--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No. I’ve been thinking about this for…" description: "\"“No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my talks it takes two things to make it happen again, a new Hitler and social conditions like in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/ira-levin-22675_south-america_no-i-ve-been-thinking-about-this-for-wee_648076.jpg" --- # No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my… ![“No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my talks it takes two things to make it happen again, a new Hitler and social conditions like in the thirties. But that’s not true. It takes three things: the Hitler, the conditions…and the people to follow the Hitler.” “And don’t you think…” quote by Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/ira-levin-22675_south-america_no-i-ve-been-thinking-about-this-for-wee_648076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/ira-levin-22675_south-america_no-i-ve-been-thinking-about-this-for-wee_648076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/ira-levin-22675_south-america_no-i-ve-been-thinking-about-this-for-wee_648076.jpg) > ““No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my talks it takes two things to make it happen again, a new Hitler and social conditions like in the thirties. But that’s not true. It takes three things: the Hitler, the conditions…and the people to follow the Hitler.” “And don’t you think he’d find them?” “No, not enough of them. I really think people are better and smarter now, not so much thinking their leaders are God. The television makes a big difference. And history, knowing…Some he’d find, yes; but no more, I think—I hope—than the pretend-Hitlers we have now, in Germany and South America.”” [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) ## 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 argues that authoritarian rise requires not just a charismatic leader and favorable conditions, but also a populace willing to follow, though modern societies may be less susceptible due to media and critical thinking. **In simple terms:** Authoritarianism needs a leader, conditions, and followers; modern media may reduce this risk. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of public compliance in political movements. Themes politics authoritarianism media public opinion Mood cautious analytical Type critical educational When to use this quote - elections - media literacy campaigns - civic education - community organizing Key Concepts social psychology mass persuasion historical cycles Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape susceptibility to authoritarian ideas? - What safeguards can prevent mass follow‑ship? A Different Perspective Even with informed citizens, charismatic leaders can still manipulate masses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Follow Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-hitler-3669649/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Hitler Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-conditions-5188689/) [Hitler Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-social-4664355/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [New Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-hitler-5188690/) [South america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-america/) [Three things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-things/) ## Related quotes > [Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist. He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/among-german-historians-there-s-really-not-much-debate-about-whether/) [Richard Weikart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-weikart/) > [“They follow the Hitler line - no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/they-follow-the-hitler-line-no-matter-how-big-the-lie-repeat-it-often/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Hessen? Dr. Mengele. Everything’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Exactly the amateur I expected. I don’t think he even understood German. Send the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/hessen-dr-mengele-everything-s-fine-there-s-nothing-to-worry-about/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Liebermann said, “Ninety-four Hitlers,” and shook his head. “No,” he said. “No. It’s not possible.” “Of course it isn’t,” Nürnberger said. “There are ninety-four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/liebermann-said-ninety-four-hitlers-and-shook-his-head-no-he-said-no/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“There are only four non-Spanish speaking countries in all of South America. British Guiana is one of them. 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In fact, we just got back from South America, and I fell over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-emerson/ive-broken-my-nose-ive-broken-ribs-you-name-it-in-fact-we-just-got/) [Keith Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-emerson/) > [Sichuan food would not be Sichuanese without the hot chilies that arrived before 1700 from South America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/sichuan-food-would-not-be-sichuanese-without-the-hot-chilies-that/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [I have done some overseas hunting, including in New Zealand and with Amerindians in the jungles of South America. In those cases, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-have-done-some-overseas-hunting-including-in-new-zealand-and-with/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Plague has hung over human history. The biggest human extinction was after 1492 in North and South America when the mortality rate was 95…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/plague-has-hung-over-human-history-the-biggest-human-extinction-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [I'd love to explore South America, but the security issues worry me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ball/i-d-love-to-explore-south-america-but-the-security-issues-worry-me/) [Michael Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ball/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) ## More by Ira Levin > [“Liebermann said, “Ninety-four Hitlers,” and shook his head. “No,” he said. “No. It’s not possible.” “Of course it isn’t,” Nürnberger said. “There are ninety-four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/liebermann-said-ninety-four-hitlers-and-shook-his-head-no-he-said-no/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [I finally did work out a very good relationship with my father, but it was rough growing up. We had a lot of conflict,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/i-finally-did-work-out-a-very-good-relationship-with-my-father-but-it/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Ninety-four men have to die on or near certain dates in the next two and a half years,” he said, reading. “Sixteen of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/ninety-four-men-have-to-die-on-or-near-certain-dates-in-the-next-two/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Hessen? Dr. Mengele. Everything’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Exactly