--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me explain how such a thing might…" description: "\"“Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of the Weimar Republic our people were virtual..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg" --- # Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally… ![“Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of the Weimar Republic our people were virtually in jail. Now our party is in charge and they are free again. When a man has been in jail for twelve years and he is suddenly freed, in his joy he…” quote by Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg) > ““Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of the Weimar Republic our people were virtually in jail. Now our party is in charge and they are free again. When a man has been in jail for twelve years and he is suddenly freed, in his joy he may do something irrational, perhaps even brutal. Is that not a possibility in your country also?' Ebbutt, his voice even, noted a fundamental difference in how England might approach such a scenario. 'If it should happen,' he said, 'we would throw the man right back in jail.”” [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that people released from prolonged oppression may act irrationally or violently out of sudden freedom, and that societies must consider how to manage such transitions. **In simple terms:** Freedom after long oppression can cause chaotic behavior. Key Takeaway Plan for reintegration and support. Themes politics psychology freedom violence societal transition Mood cautious reflective serious Type historical political psychological When to use this quote - post‑war reconstruction - prisoner release programs - political upheaval - community healing Key Concepts authoritarianism psychological trauma social stability Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance security with humane reintegration? - What safeguards prevent abuse of power in such scenarios? A Different Perspective Not all freed individuals become violent; many need compassionate assistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goebbels/) [Goebbels Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goebbels-said-1441611/) [Happen Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happen-goebbels-1441612/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Jail Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail-party-1441613/) [Nazi germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazi-germany/) [Suddenly Freed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suddenly-freed-1441614/) [Wwii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wwii/) ## Related quotes > [Leni Riefenstahl was the one person Goebbels had no control over in the filmmaking community of Nazi Germany, and they despised each other. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/leni-riefenstahl-was-the-one-person-goebbels-had-no-control-over-in/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Though anti-Semitism had been only one of several sources of Nazi voting strength, after 1933 Hitler placed anti-Semitic ideologues, the most important of whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-herf/though-anti-semitism-had-been-only-one-of-several-sources-of-nazi/) [Jeffrey Herf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-herf/) > [Yes, William E. Dodd was the - became the - America's first ambassador to Nazi Germany. Prior to that, he was a professor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/yes-william-e-dodd-was-the-became-the-america-s-first-ambassador-to/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“After experiencing life in Nazi Germany, Thomas Wolfe wrote, “Here was an entire nation … infested with the contagion of an ever-present fear. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/after-experiencing-life-in-nazi-germany-thomas-wolfe-wrote-here-was/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [At some point, I stumbled across my two main protagonists: William E. Dodd, a mild-mannered professor of history picked by Roosevelt to be America's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/at-some-point-i-stumbled-across-my-two-main-protagonists-william-e/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Advocating through art is known as propaganda. You should look up the name Goebbels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/advocating-through-art-is-known-as-propaganda-you-should-look-up-the/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Himmler, Bormann, and Goebbels, they were probably bad fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-sauckel/himmler-bormann-and-goebbels-they-were-probably-bad-fellows/) [Fritz Sauckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-sauckel/) > [Hitler and Joseph Goebbels understood that if you say something loud and long enough many people will believe it. A good journalist's first priority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/hitler-and-joseph-goebbels-understood-that-if-you-say-something-loud/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [“As I see it today, Hitler and Goebbels were in fact molded by the mob itself, guided by its yearnings and its daydreams. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/as-i-see-it-today-hitler-and-goebbels-were-in-fact-molded-by-the-mob/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“And people would believe it, thought Hartmann, because people believed what they wanted to believe – that was Goebbels’s great insight. They no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/and-people-would-believe-it-thought-hartmann-because-people-believed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [ Perhaps one cannot, what is more one must not, understand what happened, because to understand \[the Holocaust\] is almost to justify...no normal human being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/perhaps-one-cannot-what-is-more-one-must-not-understand-what-happened/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [ Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. \[Later\], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the Great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been-frederick-the-great-later/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Hitler used to come to my house once in a while for a cup of coffee, and because I led a normal life, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/hitler-used-to-come-to-my-house-once-in-a-while-for-a-cup-of-coffee/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [But the truth of the matter is, that was fairly, fairly early on in Goebbels' 800 movies that he made in Germany. The majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/but-the-truth-of-the-matter-is-that-was-fairly-fairly-early-on-in/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Erik Larson > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“look as if they had been plucked from the Palace of Versailles or a Jacobean mansion—that you were aboard a ship being propelled far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/look-as-if-they-had-been-plucked-from-the-palace-of-versailles-or-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [That's what I love about history - nuance. I don't believe in unalloyed heroes. Everyone's got warts, and everyone's got a surprise side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/that-s-what-i-love-about-history-nuance-i-don-t-believe-in-unalloyed/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Holmes was charming and gracious, but something about him made Belknap uneasy. He could not have defined it. Indeed, for the next several decades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/holmes-was-charming-and-gracious-but-something-about-him-made-belknap/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [. . . why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/why-some-men-choose-to-fill-their-brief-allotment-of-time-engaging/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“At present," he said, "I am responsible for conveying my associates to a place called Chicago. I understand it is somewhere in the hinterland.