaway Remember all victims of oppression. Themes history oppression justice Mood somber reflective Type educational historical When to use this quote - education - memorials - policy discussions Key Concepts totalitarianism human rights Questions to Reflect On - How does broader repression change our view of history? - What lessons apply today? A Different Perspective Complex historical nuance may be simplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alf-nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alf-nestor/) [Alfred-nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alfred-nestor/) [Author-alfred-nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-alfred-nestor/) [Concentration camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) [Concentration Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camps/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Hitler-s-germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-s-germany/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Nazi party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazi-party/) [Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazis/) [Second-world-war-chidhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war-chidhood/) [Second-world-war-in-germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war-in-germany/) [Uncle-hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncle-hitler/) [War-story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-story/) [Ww2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ww2/) ## Related quotes > [“I look at my mother, connected by a breath of glimmering hope, her red and shadowed eyes reveal that some element of our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-look-at-my-mother-connected-by-a-breath-of-glimmering-hope-her-red/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I thought of the people on the roof and wondered how they managed to stay up there as there was nothing to hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-thought-of-the-people-on-the-roof-and-wondered-how-they-managed-to/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One woman, called Eva, used to visit my mother and sometimes we would call in next door to visit her. Sometimes Frau Eva gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-woman-called-eva-used-to-visit-my-mother-and-sometimes-we-would/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Within minutes we had left the station and were entering a cutting with trees on both sides, so the horror of the massacre was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/within-minutes-we-had-left-the-station-and-were-entering-a-cutting/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I quickly got used to being picked up by my mother, and taken to the air raid shelter near our home. Although frightening, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-quickly-got-used-to-being-picked-up-by-my-mother-and-taken-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I do recall hearing a conversation in our home in Strausberg, between my mother and my father, where my mother sounded very angry that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-do-recall-hearing-a-conversation-in-our-home-in-strausberg-between/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I heard people talking about what this Red Army did to any Germans they captured, and this only added to my fears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-heard-people-talking-about-what-this-red-army-did-to-any-germans/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“As he journeyed alone toward the monster that is death, we could do nothing to help him, nor the others still alive; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/as-he-journeyed-alone-toward-the-monster-that-is-death-we-could-do/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“He loved children and used to dandle me on his knee. This was how the title came about for this book, Uncle Hitler, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/he-loved-children-and-used-to-dandle-me-on-his-knee-this-was-how-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Later, I started to understand just why these children ‘hated’ us other children. I understood that they did not, in fact, hate ‘us’, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/later-i-started-to-understand-just-why-these-children-hated-us-other/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“But the public did not know the truth about what happened to the people in the trucks; they believed the stories from the government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/but-the-public-did-not-know-the-truth-about-what-happened-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Children accept the conditions they are born into, and, to a degree, I was getting used to the bombings, fires, and death around me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/children-accept-the-conditions-they-are-born-into-and-to-a-degree-i/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One day, I noticed that my father’s uniform had changed from a smart, light green colour with silver edging on the shoulder straps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-day-i-noticed-that-my-father-s-uniform-had-changed-from-a-smart/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I remember seeing one elderly man look at us, and he held his hand out, and most frightening were his eyes, dark as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-remember-seeing-one-elderly-man-look-at-us-and-he-held-his-hand-out/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“We had the air war overhead, which was frightening, but we were, in a way, getting used to it. Now, however, we could hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/we-had-the-air-war-overhead-which-was-frightening-but-we-were-in-a/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) ## More by Alfred Nestor > [“I look at my mother, connected by a breath of glimmering hope, her red and shadowed eyes reveal that some element of our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-look-at-my-mother-connected-by-a-breath-of-glimmering-hope-her-red/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I remember seeing one elderly man look at us, and he held his hand out, and most frightening were his eyes, dark as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-remember-seeing-one-elderly-man-look-at-us-and-he-held-his-hand-out/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One day, I noticed that my father’s uniform had changed from a smart, light green colour with silver edging on the shoulder straps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-day-i-noticed-that-my-father-s-uniform-had-changed-from-a-smart/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Children accept the conditions they are born into, and, to a degree, I was getting used to the bombings, fires, and death around me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/children-accept-the-conditions-they-are-born-into-and-to-a-degree-i/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“But the public did not know the truth about what happened to the people in the trucks; they believed the stories from the government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/but-the-public-did-not-know-the-truth-about-what-happened-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Later, I started to understand just why these children ‘hated’ us other children. I understood that they did not, in fact, hate ‘us’, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/later-i-started-to-understand-just-why-these-children-hated-us-other/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“He loved children and used to dandle me on his knee. This was how the title came about for this book, Uncle Hitler, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/he-loved-children-and-used-to-dandle-me-on-his-knee-this-was-how-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“As he journeyed alone toward the monster that is death, we could do nothing to help him, nor the others