--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hitler's historical hero had always been…" description: "\"Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. [Later], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/ernst-hanfstaengl-38129_goebbels_hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been_876378.jpg" --- # Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the… ![“Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. [Later], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the Great was a man who knew when to stop [and] Napoleon did not.” quote by Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/ernst-hanfstaengl-38129_goebbels_hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been_876378.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/ernst-hanfstaengl-38129_goebbels_hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been_876378.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/387/ernst-hanfstaengl-38129_goebbels_hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been_876378.jpg) > “Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. \[Later\], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the Great was a man who knew when to stop \[and\] Napoleon did not.” [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hitler admired Frederick for restraint, but emulated Napoleon’s endless ambition. **In simple terms:** Leaders may misinterpret role models. Key Takeaway Study true historical contexts. Themes leadership history misinterpretation Mood critical analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - military strategy - political leadership - education curricula Key Concepts political psychology historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - What lessons are lost when leaders cherry‑pick history? - How does selective admiration shape ideology? A Different Perspective Misreading history can fuel dangerous policies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goebbels/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [“Some gay soldiers and officers, particularly those with a college education, carried with them a mythology, developed from reading the classics and in conversations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-b-rub/some-gay-soldiers-and-officers-particularly-those-with-a-college/) Allan Bérubé > [“Rising up, rising down! History shambles on! What are we left with? A few half-shattered Greek stelae; Trotsky's eyeglasses; Gandhi's native-spun cloth, Cortes' pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/rising-up-rising-down-history-shambles-on-what-are-we-left-with-a-few/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Frederick the Great's dictum that soldiers had to fear their officers more than they feared the enemy was stupid. Soldiers needed to believe they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/frederick-the-great-s-dictum-that-soldiers-had-to-fear-their-officers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd, and bloody religion that has ever infected the world. \[In a letter to Frederick the Great\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/christianity-is-the-most-ridiculous-the-most-absurd-and-bloody-2/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Consequently, the value and importance of the monarchic idea cannot reside in the person of the monarch himself except if Heaven decides to lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/consequently-the-value-and-importance-of-the-monarchic-idea-cannot/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“In editing a volume of Washington 's private letters for the Long Island Historical Society, I have been much impressed by indications that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moncure-d-conway/in-editing-a-volume-of-washington-s-private-letters-for-the-long/) [Moncure D. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moncure-d-conway/) > [National Socialism would have every German decide for himself on spiritual questions, just as in the days of Frederick the Great. The National Socialist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hess/national-socialism-would-have-every-german-decide-for-himself-on/) [Rudolf Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hess/) > [“The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/the-greatest-and-noblest-pleasure-which-we-have-in-this-world-is-to-2/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [On the other hand, heroism is basic to the character of the Nordic peoples. This heroism of the ancient mythic period and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-rosenberg/on-the-other-hand-heroism-is-basic-to-the-character-of-the-nordic/) [Alfred Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-rosenberg/) > [It is certainly of great importance for a general to keep his plans secret; and Frederick the Great was right when he said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/it-is-certainly-of-great-importance-for-a-general-to-keep-his-plans/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Young Alexander conquered India. He alone? Caesar beat the Gauls. Was there not even a cook in his army? Philip of Spain wept as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/young-alexander-conquered-india-he-alone-caesar-beat-the-gauls-was/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [To them belong, not only the truly great statesmen, but all other great reformers as well. Beside Frederick the Great stands Martin Luther as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/to-them-belong-not-only-the-truly-great-statesmen-but-all-other-great/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“Whatever happened to “In victory, magnanimity; in defeat, defiance.” So said Frederick the Great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/whatever-happened-to-in-victory-magnanimity-in-defeat-defiance-so/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“After the battle the king can do what he likes with my head, but during the battle will he please allow me to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-von-seydlitz/after-the-battle-the-king-can-do-what-he-likes-with-my-head-but/) Friedrich von Seydlitz > [“Tolstoy went on to observe,"This little incident proves how largely the name of Lincoln is worshipped throughout the world and how legendary his personality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/tolstoy-went-on-to-observe-this-little-incident-proves-how-largely/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## More by Ernst Hanfstaengl > [ It is probably not true to say that there was a physical homosexual relationship between \[Rudolf Hess and Hitler\] but the attraction was there. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/it-is-probably-not-true-to-say-that-there-was-a-physical-homosexual/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [If it is not the fashion now, it will be later because I wear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/if-it-is-not-the-fashion-now-it-will-be-later-because-i-wear-it/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Hitler wanted to hear all about the American skyscrapers ... but failed utterly to draw logical conclusions from the information. … He was passionately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/hitler-wanted-to-hear-all-about-the-american-skyscrapers-but-failed/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Schopenhauer had been Hitler's philosophical god in the early days. In power it was Nietzsche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/schopenhauer-had-been-hitler-s-philosophical-god-in-the-early-days-in/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [The Jews who already have been ousted were put out because they were morally and politically unfit to safeguard German interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/the-jews-who-already-have-been-ousted-were-put-out-because-they-were/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [With Hitler it was all floating, without roots, intangible and mediumistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/with-hitler-it-was-all-floating-without-roots-intangible-and/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Anti-Semitism is not based on strictly religious grounds and is not directed against the Jewish faith as such. However, all German Christians resent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/anti-semitism-is-not-based-on-strictly-religious-grounds-and-is-not/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Hitler's mind was a deep-running river. You could never tell when something it had absorbed would bob to the surface again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/hitler-s-mind-was-a-deep-running-river-you-could-never-tell-when/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [In the last 14 years Jewry has achieved positions of influence which it has grossly misused morally, financially and politically in an unheard-of manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/in-the-last-14-years-jewry-has-achieved-positions-of-influence-which/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Democracy has no convictions for which people would be willing to stake their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/democracy-has-no-convictions-for-which-people-would-be-willing-to/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) > [Most of the people near Hitler were mental breast-stroke swimmers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hanfstaengl/most-of-the-people-near-hitler-were-mental-breast-stroke-swimmers/) [Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) [Explore all 12 Ernst Hanfstaengl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-hanfstaengl/) ## 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/) > [“Let me explain how such a thing might occasionally happen,' Goebbels said. 'All during the twelve years of the Weimar Republic our people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/let-me-explain-how-such-a-thing-might-occasionally-happen-goebbels/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [ 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 > [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 > [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": "Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. [Later], under Goebbels' prompting ... 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