--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If anyone had told us in 1945 that there…" description: "\"If anyone had told us in 1945 that there are certain battles we'll have to fight again we wouldn't have believed it. Racism, anti-Semitism, starvation ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/elie-wiesel-341_anti-semitism_if-anyone-had-told-us-in-1945-that-there_1391382.jpg" --- # If anyone had told us in 1945 that there are certain… ![“If anyone had told us in 1945 that there are certain battles we'll have to fight again we wouldn't have believed it. Racism, anti-Semitism, starvation of children and, who would have believed that? At least I was convinced then, naively, that at least something happened in history that, because of…” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/elie-wiesel-341_anti-semitism_if-anyone-had-told-us-in-1945-that-there_1391382.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/elie-wiesel-341_anti-semitism_if-anyone-had-told-us-in-1945-that-there_1391382.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/092/elie-wiesel-341_anti-semitism_if-anyone-had-told-us-in-1945-that-there_1391382.jpg) > “If anyone had told us in 1945 that there are certain battles we'll have to fight again we wouldn't have believed it. Racism, anti-Semitism, starvation of children and, who would have believed that? At least I was convinced then, naively, that at least something happened in history that, because of myself, certain things cannot happen again.” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History repeats when societies ignore past atrocities, leading to renewed racism and suffering. **In simple terms:** Ignoring history repeats old evils. Key Takeaway Learn from past to prevent future hate. Themes history racism human rights Mood somber urgent Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - education - policy making - community dialogues - media reporting Key Concepts collective memory ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What lessons from history are we overlooking? - How can we keep memory alive? A Different Perspective People may deny relevance of past events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti semitism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-semitism/) [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Believed Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-racism-4850638/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Convinced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convinced/) [Fight Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-wouldn-1632922/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Naively Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naively-happened-4850640/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Starvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starvation/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Told 1945](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-1945-4850639/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wouldn Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wouldn-believed-432378/) ## Related quotes > [For many years, I believed racism in America was dead and that opportunity existed for all. My beliefs were shaken when the Rodney King…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hope-bryant/for-many-years-i-believed-racism-in-america-was-dead-and-that/) [John Hope Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hope-bryant/) > [“I would fight for him and against anyone who wouldn't. It wasn't complicated. In the beginning love never is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maksik/i-would-fight-for-him-and-against-anyone-who-wouldn-t-it-wasn-t/) [Alexander Maksik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maksik/) > [“You're a bloodthirsty character, aren't you?" "I don't know," she said honestly. "I've never had the chance to find out. I'm pretty sure I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/you-re-a-bloodthirsty-character-aren-t-you-i-don-t-know-she-said/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Think of it as a second opinion on his value. If he wasn't worth the fight, wouldn't she just let him go? Wouldn't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/think-of-it-as-a-second-opinion-on-his-value-if-he-wasn-t-worth-the/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [“Cormac wasn't scared of a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd punched his mother's doctor on his way out of the womb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-augustine/cormac-wasn-t-scared-of-a-fight-i-wouldn-t-be-surprised-if-he-d/) [Donna Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-augustine/) > [Don't fight for someone who wouldn't fight for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/don-t-fight-for-someone-who-wouldn-t-fight-for-you/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [My parents told me if I wanted to fight, they wouldn't support me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-riddle/my-parents-told-me-if-i-wanted-to-fight-they-wouldn-t-support-me/) [Matt Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-riddle/) > [The Pope going to Jerusalem, the Pope recognising the State of Islam, the Pope going to the wall organising a concert for the Holocaust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-pope-going-to-jerusalem-the-pope-recognising-the-state-of-islam/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [There is not anti-semitism as an ideology. The civilized world must think that anti-semitism is stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-is-not-anti-semitism-as-an-ideology-the-civilized-world-must/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [There is a coalition of anti-Semitism today, the extreme left, the extreme right and in the middle the huge corpus of Islam. I'm worried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/there-is-a-coalition-of-anti-semitism-today-the-extreme-left-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Today again the teacher is the important