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/at-present-he-said-i-am-responsible-for-conveying-my-associates-to-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I knew from an online search that the Wisconsin State Historical Society, on the vast University of Wisconsin campus, held the papers of Sigrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-knew-from-an-online-search-that-the-wisconsin-state-historical/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Dodd continued to hope that the murders would so outrage the German public that the regime would fall, but as the days passed he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/dodd-continued-to-hope-that-the-murders-would-so-outrage-the-german/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I envy other writers who claim to have a backlog of books they'd like to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-envy-other-writers-who-claim-to-have-a-backlog-of-books-they-d-like/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Trying to find ideas is the hardest part of my job. You'd think it would be the most fun. Just sitting around reading whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/trying-to-find-ideas-is-the-hardest-part-of-my-job-you-d-think-it/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Her blind endorsement of Hitler’s regime first faded to a kind of sympathetic skepticism, but as summer approached,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/her-blind-endorsement-of-hitler-s-regime-first-faded-to-a-kind-of/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Perhaps, Herr Ditzen, it is less important where one lives than how one lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/perhaps-herr-ditzen-it-is-less-important-where-one-lives-than-how-one/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I figured, correctly, that Berlin in February was not a destination coveted by tourists. I found good airfares on Lufthansa, an airline I quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-figured-correctly-that-berlin-in-february-was-not-a-destination/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“It was truly a transitional moment: There he was, at the cusp of the twentieth century, using the telephone to send a telegram.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/it-was-truly-a-transitional-moment-there-he-was-at-the-cusp-of-the/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) [Explore all 214 Erik Larson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More Goebbels quotes > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [But the truth of the matter is, that was fairly, fairly early on in Goebbels' 800 movies that he made in Germany. The majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/but-the-truth-of-the-matter-is-that-was-fairly-fairly-early-on-in/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Hitler used to come to my house once in a while for a cup of coffee, and because I led a normal life, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/hitler-used-to-come-to-my-house-once-in-a-while-for-a-cup-of-coffee/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [ Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. \[Later\], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the Great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been-frederick-the-great-later/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [ Perhaps one cannot, what is more one must not, understand what happened, because to understand \[the Holocaust\] is almost to justify...no normal human being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/perhaps-one-cannot-what-is-more-one-must-not-understand-what-happened/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“And people would believe it, thought Hartmann, because people believed what they wanted to believe – that was Goebbels’s great insight. They no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/and-people-would-believe-it-thought-hartmann-because-people-believed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“As I see it today, Hitler and Goebbels were in fact molded by the mob itself, guided by its yearnings and its daydreams. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/as-i-see-it-today-hitler-and-goebbels-were-in-fact-molded-by-the-mob/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [Though anti-Semitism had been only one of several sources of Nazi voting strength, after 1933 Hitler placed anti-Semitic ideologues, the most important of whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-herf/though-anti-semitism-had-been-only-one-of-several-sources-of-nazi/) [Jeffrey Herf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-herf/) > [Hitler and Joseph Goebbels understood that if you say something loud and long enough many people will believe it. A good journalist's first priority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/hitler-and-joseph-goebbels-understood-that-if-you-say-something-loud/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Himmler, Bormann, and Goebbels, they were probably bad fellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-sauckel/himmler-bormann-and-goebbels-they-were-probably-bad-fellows/) [Fritz Sauckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-sauckel/) > [Advocating through art is known as propaganda. You should look up the name Goebbels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/advocating-through-art-is-known-as-propaganda-you-should-look-up-the/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [“Goebbels famously remarked that “men organize life: women are their support and implement their decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lower/goebbels-famously-remarked-that-men-organize-life-women-are-their/) [Wendy Lower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lower/) > [“Everyone seemed to just accept what was happening. The eradication of the individual, the reduction of the people to a faceless gray mass shouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesper-bugge-kold/everyone-seemed-to-just-accept-what-was-happening-the-eradication-of/) [Jesper Bugge Kold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesper-bugge-kold/) > [Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/goebbels-was-in-favor-of-free-speech-for-views-he-liked-so-was-stalin/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Leni Riefenstahl was the one person Goebbels had no control over in the filmmaking community of Nazi Germany, and they despised each other. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/leni-riefenstahl-was-the-one-person-goebbels-had-no-control-over-in/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) [Browse all 24 Goebbels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goebbels/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of the Weimar Republic our people were virtually in jail. Now our party is in charge and they are free again. When a man has been in jail for twelve years and he is suddenly freed, in his joy he may do something irrational, perhaps even brutal. Is that not a possibility in your country also?' Ebbutt, his voice even, noted a fundamental difference in how England might approach such a scenario. 'If it should happen,' he said, 'we would throw the man right back in jail.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erik Larson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-occasionally-happen-goebbels/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goebbels" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-occasionally-happen-goebbels/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/erik-larson-1710_goebbels_let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-oc_922884.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of…” — Erik Larson", "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": "Erik Larson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Let me explain how such a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-occasionally-happen-goebbels/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-occasionally-happen-goebbels/#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 } } ] } ```