still alive; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/as-he-journeyed-alone-toward-the-monster-that-is-death-we-could-do/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I heard people talking about what this Red Army did to any Germans they captured, and this only added to my fears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-heard-people-talking-about-what-this-red-army-did-to-any-germans/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I do recall hearing a conversation in our home in Strausberg, between my mother and my father, where my mother sounded very angry that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-do-recall-hearing-a-conversation-in-our-home-in-strausberg-between/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I quickly got used to being picked up by my mother, and taken to the air raid shelter near our home. Although frightening, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-quickly-got-used-to-being-picked-up-by-my-mother-and-taken-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Within minutes we had left the station and were entering a cutting with trees on both sides, so the horror of the massacre was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/within-minutes-we-had-left-the-station-and-were-entering-a-cutting/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“A very important man used to visit her sometimes, and I met him too. He loved children and used to dandle me on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/a-very-important-man-used-to-visit-her-sometimes-and-i-met-him-too-he/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One woman, called Eva, used to visit my mother and sometimes we would call in next door to visit her. Sometimes Frau Eva gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-woman-called-eva-used-to-visit-my-mother-and-sometimes-we-would/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I thought of the people on the roof and wondered how they managed to stay up there as there was nothing to hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-thought-of-the-people-on-the-roof-and-wondered-how-they-managed-to/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) [Explore all 29 Alfred Nestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) ## More Alf-nestor quotes > [“I look at my mother, connected by a breath of glimmering hope, her red and shadowed eyes reveal that some element of our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-look-at-my-mother-connected-by-a-breath-of-glimmering-hope-her-red/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I remember seeing one elderly man look at us, and he held his hand out, and most frightening were his eyes, dark as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-remember-seeing-one-elderly-man-look-at-us-and-he-held-his-hand-out/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One day, I noticed that my father’s uniform had changed from a smart, light green colour with silver edging on the shoulder straps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-day-i-noticed-that-my-father-s-uniform-had-changed-from-a-smart/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Children accept the conditions they are born into, and, to a degree, I was getting used to the bombings, fires, and death around me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/children-accept-the-conditions-they-are-born-into-and-to-a-degree-i/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“But the public did not know the truth about what happened to the people in the trucks; they believed the stories from the government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/but-the-public-did-not-know-the-truth-about-what-happened-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Later, I started to understand just why these children ‘hated’ us other children. I understood that they did not, in fact, hate ‘us’, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/later-i-started-to-understand-just-why-these-children-hated-us-other/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“He loved children and used to dandle me on his knee. This was how the title came about for this book, Uncle Hitler, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/he-loved-children-and-used-to-dandle-me-on-his-knee-this-was-how-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“As he journeyed alone toward the monster that is death, we could do nothing to help him, nor the others still alive; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/as-he-journeyed-alone-toward-the-monster-that-is-death-we-could-do/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I heard people talking about what this Red Army did to any Germans they captured, and this only added to my fears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-heard-people-talking-about-what-this-red-army-did-to-any-germans/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I do recall hearing a conversation in our home in Strausberg, between my mother and my father, where my mother sounded very angry that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-do-recall-hearing-a-conversation-in-our-home-in-strausberg-between/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I quickly got used to being picked up by my mother, and taken to the air raid shelter near our home. Although frightening, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-quickly-got-used-to-being-picked-up-by-my-mother-and-taken-to-the/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“Within minutes we had left the station and were entering a cutting with trees on both sides, so the horror of the massacre was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/within-minutes-we-had-left-the-station-and-were-entering-a-cutting/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“One woman, called Eva, used to visit my mother and sometimes we would call in next door to visit her. Sometimes Frau Eva gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/one-woman-called-eva-used-to-visit-my-mother-and-sometimes-we-would/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“I thought of the people on the roof and wondered how they managed to stay up there as there was nothing to hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-thought-of-the-people-on-the-roof-and-wondered-how-they-managed-to/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [“We had the air war overhead, which was frightening, but we were, in a way, getting used to it. Now, however, we could hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/we-had-the-air-war-overhead-which-was-frightening-but-we-were-in-a/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) [Browse all 27 Alf-nestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alf-nestor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fact is that many people did not – and still do not – understand that many Germans were held in the concentration camps from 1933 onwards. The camps were not just for Jews or other ‘non-people’, but also for any German who had made some remark about the Nazis, or who would not follow the Nazi rules.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Nestor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and-still-do-not-understand-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alf-nestor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and-still-do-not-understand-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e11/alfred-nestor-21532_alf-nestor_the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and_1132588.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fact is that many people did not – and still do not – understand that many Germans were held in the…” — Alfred Nestor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Nestor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The fact is that many people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and-still-do-not-understand-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/the-fact-is-that-many-people-did-not-and-still-do-not-understand-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```