thing, but on the other hand anti-Semitism is growing today. No doubt about it. All over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/today-again-the-teacher-is-the-important-thing-but-on-the-other-hand/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you would have told me that I'd be in a European final back when I was at Maidstone then I wouldn't have believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-smalling/if-you-would-have-told-me-that-i-d-be-in-a-european-final-back-when-i/) [Chris Smalling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-smalling/) > [In the US in the 1900's 60 % of people were employed on the farms. Today it's less than 1%. If you told people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/in-the-us-in-the-1900-s-60-of-people-were-employed-on-the-farms-today/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [If somebody had said to me back in 1988 that I'd still be making music in 25 years' time, to start with I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley-harding/if-somebody-had-said-to-me-back-in-1988-that-i-d-still-be-making/) [John Wesley Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley-harding/) > [“I wouldn't have believed that after so much pain, my heart could still handle this kind of joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/i-wouldn-t-have-believed-that-after-so-much-pain-my-heart-could-still/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Anti semitism quotes > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) > [Even in the Western world, one cannot argue that the ideal has been achieved given the existence of issues like the integration, participation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/even-in-the-western-world-one-cannot-argue-that-the-ideal-has-been/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Rest assured that our work is not over because our work has never been only hunting Nazi war criminals. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hier/rest-assured-that-our-work-is-not-over-because-our-work-has-never/) [Marvin Hier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hier/) > [With little knowledge of what it meant to be a Jew, I found myself passionately defending the Jewish people. Now, half a century later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/with-little-knowledge-of-what-it-meant-to-be-a-jew-i-found-myself/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I have never, ever, received any taunts or any form of anti-Semitism. And I suppose being a Jewish football player with the Atlanta Falcons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-goldberg/i-have-never-ever-received-any-taunts-or-any-form-of-anti-semitism/) [Bill Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-goldberg/) > [It is not possible for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism. We are Semites spiritually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/it-is-not-possible-for-christians-to-take-part-in-anti-semitism-we/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [I believe I understand anti-Semitism which is a very complex movement. I see it as a Jew, but without hatred or fear. I recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-herzl/i-believe-i-understand-anti-semitism-which-is-a-very-complex-movement/) [Theodor Herzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-herzl/) > [Israel is stupid for allowing people to vent their anti-Semitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/israel-is-stupid-for-allowing-people-to-vent-their-anti-semitism/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) > [Anti-Catholicism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/anti-catholicism-is-the-anti-semitism-of-the-intellectual/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [We always come back to the same misunderstanding. The Jews because of their spirit of revolt, their exclusiveness and the Messianic tendencies which animate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-v-deponcins/we-always-come-back-to-the-same-misunderstanding-the-jews-because-of/) [Leon V. DePoncins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-v-deponcins/) > [The bankers' Satanic Conspiracy is the source of anti Semitism. The sooner Jews rise up to oppose it; the sooner anti-Semitism will end.. Obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-makow/the-bankers-satanic-conspiracy-is-the-source-of-anti-semitism-the/) [Henry Makow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-makow/) > [Yet, nearly 6 decades after the Holocaust concluded, Anti-Semitism still exists as the scourge of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/yet-nearly-6-decades-after-the-holocaust-concluded-anti-semitism/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [If, to the end of its existence, America harbors white supremacy, I don't know how remarkable that would be. France has dealt with anti-Semitism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/if-to-the-end-of-its-existence-america-harbors-white-supremacy-i-don/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [As for me, even though I have been accused of anti-Semitism countless times, no one has ever heard me make anti-Semitic statements or engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/as-for-me-even-though-i-have-been-accused-of-anti-semitism-countless/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [There was no reason to label us as anti-Semitic. No reason at all. I do not know one person in the National Front who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/there-was-no-reason-to-label-us-as-anti-semitic-no-reason-at-all-i-do/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) [Browse all 296 Anti semitism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-semitism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If anyone had told us in 1945 that there are certain battles we'll have to fight again we wouldn't have believed it. Racism, anti-Semitism, starvation of children and, who would have believed that? 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