the amateur I expected. I don’t think he even understood German. Send the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/hessen-dr-mengele-everything-s-fine-there-s-nothing-to-worry-about/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [You're not going to get any true confessions out of me," she said. "I'm a Leo, and our thing is changing the subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/you-re-not-going-to-get-any-true-confessions-out-of-me-she-said-i-m-a/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Anyone who needs more than one suitcase,” he said as he double-locked their door, “is a tourist, not a traveler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/anyone-who-needs-more-than-one-suitcase-he-said-as-he-double-locked/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Bread now, or cake later”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/bread-now-or-cake-later/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“now I want something better than vengeance, and something almost as hard to get.” He told it to the young woman in the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/now-i-want-something-better-than-vengeance-and-something-almost-as/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Some day, he thought, I would like to meet a monster who LOOKS like a monster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/some-day-he-thought-i-would-like-to-meet-a-monster-who-looks-like-a/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [Being happy or unhappy - is that really the most important thing? Knowing the truth would be a different kind of happiness - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/being-happy-or-unhappy-is-that-really-the-most-important-thing/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“don’t let me hear you say again ‘Fuck orders’! You’re a corporal who’s been assigned a duty, and if your superiors have chosen not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/don-t-let-me-hear-you-say-again-fuck-orders-you-re-a-corporal-who-s/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Did you lose the game? Losing’s the same as winning; you know that, don’t you?” The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/did-you-lose-the-game-losing-s-the-same-as-winning-you-know-that-don/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse had signed a lease on a five-room apartment in a geometric white house on First Avenue when they received word,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/rosemary-and-guy-woodhouse-had-signed-a-lease-on-a-five-room/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“could anyone know when an actor was true and not acting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/could-anyone-know-when-an-actor-was-true-and-not-acting/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [“Better to live in doubt than to die in certainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/better-to-live-in-doubt-than-to-die-in-certainty/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) [Explore all 26 Ira Levin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) ## More Hitler quotes > [ \[Hitler thought\] that Mussolini was no figure of world history, like der Fuehrer or Stalin. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/hitler-thought-that-mussolini-was-no-figure-of-world-history-like-der/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [“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/) > [Anyone who makes the life of Jewish people difficult or grievous, as did the Pharaoh, as did Hitler, will be cursed by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/anyone-who-makes-the-life-of-jewish-people-difficult-or-grievous-as/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [ Eva \[Braun\] loved \[Adolf\] Hitler and he was the only man in her life. She flirted and danced with other men but never would… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/eva-braun-loved-adolf-hitler-and-he-was-the-only-man-in-her-life-she/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [I'm not really a practising Jew but I keep a kosher kitchen just to spite Hitler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/i-m-not-really-a-practising-jew-but-i-keep-a-kosher-kitchen-just-to/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) > [ \[Wilhelm\] Bruckner was one of \[Adolf\] Hitler's adjutants, very close to him and he'd been in the party probably since day one. Personally neither… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/wilhelm-bruckner-was-one-of-adolf-hitler-s-adjutants-very-close-to/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [“Hitler made only one big mistake when he built his Atlantic Wall,” the paratroopers liked to say. “He forgot to put a roof on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-e-ambrose/hitler-made-only-one-big-mistake-when-he-built-his-atlantic-wall-the/) [Stephen E. Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-e-ambrose/) > [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/superman-punched-out-hitler-so-did-captain-america-that-s-one-of-the/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [“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/) > [To understand Hitler's power as a speaker, we must consider that he was not just the bellowing tavern demagogue we always picture, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volker-ullrich/to-understand-hitler-s-power-as-a-speaker-we-must-consider-that-he/) [Volker Ullrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volker-ullrich/) > [ For instance, \[Adolf Hitler\] would never have spent the night at the Widenmayerstraße apartment. He visited it before we moved the furniture in, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/for-instance-adolf-hitler-would-never-have-spent-the-night-at-the/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [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/) > [Most people are dead. Hitler. Ray Charles. Some other guys. But mostly those two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-people-are-dead-hitler-ray-charles-some-other-guys-but-mostly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hitler was no inexorable product of a German 'special path', no logical culmination of long-term trends in specifically German culture and ideology. Nor was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kershaw/hitler-was-no-inexorable-product-of-a-german-special-path-no-logical/) [Ian Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kershaw/) [Browse all 688 Hitler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my talks it takes two things to make it happen again, a new Hitler and social conditions like in the thirties. But that’s not true. It takes three things: the Hitler, the conditions…and the people to follow the Hitler.” “And don’t you think he’d find them?” “No, not enough of them. I really think people are better and smarter now, not so much thinking their leaders are God. The television makes a big difference. 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