--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think I could ever go to…" description: "\"I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when we took that tour of MGM, I nearly collapsed outside the Thalberg building.\" — Charles Busch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg" --- # I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when… ![“I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when we took that tour of MGM, I nearly collapsed outside the Thalberg building.” quote by Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg) > “I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when we took that tour of MGM, I nearly collapsed outside the Thalberg building.” [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker felt overwhelmed by the historical weight of Auschwitz, comparing it to a personal emotional collapse during a tour of MGM. **In simple terms:** Auschwitz feels too intense to imagine visiting. Key Takeaway Acknowledge emotional limits when confronting trauma. Themes history trauma personal limits Mood somber reflective Type cautionary personal narrative When to use this quote - museum visits - historical education - personal reflection Key Concepts memory psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How do you process overwhelming historical sites? - What coping mechanisms help you face trauma? A Different Perspective The comparison may trivialize Holocaust gravity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Auschwitz Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz-took-3492040/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Mgm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mgm/) [Nearly Collapsed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-collapsed-3492038/) [Outside Thalberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-thalberg-3492041/) [Think Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-auschwitz-3492039/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The big one I missed out on was 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' MGM wanted me for it, and Warner Bros. wouldn't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-baker/the-big-one-i-missed-out-on-was-cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-mgm-wanted-me/) [Carroll Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-baker/) > [So vast is the shadow cast by the MGM production of 'The Wizard of Oz,' so indelible are its characterizations, so perfect its music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/so-vast-is-the-shadow-cast-by-the-mgm-production-of-the-wizard-of-oz/) [Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/) > [I was signed to MGM. I was in Vegas for sixteen weeks at the Sands Hotel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-burke/i-was-signed-to-mgm-i-was-in-vegas-for-sixteen-weeks-at-the-sands/) [Solomon Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-burke/) > [Pippin had an opening number called "Magic to Do," and Jules Fisher, the brilliant lighting designer lit it. Tony Walton did all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-copperfield/pippin-had-an-opening-number-called-magic-to-do-and-jules-fisher-the/) [David Copperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-copperfield/) > [When my mother signed at MGM, that was the only kind of contract you could sign. There was no such thing as an independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-luft/when-my-mother-signed-at-mgm-that-was-the-only-kind-of-contract-you/) [Lorna Luft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-luft/) > [ \[On her work in "Keep Your Powder Dry"\] I didn't want to do it, but they said if I did it they would give… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laraine-day/on-her-work-in-keep-your-powder-dry-i-didn-t-want-to-do-it-but-they/) [Laraine Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laraine-day/) > [I like to think that I gave Jack Warner Brothers inking and Joe Sinnott gave him MGM inking. If you're not as in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/i-like-to-think-that-i-gave-jack-warner-brothers-inking-and-joe/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [You asked me my favorite question: What happened and what did you learn from being under contract to MGM? And the answer is I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/you-asked-me-my-favorite-question-what-happened-and-what-did-you/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I am willing to spend whatever it takes … My moral standard compels me to speak out on this issue because I am the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-adelson/i-am-willing-to-spend-whatever-it-takes-my-moral-standard-compels-me/) [Sheldon Adelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-adelson/) > [Fact is, awards shows were never really about recognizing achievement. They were a publicity ploy cooked up in the late 1920s by MGM topper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/fact-is-awards-shows-were-never-really-about-recognizing-achievement/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Among the great glories of the MGM lot were the vast outdoor sets that had been constructed over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barbera/among-the-great-glories-of-the-mgm-lot-were-the-vast-outdoor-sets/) [Joseph Barbera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barbera/) > [We had the same doomsday people when we were building the MGM Grand, same people, same doomsday. You have to ask a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-kerkorian/we-had-the-same-doomsday-people-when-we-were-building-the-mgm-grand/) [Kirk Kerkorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-kerkorian/) > [Our world was Northern, black and white, so it was a great thing for my sisters and me to sit down at Christmastime and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracie-bennett/our-world-was-northern-black-and-white-so-it-was-a-great-thing-for-my/) [Tracie Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracie-bennett/) > [Under no circumstances would it be right for me to go with MGM. Irene shares my opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-selznick/under-no-circumstances-would-it-be-right-for-me-to-go-with-mgm-irene/) [David O. Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-selznick/) ## More by Charles Busch > [I always tend to say "no" to everything, but now I've decided to say "yes" to everything. Now, I'm doing all sorts of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-always-tend-to-say-no-to-everything-but-now-i-ve-decided-to-say-yes/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I took many notes, more than usual before I sat down and wrote Act One, Scene One. I had perhaps eighty pages of notes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-took-many-notes-more-than-usual-before-i-sat-down-and-wrote-act-one/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [It's more interesting to put yourself in the place of Bette Davis than Irene Dunne, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/it-s-more-interesting-to-put-yourself-in-the-place-of-bette-davis/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I grew up with "Follies." I saw it when I was fifteen. 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But one of the reasons I'm doing it is because the roles I've been writing for myself over the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/the-story-of-judith-but-one-of-the-reasons-i-m-doing-it-is-because/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [ At fifteen, it \[ "Follies"\] didn't have any kind of resonance with me, this show about regret and middle age. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/at-fifteen-it-follies-didn-t-have-any-kind-of-resonance-with-me-this/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [There's a real fantasy quotient to my work. Any play that I've written for myself to perform in basically begins with the idea, "Wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/there-s-a-real-fantasy-quotient-to-my-work-any-play-that-i-ve-written/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I stole that from Vito Russo. He said he was a devout believer in Judyism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-stole-that-from-vito-russo-he-said-he-was-a-devout-believer-in/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I read a lot of those Single Girl in New York books, like "Fear of Flying," where you could sort of put yourself, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-read-a-lot-of-those-single-girl-in-new-york-books-like-fear-of/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [ I had two chances to fail \[working for Disney\]. The first one, they said was "too juvenile." The second one was,they give you general… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-had-two-chances-to-fail-working-for-disney-the-first-one-they-said/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I wish somebody would just give me a couple of million dollars a year, so that I could do a play based on every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-wish-somebody-would-just-give-me-a-couple-of-million-dollars-a-year/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [I've always wanted to do something where I aged a lot, went from young girl to dowager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-something-where-i-aged-a-lot-went-from-young/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [ I saw "Follies" again at thirty, and you know, I had this great appreciation for \[Stephen\] Sondheim's brilliance, his lyrics. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-saw-follies-again-at-thirty-and-you-know-i-had-this-great/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [Joan Rivers is a very wise lady. We're good friends, and I find her very much an inspiration as to how to conduct your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/joan-rivers-is-a-very-wise-lady-we-re-good-friends-and-i-find-her/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) [Explore all 17 Charles Busch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when we took that tour of MGM, I nearly collapsed outside the Thalberg building.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Busch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwitz-because-when-we-took-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Auschwitz" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwitz-because-when-we-took-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3d/charles-busch-30217_auschwitz_i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwi_1185141.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think I could ever go to Auschwitz, because when we took that tour of MGM, I nearly collapsed…” — Charles Busch", "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": "Charles Busch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think I could ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwitz-because-when-we-took-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-go-to-auschwitz-because-when-we-took-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 } } ] } ```